'Distinctive Tattoo' Leads To Arrest After Hikers Find Woman's Dismembered Body
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4) - A man has been arrested in connection with the death of his girlfriend's mother, who had been missing since February.
According to Sgt. Brian Cousineau with Englewood police, on May 3 hikers in Clear Creek County found a body of a woman wrapped in a blue tarp near Mine Road and Crest Road and notified the sheriff's department. Investigators discovered "the head and the hands were both removed from the body," according to police documents.
In an attempt to identify the victim, the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Department sent out photos of a "distinctive tattoo" to other law enforcement agencies. Last Friday detectives from the Englewood Police Department found a possible connection from a missing person case.
According to Cousineau, a woman, identified as Alisia Blythe, reported her 55-year-old mother, Jackie Degarmo, missing on April 24; although Blythe told police her mother was last seen on Feb. 21.
"Detectives contacted the daughter and showed her a picture of the tattoo, which was found on the victim. The daughter informed detectives that her mother had a similar tattoo," Cousineau said in a statement.
After investigating, detectives arrested Blythe's boyfriend, identified as John Edward Brant, 32, in connection with the woman's death. He's currently being held at the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Detention Facility.
According to the arrest affidavit, Brant told detectives about an incident involving Degarmo threatening Blythe and him with a BB gun.
"I was pushed, man," Brant told investigators, according to the affidavit. "I'm really not a violent person … this is not something that I ever thought in my life would ever happen."
LINK: Read The Arrest Affidavit
Blythe then told investigators that Brant had strangled her mother to death after Degarmo swung a stick at her at a residence in the 4000 block of South Logan Street. She then said Brant dragged Degarmo's body into the backyard in the snow so the body could be preserved. Blythe said she then left with her 2-year-old daughter.
According to the arrest affidavit, Brant later told Blythe he "took care of the body" but didn't say how.
Additional Information From The Englewood Police Department
Detectives are asking for the public's help with locating the vehicle belonging to the victim. It is a 1997 Nissan 200sx, metallic blue in color, with Colorado license plate # 632LHE. If you have information on this vehicle, please contact the Englewood Police Department immediately at 303-761-7410. (See picture of victims vehicle)