CO CO - Kelsie Schelling, 21, pregnant, Pueblo, 4 Feb 2013 *Arrest*

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  • #521
  • #522
Kelsie Schelling's family has amended their lawsuit against the Pueblo Police Department.

You may recall, Schelling's mother, Laura Saxton, filed suit earlier this year and is upset with how detectives are handling her daughter's disappearance.

The complaint reveals troubling accusations that the Pueblo Police Department botched the case by failing to send evidence off for testing and ignoring leads.http://www.koaa.com/story/28734058/...inst-the-city-of-pueblo-and-police-department

Explosive, sickening details.

Link to the lawsuit. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6slmuQoMVK3QkkzZUwxWmJERHM/view?hc_location=ufi
 
  • #523
Well, my son and I looked around right by Boggs Creek-we were by the Rocket Launch site. I wish we had known that was an area of interest then. I've always personally thought Kelsie was probably in the Beulah/San Isabel forest area. I figured the hard yellow substance on her car was dried pine tree sap, and the place you'd find those is in the mountains. Here's the excerpt from the lawsuit:
On July 21 of 2014, the Pueblo Police Department brought tracking dogs
to a “hot” area off of Highway 78 known as Bogg’s Creek. According to Detective
Robinson the dogs showed a great deal of interest in one of the ravines along the creek,
however the ravine was full of tumbleweeds, obstructing the tracking dogs. Detective
Robinson advised that the Pueblo Police Department intended to burn out the area.
Several alternative options were suggested by the family’s investigator, who also
strenuously objected to burning out the area, and Detective Robinson advised that he
would discuss the matter with is supervisors. As of the current date, on information and
belief, Detective Robinson and the Pueblo Police Department have not followed up with
a further search of the areas along Bogg’s Creek.
 
  • #524
This is unbelievably negligent if true!
41. Although Sara Lucas was regularly late paying her rent prior to February
of 2013, she started to pay her rent promptly in February of 2013. In September of 2013,
Sara Lucas’s landlord received notice that the utilities in her rental home were turned off.
He found that the house was vacated and trashed. Sara Lucas appears to have vacated her
Pueblo residence some months prior to September of 2013 because maggots covered the
kitchen and soiled laundry throughout the house. The landlord arranged for the required
repairs, including replacement of the carpet. When the carpet was pulled up in the living
room, the bottom was soaked with a substance that appeared to be blood, with several
drops leading from the living room and pooling in a closet. The landlord notified the
Pueblo Police Department and offered to give them access to the house. Although the
police would not investigate the scene at that time, the landlord waited several weeks for
the Pueblo Police Department to collect the carpet. When the landlord offered to bring
the carpet to the Pueblo Police Department, he was instructed not to bring the carpet.
Unaware of the entire matter that is the subject of this case, the landlord eventually
disposed of the carpet. After Detective Robinson contacted the landlord in January of
2014, the Pueblo Police Department decided not to conduct a further investigation on the
alleged blood found in Sara Lucas’s residence, although traces of blood could plausibly
be located to this date. The Pueblo Police Department Defendant’s shocking indifference
to securing the carpet or remaining biological traces at the former residence of Donthe
and Sara Lucas demonstrated the intentional abandonment of clearly inculpatory
evidence that is material to any criminal investigation of the disappearance and death of
Kelsie Schelling and to Plaintiffs’ wrongful death case against the Lucases.
 
