A second homicide in a week occurred Thursday morning (Sept. 19) in Cortez, but as of press time there has been no arrests in either case.
Charles Chavez, 62, of Cortez was killed at 231 S. Madison Street, said Cortez Police Chief Roy Lane.
“An incident occurred there last night, and we have one person dead,” Lane said. “We are doing some search warrants and some interviews.”
Chavez was stabbed to death by a person he knew in the upper torso about 2 a.m., Lane said. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Southwest Memorial Hospital, he said.
There have been no arrests made, but Lane said there is a person of interest investigators are looking into.
“It is an ongoing investigation, and that is all I can release at this time,” he said.
A shooting Sunday night at the Cedar Terrace Apartments killed Natalie Hatch, 21. The killer fled the crime scene, witnesses said.
Lane confirmed that a search warrant related to that case was executed at 236 Chestnut St. But no arrests had been made as of press time.
“We have a person of interest for that incident also,” he said.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation was at the residence on Madison Street processing the crime scene.
Neighbors said there was some commotion Wednesday night.
“There was a lot of slamming of doors, people coming and going,” said neighbor Leo Cross.
James and Helen Stuckman, who live next door, said Chavez was a helpful person and a good neighbor.
Before Helen Stuckman knew Chavez was the victim, she said: “He’s a real nice guy. He would buy us food when we ran out and help us out. I hope it wasn’t him.”
The neighborhood, dominated by rentals, is usually peaceful, she said.
James Stuckman said, “The cops are real good about responding here. When you call, they come right over.”
Cortez has seen two homicides and aggravated robbery involving a shooting in the past nine days.
Lane said, “It’s shocking. In my 32 years, I’ve never had two homicides in one week.”
