AURORA | Police stumbled on a grisly scene while completing a welfare check at the Aurora apartment of Juan Ayala-Medina and Ignacio Zamudio-Estrada in 2007.
The two lay dead, having sustained severe head injuries. Their roommate, Alejandro Garcia-Loya, was nowhere to be found.
Sixteen years later, prosecutors with the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office say fingerprints found at the crime scene have been matched to Garcia-Loya, who they believe fled to Mexico after the killings. A warrant was issued this week for the arrest of Garcia-Loya, now charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
“Just because a case goes cold, does not mean it is forgotten,” said Aurora police Sgt. Chris Cruser in a news release from the DA’s office. “Our detectives are always looking for new leads, evidence and information to solve cases. This is just one example of their efforts and dedication.”
Garcia-Loya was at large as of Thursday afternoon. The DA’s office did not say where it believed he could be.
In 2007, Aurora police were contacted by members of Zamudio-Estrada’s family, who said they had not heard from Ignacio for several days, and that multiple phone calls to him had gone unanswered.
On July 16, 2007, an Aurora officer arrived at Zamudio-Estrada’s shared apartment in the 200 block of South Jasper Circle and entered through an unlocked door. The officer recognized the smell of decomposing flesh, and police found the bodies of Zamudio-Estrada and Ayala-Medina.
Detectives searched the apartment and found a utility bill in the name of Garcia-Loya, who was unrelated to the two victims but lived in the apartment. They also found a fake social security card for “Alejandro Garcia.”
The Colorado Bureau of Investigations found DNA from a single individual on a spoon and Mountain Dew container in Garcia-Loya’s room, along with fingerprints that could not be matched to any person. In the same bedroom, police found a Walmart receipt for the soda and a youth baseball bat that could not be located.
After several years, the Department of Homeland Security reported that the five unidentified fingerprints matched the prints of Garcia-Loya collected from the homicide scene.
Aurora police detective Jason McDonald reviewed the cold case in April and concluded the victims’ third roommate, who also fled to Mexico, was Garcia-Loya.
“As time passes, cases can become tougher to solve,” Deputy District Attorney Grant Grosgebauer said in his office’s news release. “No matter how much time passes, our Cold Case Unit is solely focused on holding offenders accountable and ensuring victims get justice.”
Investigators encouraged anyone with information about his whereabouts to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.
Thank you, Detective McDonald.
Do the relatives or friends have any idea of why the apartment-mates were murdered?