  • #525
This is unbelievably negligent if true!
41. Although Sara Lucas was regularly late paying her rent prior to February
of 2013, she started to pay her rent promptly in February of 2013. In September of 2013,
Sara Lucas’s landlord received notice that the utilities in her rental home were turned off.
He found that the house was vacated and trashed. Sara Lucas appears to have vacated her
Pueblo residence some months prior to September of 2013 because maggots covered the
kitchen and soiled laundry throughout the house. The landlord arranged for the required
repairs, including replacement of the carpet. When the carpet was pulled up in the living
room, the bottom was soaked with a substance that appeared to be blood, with several
drops leading from the living room and pooling in a closet. The landlord notified the
Pueblo Police Department and offered to give them access to the house. Although the
police would not investigate the scene at that time, the landlord waited several weeks for
the Pueblo Police Department to collect the carpet. When the landlord offered to bring
the carpet to the Pueblo Police Department, he was instructed not to bring the carpet.
Unaware of the entire matter that is the subject of this case, the landlord eventually
disposed of the carpet. After Detective Robinson contacted the landlord in January of
2014, the Pueblo Police Department decided not to conduct a further investigation on the
alleged blood found in Sara Lucas’s residence, although traces of blood could plausibly
be located to this date. The Pueblo Police Department Defendant’s shocking indifference
to securing the carpet or remaining biological traces at the former residence of Donthe
and Sara Lucas demonstrated the intentional abandonment of clearly inculpatory
evidence that is material to any criminal investigation of the disappearance and death of
Kelsie Schelling and to Plaintiffs’ wrongful death case against the Lucases.

I would think they would contact Kelsie's parents about the carpet
 
  • #526
Since they have a POI, Donthe Lucas, can we sleuth him?

Only if he has been named as a suspect in Main stream media.
 
  • #527
Well, iluvmua, here's the rub. He was declared a POI initially, but then in Jan. the police backpedalled and said he's not one. So I have no idea.
 
  • #528
From facebook:
We will be searching on Saturday April 11, 2015 @ 9:00a.m. . NO CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 15 PLEASE!¡* We will be meeting in the parking lot of the Loaf & Jug located @ 1201 west Pueblo Blvd & will be travelling to our destination. Instructions will be given @ that time. Please dress in old clothes & appropriately for the weather. Water bottles will be provided.
 
  • #529
From facebook:
We will be searching on Saturday April 11, 2015 @ 9:00a.m. . NO CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 15 PLEASE!¡* We will be meeting in the parking lot of the Loaf & Jug located @ 1201 west Pueblo Blvd & will be travelling to our destination. Instructions will be given @ that time. Please dress in old clothes & appropriately for the weather. Water bottles will be provided.

I wish I lived anywhere close by. I would love to volunteer to help. This case has kept me up many nights. (My prayers and thoughts are always with Kelsie's mother and father and all her family and friends.) Some things I will never understand in this world. One is for one human to kill another and then how justice can be delayed and denied in so many cases. :waiting:
 
  • #530
Maybe they will replace the ineffective, incompetent detective Robinson. I've not heard one good thing about him from anyone. He should have been replaced long ago. The Lucas family holds no sway over anyone in this town-they are not wealthy, well thought of or well-connected. I think it's more of a question of extreme laziness and incompetence rather than conspiracy to aid the perps. The lawsuit was the reason the presser was cancelled-the PD can no longer discuss this case while the suit is in litigation. The good thing about this suit is that they can ask questions of Donthe that he didn't have to answer in the criminal case. Of course, he still will probably refuse to answer them, but then he risks losing the civil suit. Hopefully, it leads to Justice for Kelsie and peace for her tortured family.

Hi Spamelope,

I've been following the AJ case and I enjoy your posts over there too. You're very helpful and you contribute a lot of insight..thank you :clap:

As far as Kelsie's case I'm glad to read this post. I've been wondering what is the deal with the police department?! I too was wondering if the Lucas family had connections of some sort or pull somewhere somehow. The only other thing I could think of was a lazy and incompetent police staff ...I don't know how they keep getting away with all they have done and not done. It blows my mind. After being on this site for several years it is not easy to blow my mind anymore. But this does. I feel incredibly sorry for the Kelsie's mother and father. I am so glad they filed this lawsuit and I pray Kelsie is found. I hope Justice comes around to not only the perp but everyone and anyone who assisted. Also, I hope if these allegations are true about this police dept that should absolutely be dealt with too but I won't my breath.
 
