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Photo Of Suspect In Strasburg Murder Was Key In Finding Him

DENVER (CBS4) - A man suspected in the murder of his ex-wife in Strasburg was arrested in Denver Tuesday morning.

Andrew Ausmus, 58, was found in Confluence Park by a citizen who recognized him from a picture shared by the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office on CBS4 and social media.

"The person thought they looked familiar and called police," Julie Brooks, spokesperson for the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office, told CBS4.

Andrew Ausmus
Andrew Ausmus (credit: Arapahoe County Sheriff)

Ausmus' ex-wife was found murdered in her burning home Saturday. Her body was found by firefighters at the house in the 4100 block of South Country Road 157 at 1:10 a.m. Firefighters pulled her body from the garage as they worked to extinguish the flames.

body found in strasburg house
Theresa Ausmus' burned home in Strasburg (credit: CBS)

Authorities released a picture of Ausmus the next day hoping the public would be able to help track him down. That's exactly what happened in this case.

"We're always hopeful that somebody's paying attention and will watch and will look around, be aware," Brooks said. "We were fortunate this time that he was fairly distinctive."

Denver police arrested Ausmus without incident. He is facing first-degree murder charges, however the investigation is ongoing.

"Just because an arrest has been made certainly doesn't mean that the investigation stops," Brooks said. "We still have a lot of investigation left to do."

Investigators are still trying to determine a motive in this case. Family told CBS4 Ausmus and his ex-wife had a history of domestic issues.

All court documents pertaining to the case are sealed.

Kelly Werthmann joined the CBS4 team in 2012 as the morning reporter, covering national stories like the Aurora Theater Shooting and devastating Colorado wildfires. She now reports for CBS4 News at 10 and is always open to story ideas. Connect with her on Facebook or Twitter @KellyCBS4.

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