Woman Whose Body Was Found On Lookout Mountain Identified
GOLDEN, Colo. (AP/CBS4) - Authorities have identified a woman whose body was found on Lookout Mountain.
Jacki Kelley, spokeswoman for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, said Sandra Meza, 38, was stabbed to death.
Meza was starting a new life in Colorado after leaving her home state of California behind. She was also known by Sandra Walker, her birth name, and Sandra Mercado.
During a prison stay in California Meza started a relationship by writing letters to Hector Pulido, an inmate at a prison in Colorado.
"They started writing a year ago or so and my son just told me in December that Sandra's going to come out," said Rosario Kern, Pulido's mother.
Meza eventually came to Colorado and moved in with Kern and began working at a restaurant in Aurora called Tacos Tijuana.
Kern says for a while Meza was like the daughter she never had.
"She was really happy, she was making jokes all the time, she was, I think, a good person," said Kern.
However, a few weeks later, Kern says Meza's smoking and drinking habits were too much for her and she asked Meza to find a new place to stay. That happened three weeks ago.
"I don't know really who she was hanging with after she moved out," said Kern.
Kern says she doesn't know where Meza was living before her body was found on Lookout Mountain.
A hiker found the body near Windy Saddle Park and the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave on Thursday morning.
Kern says her son feels helpless behind bars and that the woman he loved is now gone.
"He can't believe because he's the one who asked her to move out here to Colorado and I understand how my son feels in there you know," said Kern.
Additional Resources
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office released the following statement in connection with this case:
Anyone with information concerning (the victim) is asked to call the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office at 303-271-5612 or Crimestoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867).
CORRECTION: - An earlier version of this story contained information that may be inaccurate regarding the circumstances surrounding the murder.
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