  • #531
Hi Spamelope,

I've been following the AJ case and I enjoy your posts over there too. You're very helpful and you contribute a lot of insight..thank you :clap:

As far as Kelsie's case I'm glad to read this post. I've been wondering what is the deal with the police department?! I too was wondering if the Lucas family had connections of some sort or pull somewhere somehow. The only other thing I could think of was a lazy and incompetent police staff ...I don't know how they keep getting away with all they have done and not done. It blows my mind. After being on this site for several years it is not easy to blow my mind anymore. But this does. I feel incredibly sorry for the Kelsie's mother and father. I am so glad they filed this lawsuit and I pray Kelsie is found. I hope Justice comes around to not only the perp but everyone and anyone who assisted. Also, I hope if these allegations are true about this police dept that should absolutely be dealt with too but I won't my breath.

From what I see; it appears they're prejudice. They do nothing for Thomas Cook who is mixed (white/ African American). Kelsie is white carrying a mixed baby.
 
  • #532
" "We initially were working towards the identity theft but it, we found out through further investigation that that was not uncommon that she had given him permission in the past to use the card," McLachlan explained. "

http://www.koaa.com/story/27979233/pueblo-police-look-for-tips-in-kelsie-schelling-disappearance

Man, looking back and getting caught up, this really bothers me (along with everything else!). The young lady has gone missing, he is using her credit card....argh, :banghead: Even on all the TV crime shows they emphasize this...I mean, yeah he gave her permission, but still...
 
  • #533
Bringing this forward for reference:

I love your sig! It's so true!



Link to law suit; plus grabbed a little bit of the text

Case 1:15-cv-00255-MJW Document 1 Filed 02/05/15 USDC Colorado

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Civil Action No. 15-cv-255
LAURA SAXTON and
DOUG SCHELLING, as the surviving parent of Kelsie Schelling, decedent.

DONTHE LUCAS,
DAWN SHAY LUCAS,
DETECTIVE NEAL ROBINSON, in his individual capacity,
SERGEANT KEN ESPINOZA, in his individual capacity,
DEPUTY POLICE CHIEF ANDREW McLACHLAN, in his individual capacity, and
CITY OF PUEBLO, COLORADO,

COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND JURY DEMAND

Plaintiffs, above-named, by and through its counsel, Lonn M. Heymann of Lonn
Heymann Law Firm, P.C., for their Complaint for Damages and Jury Demand hereby
allege as follows:

INTRODUCTION

1. This is a civil rights action for damages resulting from the deprivation of
civil rights under color of law. Kelsie Schelling’s parents, Laura Saxton and Doug
Schelling (herein referred to collectively as “Plaintiffs”), seek damages, declaratory, and
injunctive relief to remedy the deprivation of their right of access to courts by the City of
Pueblo, Colorado, Detective Neal Robinson, Sergeant Ken Espinoza, and Deputy Police
Chief Andrew McLachlan (herein referred to collectively as “Pueblo Police Department
Defendants”). Plaintiff’s also state a claim for wrongful death against Donthe Lucas, Sara
Lucas, Vivian Lucas, and Dawn Shay Lucas (herein referred to collectively as “Lucas

2. Plaintiffs seek relief for the Pueblo Police Department Defendants’
deliberate interference with their right to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Colorado
District Court, pursuant to Colorado Wrongful Death Act, C.R.S. § 13-21-201, et seq., by
refusing to open and investigate a criminal case arising from the death and disappearance
of Kelsie Schelling on or about February 5, 2013, in Pueblo, Colorado, by tampering with
or destroying evidence material to any wrongful death claim, by deliberately disregarding
compelling leads and evidence pointing to the homicide of Kelsie Schelling by Donthe
Lucas, with whom Kelsie Schelling had driven from Denver to Pueblo to discuss her
pregnancy with his child.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

