In a quiet, rural area near the Colorado River, just southwest of Kremmling, Colorado, a grim discovery was made inside a parked van. The bodies of 9-year-old Jackson Ahrold and his 62-year-old father, William Ahrold, were found on Saturday, December 17, 2011. The two had been the subject of a missing persons report filed on December 13, having last been seen on December 9.
Investigators from the Grand County Sheriff's Office determined that the father and son had been deceased for several days inside the vehicle. An obituary later stated that Jackson's date of death was December 11, 2011.
The subsequent investigation by the Grand County Sheriff's Office concluded that the tragic event was a murder-suicide. Authorities reported that William Ahrold shot his son before turning the gun on himself. Forensic evidence supported this conclusion, showing that the gunshots were fired from a range consistent with a murder-suicide. While a definitive motive for William Ahrold's actions was not publicly released, the investigation painted a harrowing picture of the final days for young Jackson.
The case took another bizarre and disturbing turn when investigators realized that the scene had been tampered with before law enforcement's arrival. A handgun, which was the weapon used in the murder-suicide, along with other personal items belonging to the Ahrolds, were missing from the van. This discovery launched a secondary investigation to find the individuals responsible for the theft.
Authorities were able to identify two suspects, Jerod Reeves and Kimberly McCaffery, after they used William Ahrold's stolen credit cards. The couple was eventually apprehended in Washington state. The details that emerged following their arrest were gruesome. Reeves and McCaffery had come across the van and, finding the frozen bodies inside, decided to rob them. In a particularly macabre act, Reeves used a hacksaw to cut off two of William Ahrold's fingers to remove the pistol he was still holding. In a jailhouse interview, Reeves stated he 'did what I had to do that night to survive.' Both individuals were charged with crimes including tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse.
