Who Killed Homeless Trio? Denver Police Seek Tips

DENVER, CO – Denver police once again asked the public for help Tuesday to solve the Aug. 9 triple-slaying of three people identified as itinerant near an RTD Light Rail station in the 700 block of Broadway Ave.

The bodies of Nicole “Nikki” Boston, 28, Jerome “Rome” Coronado, 39, and Chris “Little Cowboy” Zamudio, 44, were found by police around 11 a.m. behind a building at 765 S. Broadway near the Interstate-25 overpass. The office of the Denver Medical Examiner said Monday all three died of gunshot wounds. Denver police on Aug. 9 said the trio appeared to be homeless, "based on living conditions." RTD police were also assisting in the investigation.

Denver police have not said whether they believe the three victims in this case knew their killer or killers, or whether the scene showed signs of an altercation. At this point, it's unclear whether the act was a random attack.

Police on Tuesday confirmed that another incident that happened nearby was not related to the triple homicide. Early Thursday morning at about 4:36 a.m. a man was stabbed about 500 feet away from the crime scene. He was hospitalized in critical condition. Kyle Cuffe, 20, was arrested in connection with that stabbing.

Related: 3, Possibly Homeless, Found Dead In Denver Near I-25

Police and Metro Denver Crime Stoppers have offered $2,000 for information leading to an arrest in the case.

Homeless are vulnerable

People experiencing homelessness in metro Denver are already vulnerable, said Colorado Coalition for the Homeless spokesperson Cathy Alderman, and this incident just shows how exposed they are, she said.

"Predatory type people prey upon vulnerable people," she said. "People experiencing homelessness are easier to assault, because they are sometimes [hiding] in unusual places. They're easy to steal from because they have no safe place to keep their belongings."

Denver police reported in 2018 that crimes against homeless people in 2017 had risen by more than 40 percent to 1,008 incidents reported. Alderman said that might be a combination of more crimes being reported and more crimes happening. "Many crimes go unreported because there's a distrust of the police," Alderman said.

The National Coalition for the Homeless has campaigned since 2012 to pass national legislation categorizing attacks on homeless people as a form of hate crime. Alderman said that Colorado homeless advocates were starting to think about supporting that policy as well.

"It’s always awful when tragedy is the thing that elevates an issue, but it is an opportunity to talk about how dangerous it is for folks to be forced to sleep outside and try to survive, to be concerned about their safety, their next meal, where they can use a sanitary bathroom," Alderman said. "To have to worry about your life-and-death safety at the same time, it's untenable to imagine that's how we let people live."

Image via Denver Police

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