9. Kelsie Schelling (herein “Kelsie”) was feloniously killed on or about
February 5, 2013 by Donthe Lucas. The Lucas Defendants conspired with or acted as an
Case 1:15-cv-00255-MJW Document 1 Filed 02/05/15 USDC Colorado Page 4 of 21

10. Kelsie’s disappearance occurred after she was “coaxed” into traveling to
Pueblo Colorado on February 4, 2013 by Donthe Lucas (Father of Kelsie’s child) and his
mother Sara Lucas. Kelsie attended medical appointment in Denver during the morning
hours of February 4 and confirmed that she was two months pregnant with Donthe
Lucas’s child. Communications between Kelsie, Donthe and Sara Lucas via text
messages and phones calls indicates that Donthe and Sara sent a plethora of messages
trying to convince Kelsie to travel to Pueblo before attending her Doctors appointment.
Kelsie however elected to wait and attended the medical appointment and confirmed she
was in fact pregnant before traveling to meet with Donthe and his mother. After the
Doctor’s appointment Kelsie returned to work and finished the work-day before traveling

11. At 11:20p.m. on the evening of February 4, 2013, Kelsie arrived at the
Wal-Mart at 4080 West Northern, Pueblo, Colorado to meet Donthe as directed by him.
Donthe was not at Wal-Mart and kept stalling for time through text messages before
directing her to another unknown location. At 12:32 a.m., in the early morning hours of
February 5, 2013 Kelsie sent Donthe a text message wanting to know where he was at,
complaining that she had been waiting for over an hour for him. That was the last
confirmed message that will indicate that Kelsie was alive. At 3:54 a.m. Donthe calls
Kelsie's cell phone. According to cellular tower pings and triangulation, Donthe and
Kelsie’s cell phones where in a very close proximity of each other and concluded that
Donthe had no reason to call the Kelsie’s phone. The theory is that Kelsie had been
murdered before this call was made and that the call was made to Kelsie’s phone to locate

12. Throughout the rest of the night various text messages were
communicated between Kelsie’s cell phone and Donthe’s cell phone. An analysis of text
verbiage from Kelsie’s phone after the 3:54A.M. time period, would indicate that the
messages where not being typed by Kelsie and the wording, spelling and type of verbiage
used was not close to the traditional verbiage used in previous messages. The content of
the messages made no sense and were out of context.

13. At 11:39 a.m., on February 5, 2013, Donthe Lucas travels to Canon
National Bank in Pueblo, driving Kelsie’s 2011 Black Chevrolet Cruze and withdraws
$400.00 cash from the ATM with Kelsie’s ATM card. Surveillance video clearly shows
that that Donthe Lucas is driving the car and that Kelsie is not present.

14. Donthe Lucas is then observed by surveillance video parking Kelsie’s car
at the Wal-Mart parking lot, located at 4080 West Northern Avenue in Pueblo. Donthe
exits the car and walks to the rear of the store where he was picked up by his mother,
Sara Lucas, and grandmother, Vivian Lucas. For the next 18 hours, Kelsie’s car sits in the
same parked position. No one else exits the car or enters the car until February 6, 2013 at
7:20 a.m. when an African-American male walks directly to the car from the same
walking path that Donthe Lucas takes to leave the car from the rear of the store. That
male was accompanied in another vehicle by Dawn Shay Lucas who acted as a lookout.
Case 1:15-cv-00255-MJW Document 1 Filed 02/05/15 USDC Colorado Page 6 of 21

15. Immediately following the evident criminal conduct toward Kelsie
Schelling, her family, Plaintiffs, filed a missing person’s report and sought the assistance
of law enforcement, including the Pueblo Police Department, and the media.

16. As of February 5, 2015, there is no record listed within the Pueblo Police
Departments online records data-base that Kelsie Schelling’s disappearance has ever been
logged as an open investigation assigned with a Pueblo Police Department case number.
There has never been a Pueblo Police Department Case File Number identified to
Kelsie’s family or to the Investigators that the family has privately hired.

