Police Call Annie Meyer's Roommate 'Person Of Interest' In Her Death
WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. (CBS4) - Police in Wheat Ridge said on Tuesday they have commenced a criminal investigation into the death of Annie Meyer.
Bones of a person were found in Park County on July 4, and confirmation that it was missing woman Leann "Annie" Meyer from Wheat Ridge was made public on Monday.
On Tuesday morning during a news conference investigators wouldn't talk about where the remains were found, and they said they don't suspect the owners of the properties in the area where the body was found had something to do with the death.
On Monday night Bailey resident Don Dominick told CBS4 he made the discovery with other family members.
"Because we're up here in a remote area we're used to finding bones, but they're deer and they're coyote and they're mountain lion and they're all kinds of things, but you're not quite used to this," Dominick said.
Meyer hadn't been seen since February. In March police found Meyer's SUV and pickup truck in different locations just miles from her home.
"The investigation into the disappearance of Annie Meyer now shifts to a criminal investigation with the desired goal of bringing a prosecutable case to the district attorney's office," said Wheat Ridge Police Chief Dan Brennan on Tuesday.
VIDEO: Watch Tuesday Morning News Conference
Brennan and other officials said an investigation of the crime scene is continuing. They also said they don't have the ability to talk to Meyer's roommate Melissa Miller, who they wouldn't name as a suspect and described simply as a "person of interest" in the case. Miller has refused to cooperate with police in recent months and has hired a lawyer.
"We've been investigating this for five months, we've certainly developed leads and obviously we're very interested in Melissa Miller, but that's as far as that's goes right now," said Wheat Ridge Investigations Commander Dave Pickett. "She's invoked her Fifth Amendment rights, which are absolute. And so our ability to speak with her is nonexistent."
Meyer, from Minnesota, has eight brothers and sisters who were very involved in the search for her. Brennan said Tuesday his department "expresses heartfelt condolences to the family of Annie Meyer."
"We're happy she's found. I wish it would have been under different circumstances. I wish she was alive, but we knew that wasn't going to be possible," Meyer's mother Pat Meyer said.
Dominick said he's hoping the discovery will help the family find closure. Meyer's brother Mark Meyer told CBS4, "We are now at the point that we hope to find out exactly what happened."
"Finding my sister was a key part of this whole case, because without a body we may not have a case," Mark Meyer said.
