Tenants of Colorado apartment building where woman was murdered raise safety concerns
On Sept. 4, the body of Kathleen Mayo was found inside her first floor unit at the Aspect apartment complex in Lone Tree. Police in the Colorado city, located in the southern part of the Denver metro area, say she was murdered.
Residents who still live in the building and asked not to be identified say that crime scene extended into the hallways.
"There was what looked like a smiley face, and little smears they only stuck with sticky tape. You think it's blood, you think it's something awful, and that really shook us up," one said.
The resident is one of several who reached out to CBS Colorado with concerns about when police and apartment management informed them of the crime.
They say they also have lingering questions about their own security.
"We have fobs. There are cameras -- but clearly not working or up to par. Because if all those systems were in place, this would be an open-and-shut case," one resident said.
Court documents obtained by CBS Colorado show that, despite police and apartment management telling residents there was no known danger to the public, several days passed between the discovery of Mayo's body and the identification of the suspect, Troy Marcus Reynolds. It was also never publicly shared that he was a tenant in the building.
"He was arrested -- that's the last we ever heard. There are no updates on security, no updates on cameras, no updates on why we should feel safe in our community," a resident said.
Those fears have many residents looking for a way out of the building.
Steven Flaxman with the Flaxman Law Group says that while renters have the right to a safe environment, breaking a lease would likely be a difficult legal battle.
"Sometimes crime is just an unfortunate reality of our society, and there's only so much management can do to prevent that," Flaxman said.
But he said the circumstances in this case are unique.
"You never want to jeopardize a police investigation or their efforts to apprehend an individual, but at the same time, could management have spoken with police? It seems some facts aren't available to us. However, if they were aware that this person was at large and had a chance to return to this place -- or did return -- people probably should have a right to know that."
One resident said the ongoing worries are taking a toll:
"It's tough. It's tough to wake up and go to work and not think about your safety. It's a scary thing to deal with every day."
CBS Colorado reached out to the apartment complex office as well as the property management company for comment about tenant safety concerns and have not heard back.