17. The Pueblo Police failed to retrieve evidence from the Denver Police
Department to be submitted to the Colorado Crime Laboratory to obtain DNA
classification required to be submitted into a National data-base. Over a year later, these
items were not processed for DNA.

...
 
  • #534
(Man, this is ridiculous, this is really infuriating)
 
  • #535
From facebook:
We will be searching on Saturday April 11, 2015 @ 9:00a.m. . NO CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 15 PLEASE!¡* We will be meeting in the parking lot of the Loaf & Jug located @ 1201 west Pueblo Blvd & will be travelling to our destination. Instructions will be given @ that time. Please dress in old clothes & appropriately for the weather. Water bottles will be provided.

Good luck to all the searchers today!
 
  • #536
I just don't get it...these guys seem to have gotten away with so much!!!
 
  • #537
I just don't get it...these guys seem to have gotten away with so much!!!

My question is why did they let him get away with killing Kelsie & her baby?
 
  • #538
Hi Spamelope,

I've been following the AJ case and I enjoy your posts over there too. You're very helpful and you contribute a lot of insight..thank you :clap:

As far as Kelsie's case I'm glad to read this post. I've been wondering what is the deal with the police department?! I too was wondering if the Lucas family had connections of some sort or pull somewhere somehow. The only other thing I could think of was a lazy and incompetent police staff ...I don't know how they keep getting away with all they have done and not done. It blows my mind. After being on this site for several years it is not easy to blow my mind anymore. But this does. I feel incredibly sorry for the Kelsie's mother and father. I am so glad they filed this lawsuit and I pray Kelsie is found. I hope Justice comes around to not only the perp but everyone and anyone who assisted. Also, I hope if these allegations are true about this police dept that should absolutely be dealt with too but I won't my breath.

Thank you very much, Elisaa. :blushing: I've really had a lot of reasons to admire the Pueblo PD. All in all, it's a fine department, except for a few bad apples. The one bad apple named in the suit needs to be made an example of. I fully back the claims of incompetence, but I don't think it's a conspiracy. I don't think the police are racist at all-we have a heavily Hispanic population here. If you look at the names on the lawsuit, many are Spanish. At the first hint of personal conflict, the detective should have been replaced. The Schellings were already victims, and should have been treated with the utmost deference, not victimized again by unfeeling LE. I want to point out, too, that many other branches of LE are involved with this case. Pueblo PD and Sheriff's Dept., FBI, CBI, and even retired CIA. Many of the searches have involved LE and K9s from all over the state. The FBI has done flyovers in helicopters. It has never been just the Pueblo PD on this case. We have had organized searches and many people on their own looking for Kelsie. The best tip I've heard of yet is the dogs showing interest in the Bogg's Creek ravine. We searched Bogg's Creek a few miles away at the reservoir, not near the Beulah Highway. It sure sounds like someone is there-and we have many missing here in Pueblo. Is it Kelsie? I don't know. I know that just today, my granddaughter and I were playing in the yard, and my place is like a singles bar for unattached tumbleweed. It is impossible to pick up without a suit of armor. It's very prickly and some are massive-3'-4' in circumference. There's nothing so daunting as looking at a ravine 6ft or more deep in tumbleweed. I agree with the PD wanting to burn it. Would evidence be lost? Perhaps, but I'm not sure there would be much left after 26 months in the elements anyway. As it's very light, it doesn't burn very hot. Something has to be done. I hope and pray Kelsie is found. Her parents deserve at least that much.
 
