On a chilling Valentine's Day in 2000, the Littleton, Colorado community was once again struck by tragedy. Nicholas Ray 'Nick' Kunselman, a 15-year-old male, was found murdered alongside his 16-year-old girlfriend, Stephanie Lynn Hart-Grizzell. Both were students at Columbine High School, a place that had been shattered by a mass shooting just ten months earlier. The couple was discovered inside the Subway restaurant where Nick worked, located only a few blocks from their school.
The night of February 13, 2000, had started as a typical evening for Nick, who was working the closing shift at the sandwich shop. Stephanie had gone to the restaurant to wait for him to finish his duties so they could go home. However, in the early hours of February 14th, at approximately 12:47 a.m., a coworker driving by noticed that the lights inside the Subway were still on, long after it should have been closed. Upon entering the store to investigate, she made a horrifying discovery: the bodies of Nick and Stephanie were behind the counter. Both had been shot and killed.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office launched an investigation into the double homicide. Despite receiving hundreds of leads and even some false confessions as the case gained national attention, the trail grew cold. Investigators explored various possibilities, including a potential link to drug trafficking, but that theory was eventually ruled out. A person of interest was identified and described as a white male, between 16 and 20 years old at the time of the murders. He was described as being 5'7' or 5'8' tall with blondish hair, and was reportedly seen wearing a black baseball cap, blue jeans, tennis shoes, and a black jacket that had either a red lining or was worn over a red shirt. This individual was seen leaving the back of the Subway shortly before the bodies were discovered.
Despite the description of the person of interest, no arrests have ever been made in the murders of Nicholas Kunselman and Stephanie Hart-Grizzell. The case remains a painful and unsolved chapter for their families and the Littleton community. Over the years, the reward for information leading to an arrest has been significantly increased, at one point reaching $100,000, in the hopes that someone will come forward with the crucial information needed to bring the killer to justice. The double murder continues to be an active cold case, a stark reminder of a Valentine's Day that brought not love, but profound loss.
