Man accused of multiple Aurora and Denver murders suspected in a fourth murder case
A man suspected of murdering three people in Aurora and Denver last year is now under investigation for another murder that took place in 2022.
Ricky Lee Roybal-Smith was arrested in 2025 after investigators determined he was the suspect in two fatal DUI/hit-and-run incidents involving pedestrians and the fatal stabbing of two homeless men in June. The following day, Denver police said Roybal-Smith assaulted and killed his cellmate, Vincent Chacon, at the Downtown Detention Center.
Roybal-Smith was charged with murder in connection with all three deaths. Although the murder charges he faced in the two DUI hit-and-run cases have been vacated, he still faces charges of DUI-drugs, careless driving, leaving the scene and failing to report an accident connected with those incidents.
He is now facing charges of second-degree murder in the death of Margaret Eberhart after a recent review of the forensic evidence in her case.
Eberhart was attacked outside of the EnglewoodCivic Center in June 2022. A Lyft driver hit his panic alert after he says his passenger, Eberhart, got out to use a nearby porta-potty, then began shouting for help. When officers arrived, they found Eberhart on the ground, unconscious, unresponsive and without a pulse. They began lifesaving measures until paramedics arrived, and she was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
The driver saw a bald man nearby just before the attack and officers found him shortly after they arrived. Police said the suspect tried to run, and they chased after him. One of the officers tased him and took him into custody.
Dashcam footage from the Lyft driver and nearby RTD camera footage show the man, whom police believe to be Roybal-Smith, following Eberhart. The RTD footage shows the man hitting her in the head before she runs off camera. The man follows, then is seen again walking away after the attack.
The Englewood Police Department says they discovered Roybal-Smith was also involved with a menacing incident earlier that day at the Walmart on 601 Englewood Parkway. Investigators recognized him from the store's surveillance footage. Roybal-Smith, who had remained in custody, was jailed and faced charges in connection with the assault.
Meanwhile, Eberhart was receiving treatment for what ER staff reported as possible spontaneous cardiac arrest. Medical staff said her heart wasn't working properly and she may have suffered stress cardiomyopathy. They believed she also had brain damage from being "down" for so long. They collected swabs, and a SANE nurse conducted an external exam for strangulation.
She died two days later. During the autopsy, a police officer saw that she also suffered wounds to her head and showed signs of hemorrhaging near her eyes, which the officer said could have been caused by strangulation. The coroner said the manner of her death was undetermined.
A review of the case began when investigators submitted another swab and the jacket Eberhart was wearing when she was killed.
An arrest warrant was issued for Roybal-Smith, who is in custody in the Denver Detention Center, on Feb. 25, 2026.
Roybal-Smith has multiple convictions dating back over 10 years. In 2005, he was convicted on drug charges and was convicted of menacing in 2007 and 2010. In 2015, he was initially charged with attempted murder, but pleaded guilty to vehicular assault DUI and eluding. In each of these cases, he served short jail or DOC sentences. He pleaded guilty to another menacing charge in 2023 and received a four-year DOC sentence.