AURORA | With pride and grief, Ethel Goodrich painted a picture of her daughter for a room full of Aurora police and journalists on Tuesday.
Nekeya Brown was a nurturer and a caretaker at heart, her mother said. Even while struggling with mental health problems brought on by the death of her father, Brown remained a positive, giving person who “had a smile that could open up the heavens.”
On Christmas Eve, Brown was with Katon Hutt, a visually impaired Aurora man whom she had been caring for, when the two were shot to death by unknown assailants.
Surveillance footage of suspects Aurora police believe are tied to the killings of Katon Hutt and Nekeya Brown. Photos provided by the Aurora Police Department 
Surveillance footage of suspects Aurora police believe are tied to the killings of Katon Hutt and Nekeya Brown. Photos provided by the Aurora Police Department 
Surveillance footage of suspects Aurora police believe are tied to the killings of Katon Hutt and Nekeya Brown. Photos provided by the Aurora Police Department 
Surveillance footage of suspects Aurora police believe are tied to the killings of Katon Hutt and Nekeya Brown. Photos provided by the Aurora Police Department
“No parent should have to bury a child,” Goodrich said at a Tuesday news conference. “This tragedy has broken many hearts, young and old, and has already delivered many sleepless nights for our entire family.”
Police called the conference to ask for the public’s help catching two masked suspects pictured entering and fleeing the apartment at 1592 Boston St. around the time Brown and Hutt were killed. Both victims were 35 years old.
While efforts to identify the suspects have so far been unsuccessful, police were hopeful that some member of the public would recognize their vehicle: a dark blue sedan missing the front passenger-side hubcap. Det. Christopher Barchetti said one of the suspects is believed to be Black or Hispanic, while the race of the other is unknown.
Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado
Aurora’s interim police chief, Art Acevedo, read a statement from Hutt’s mother, who described the slain man as a generous but vulnerable person, whose disability had allowed others to steal from him in the past.
“He had the biggest heart and would give anyone anything they asked,” the statement read. “Nekeya was a friend to him. I don’t know why someone would do this but they did not have to. Katon did not have to die for this. We love him and miss him so much.”
Police said the motive for the killing is currently unknown and that they have not linked the incident with any other crimes.
Members of the public may submit a tip by contacting Aurora police or by calling Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Tipsters will be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.
Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado
Brown’s mother appealed directly to her daughter’s killers, saying “when you took her life you took a part of mine as well.”
“I want them to have peace because I don’t believe that whoever took her life has peace right now. I think they’re tussling and wrestling with something, and I do believe that if they come forward, then their soul will be set free as well,” Goodrich said, crediting her faith in God with helping her endure the tragedy of her daughter’s death.
Acevedo said police are committed to solving the two-month-old case.
“If you know something about who took these two lives, you need to come forward before that violence touches you, and your family, and your neighbor, and your friend, because we are a community,” he said.
“This is a crew of detectives and a team that does not give up. We will not give up.”