Transcript Wheat Ridge
December 5, 2013
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourwheatridgenews.com
Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 30, Issue 24
Meyer murder case nets 20-year sentence Wheat Ridge woman killed in February By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com LeAnn “Annie” Meyer’s life was lost over an argument that had to do with yard work. That’s according to court documents in the criminal case against Melissa Miller — Meyer’s former lover — who on Nov. 27 was sentenced to 20 years behind bars for striking Meyer in the head along a dirt road in Park County, before leaving the Wheat Ridge woman for dead. Miller’s 20-year prison sentence began after pleading guilty to second-degree murder inside a Fairplay courthouse. “Of course it’s not exactly what we
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wanted,” Mark Meyer, Annie’s brother, said prior to the hearing. “But it’s closure for us. The plea bargain allows us to take the pain away more quickly.” Meyer, 51, a Minnesota native who once served in the Air Force and who later became a bank technology expert in Colo-
rado, had been missing since February before authorities found her remains on a private property near Bailey in July. For months, Miller, 55 — who had remained friends and roommates with Meyer after the two had previously shared an intimate relationship — had either denied having anything to do with Meyer’s death or refused to talk to police. She finally admitted to her involvement to authorities during a July 15 interview, according to a Park County Sheriff’s Office arrest warrant affidavit that was recently obtained by Colorado Community Media. Miller told police that, for several days leading up to their altercation, she and Meyer “had been arguing about the cost of work that she was going to be doing in the back yard (of their Wheat Ridge residence).” That ongoing argument ended violently on Feb. 18, after the two had tak-
en a drive through the mountains, “before coming to a stop on a winding dirt road near Bailey … “ the affidavit states. During the argument, which took place along Park County Road 64, Meyer either “poked” or “hit” Miller. Miller retaliated by swinging a walking stick toward Meyer, which struck her in the head, causing her to bleed and eventually stop breathing. Miller told police that she tried to stop the bleeding “by wrapping Saran Wrap” around Meyer’s head, but to no avail. Miller told the detective that at one point, Meyer’s body rolled down the hill from the road. Miller said she started to drive away, then went back toward Meyer, but was unable to locate her. Miller admitted that she never called Meyer continues on Page 5
Lighting up the night Wheat Ridge Parks and Recreation Department crew member Domonic Grine steadies a large holiday wreath outside of City Hall on Nov. 26. Photo by Vic Vela
Board prez responds: We’re not Dougco Newly elected Jeffco school board meets By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com Ken Witt knew there were a lot of questions and concerns going on inside the minds of attendees of a Nov. 21 Jefferson County school board meeting, a little more than two weeks removed from an election that swept con-
servatives like himself into power. “I want to do some rumor control,” Witt said, moments after fellow board members voted him new president of the Jeffco Board of Education. Witt then tried to assure uneasy parents and district employees that the new board had “no intention of becoming Douglas County” — referring to a school district that has received national news over controversial reform efforts put in place by conserva-
POSTAL ADDRESS
tive board members there. Witt addressed the Douglas County elephant in the room, as well as other areas of concern that were present going into his first board meeting. And it was clear that Witt needed to, based on many of the comments that were directed at the board that evening. “Let me say the new board scares me and most my colleagues to death,” said Jim Fernald, a teacher at Lakewood High School, who said he didn’t want Jeffco to go the way of either Douglas County or Denver Public Schools — two districts that also saw reform candidates win school board races earlier in the month. “We all know the fantastic things that are done in our district and we are sorely afraid that your true agenda is to dismantle those successes,” Fernald said, who received applause at the conclusion
of his comments. Witt and fellow conservatives Julie Williams and John Newkirk rode a statewide pro-reform and anti-Amendment 66 wave into the win column on Nov. 5. On Nov. 21, they were sworn into their new seats on the Jeffco school board, the governing body of a district that serves more than 85,000 students. The new office holders of the five-member board were elected to leadership positions: Witt as board president, Williams as first vice president and Newkirk as secretary. Witt takes over a position that had been held by Lesley Dahlkemper, who remains a board member, but who no longer will hold the title of board president. “It’s been an absolute honor and privilege to serve as your board president,” she told the audience. The swearing in of the new
board members — who replace Laura Boggs and Paula Noonan, who did not seek re-election — comes on the heels of the recent announcement by longtime district Superintendent Cindy Stevenson that she will be retiring at the end of June. Stevenson’s move was made after the new board was voted into power. “We’re saddened that our superintendent has tendered her resignation,” he said. “I’ve looked forward to working with her for a good long time. She’s provided consistent leadership.” Witt also said that the board intends to conduct a nationwide Board continues on Page 5
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