COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The two Colorado Springs teenagers killed in early March alongside a road in El Paso County were lined up and shot execution-style where their bodies were found the next morning, according to affidavits released Thursday for those charged.
Natalie Partida, 16, and Derek Greer, 15, were found dead along the side of Old Pueblo Road near I-25 on the morning of March 12 in El Paso County.
Ten people were arrested in connection to their deaths over the next several weeks, but the court documents released Thursday give the first insight into what allegedly led to their deaths.
View the mug shots for the 10 arrested by clicking here.
The affidavits say that Partida ran away from home around 8 p.m. the night before she was found dead. She was reported as a runaway to the Colorado Springs Police Department at 8:30 that evening, and an officer had called her family around 9:44 p.m. with information on her whereabouts, and that she’d left with another boy.
After going through the teens’ Facebook connections, police connected Gustavo Marquez to both teens. Through interviews, police were able to associate others with the crime, ultimately leading to the arrest of the 10 suspects.
Though many of those charged in connection with the murders gave differing stories, detectives were able to trace the location of Marquez’s cellphone on the night of March 11, and discovered that he had been in the same area where the teens were found dead the next morning that night.
In another interview, Alexandra Romero, who is a friend of Marquez, told police that she wanted Partida beaten up for taking her purse at a party, and another man named Joseph Rodriguez said he’d kill Partida for doing so.
Police were able to get in touch with Marquez on March 19 after he was stumbling through traffic, and he told officers he had information on Partida and Greer’s murders.
Marquez said that Marco Garcia-Bravo had been driving his car around on the night of March 11, along with Diego Chacon. They picked up Partida and Greer at the suggestion of Romero—who wanted Partida beaten up but was not in the car at the time—and drove toward Old Pueblo Road.
According to what Marquez told officers, Chacon pointed a gun at Partida once she got into the car. She begged Chacon for her life, according to the affidavit, and he gave her a chance to “say good bye [sic] to her family,” the affidavit says.
Once they got to Old Pueblo Road, according to Marquez’s affidavit, they forced Partida and Greer out of the car and told them to take the “execution position.”
The affidavit says that Marquez told officers that Chacon shot Partida twice and she fell to the ground. According to Marquez’s statement, Chacon then handed the gun to Garcia–Bravo, who shot Greer, who also fell to the ground. The affidavit says Garcia-Bravo then fired several more shots at Greer.
Romero said that Partida was the target and that “Greer was only murdered because he was with Partida,” according to her affidavit.
After the murders, Marquez, Chacon and Garcia-Bravo tried to establish an alibi by getting gas at a Colorado Springs Shell station, then they went back to another house party in Colorado Springs to meet back up with Romero, according to the affidavit.
While at that house, several people said they saw Chacon with a gun in his waistband. According to the affidavits, Chacon told Romero, “They are gone! ‘Diablo’ (Garcia-Bravo) did one and I did the other.”
Marquez confirmed to Romero that “things got out of hand,” according to the affidavit.
Romero later told police that she believed if she hadn’t asked for Partida to be beaten up in the first place, that Partida—and Greer, by extension—would still be alive. She added that she thought Chacon and Garcia-Bravo were the murderers, and that Marquez was involved because he owned a car, and Partida had contacted him about needing a ride to meet her drug dealer.
Those facing charges, and the counts against them, are listed below:
- Gustavo Marquez, 19: Two counts of first-degree murder; Two counts of second-degree kidnapping; Aggravated robbery; Child abuse
- Diego Chacon, 19: Two counts of first-degree murder; Two counts of second-degree kidnapping; Aggravated robbery; Child abuse
- Marco Garcia-Bravo, 20: Two counts of first-degree murder; Two counts of second-degree kidnapping; Aggravated robbery; Child abuse
- Joseph Rodriguez, 18: Two counts of first-degree murder; Two counts of second-degree kidnapping; Aggravated robbery; Child abuse; Accessory
- Alexandra Romero, 22: Second-degree kidnapping; Accessory
- Angelito Prado, 22: Second-degree kidnapping
- Breeana Dahlberg, 20: Second-degree kidnapping
- Carlos Meza, 29: Possession of a weapon by a previous offender
- Alander Wilson, 43: Attempt to influence a public servant; False reporting to authorities
- Endo Velarde, 19: Attempt to influence a public servant; False reporting to authorities
Prado has already pleaded guilty to second-degree kidnapping and was sentenced to four years in prison. Some of the others have also been working on plea deals.
Those charged with murder are next due in court for preliminary hearings on Oct. 17, according to El Paso County court records.
There are more details to be learned about the case, but heavily-redacted affidavits have obscured certain details, and the 4th Judicial District Attorney would not clarify those details in a Thursday interview, citing a gag order in the case.
This is a developing news story; stay posted to Denver7 for updates.