  • #539
Thank you very much, Elisaa. :blushing: I've really had a lot of reasons to admire the Pueblo PD. All in all, it's a fine department, except for a few bad apples. The one bad apple named in the suit needs to be made an example of. I fully back the claims of incompetence, but I don't think it's a conspiracy. I don't think the police are racist at all-we have a heavily Hispanic population here. If you look at the names on the lawsuit, many are Spanish. At the first hint of personal conflict, the detective should have been replaced. The Schellings were already victims, and should have been treated with the utmost deference, not victimized again by unfeeling LE. I want to point out, too, that many other branches of LE are involved with this case. Pueblo PD and Sheriff's Dept., FBI, CBI, and even retired CIA. Many of the searches have involved LE and K9s from all over the state. The FBI has done flyovers in helicopters. It has never been just the Pueblo PD on this case. We have had organized searches and many people on their own looking for Kelsie. The best tip I've heard of yet is the dogs showing interest in the Bogg's Creek ravine. We searched Bogg's Creek a few miles away at the reservoir, not near the Beulah Highway. It sure sounds like someone is there-and we have many missing here in Pueblo. Is it Kelsie? I don't know. I know that just today, my granddaughter and I were playing in the yard, and my place is like a singles bar for unattached tumbleweed. It is impossible to pick up without a suit of armor. It's very prickly and some are massive-3'-4' in circumference. There's nothing so daunting as looking at a ravine 6ft or more deep in tumbleweed. I agree with the PD wanting to burn it. Would evidence be lost? Perhaps, but I'm not sure there would be much left after 26 months in the elements anyway. As it's very light, it doesn't burn very hot. Something has to be done. I hope and pray Kelsie is found. Her parents deserve at least that much.


Thank you so much Spamelope for all of that info!! I really appreciate you pointing out all the other branches of LE involved. It is good to know it has not just been the Pueblo PD on this. Yes, I agree that the detective should have been replaced as soon as personal conflict was known. I am baffled this was not done. Not only that but how long this has been allowed to go on (as far as not working with Kelsie's parents to put it mildly) ..I say that after reading the lawsuit.
Thanks again for all of your info on this case. I have a better overall picture!
 
  • #540
Thank you very much, Elisaa. :blushing: I've really had a lot of reasons to admire the Pueblo PD. All in all, it's a fine department, except for a few bad apples. The one bad apple named in the suit needs to be made an example of. I fully back the claims of incompetence, but I don't think it's a conspiracy. I don't think the police are racist at all-we have a heavily Hispanic population here. If you look at the names on the lawsuit, many are Spanish. At the first hint of personal conflict, the detective should have been replaced. The Schellings were already victims, and should have been treated with the utmost deference, not victimized again by unfeeling LE. I want to point out, too, that many other branches of LE are involved with this case. Pueblo PD and Sheriff's Dept., FBI, CBI, and even retired CIA. Many of the searches have involved LE and K9s from all over the state. The FBI has done flyovers in helicopters. It has never been just the Pueblo PD on this case. We have had organized searches and many people on their own looking for Kelsie. The best tip I've heard of yet is the dogs showing interest in the Bogg's Creek ravine. We searched Bogg's Creek a few miles away at the reservoir, not near the Beulah Highway. It sure sounds like someone is there-and we have many missing here in Pueblo. Is it Kelsie? I don't know. I know that just today, my granddaughter and I were playing in the yard, and my place is like a singles bar for unattached tumbleweed. It is impossible to pick up without a suit of armor. It's very prickly and some are massive-3'-4' in circumference. There's nothing so daunting as looking at a ravine 6ft or more deep in tumbleweed. I agree with the PD wanting to burn it. Would evidence be lost? Perhaps, but I'm not sure there would be much left after 26 months in the elements anyway. As it's very light, it doesn't burn very hot. Something has to be done. I hope and pray Kelsie is found. Her parents deserve at least that much.

I do not live there; my opinion has been with what I am seeing & hearing between Thomas & Kelsie plus the others that are missing. They sure seem like they have some issue with people like Thomas & Kelsie. Spanish people may not like mixed people. I honestly do not know.

As for tumbleweed; didn't someone post a link that showed how dangerous tumbleweed is?
 
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