Friend Says Murder Victim 'Mean' To Everybody, 'Threatened To Kill Me'
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4)- Neighbors and family friends are reacting to the murder of an Englewood woman, allegedly killed and dismembered by her daughter's boyfriend.
"She's a lovely lady and she's been done a terrible thing," said neighbor Jean Lesneister.
Police said that Alisia Blythe reported her 55-year-old mother, Jackie Degarmo, missing on April 24; although Blythe told police her mother was last seen on Feb. 21.
Her body was found by hikers in Clear Creek County on May 3. Investigators said the head and hands had been removed from the body. A tattoo on the body helped investigators identify it as Degarmo.
Police believe Degarmo was killed in her own home nearly three months ago by Blythe's boyfriend John Brant. Investigators say when they asked Brant what happened, he confessed to strangling her in her own home in the 4000 block of South Logan Street and dismembering her body before dumping it in rural Clear Creek County.
"I was pushed, man," Brant told investigators, according to the affidavit. "I'm really not a violent person … this is not something that I ever thought in my life would ever happen."
"I feel creepy that it happened. I'm not shocked," said a family friend who didn't want to be identified.
She said Degarmo was mean to everyone, "She's threatened me with a stick. She threatened to kill me a couple of times."
Blythe told police that her mother swung a stick at her and then threatened to shoot Brant with a BB gun on Feb. 21. Police believe Brant killed Degarmo that same day. Blythe told police he dragged her mother's body into the snow so it could be "preserved."
According to the arrest affidavit, Brant later told Blythe he "took care of the body" but didn't say how.
Brant told investigators that "people make mistakes."
"I'm heartbroken that such a lovely lady, such a sweet lady, is apparently gone for good," said Lesneister.
Additional Information From The Englewood Police Department
Detectives are asking for the public's help with locating the vehicle belonging to the victim. It is a 1997 Nissan 200sx, metallic blue in color, with Colorado license plate # 632LHE. If you have information on this vehicle, please contact the Englewood Police Department immediately at 303-761-7410. (See picture of victims vehicle)
