KENIA MONGE - 19 yo - Denver CO

Women say they were drugged at bar where teen went missing

9:32 p.m. MDT, May 25, 2011

DENVER – The family of missing 19-year-old Kenia Monge has
been contacted by six women in the past six weeks, all claiming they
were drugged at different lower downtown Denver nightclubs.

Two of those women are convinced they were slipped a drug at the 24K
Lounge, the Lodo nightclub where Kenia Monge’s friends last her saw her
alive in the early morning hours of April 1, 2011.

“My heart just fell to my feet,” one woman told FOX31 Denver after seeing Kenia’s story on the news.

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The women, who are afraid to be identified, say they are
speaking publicly for one reason, saying “if our story can help somebody
else, it will be worth it.”


The women say the incident happened July 3, when they arrived at 24K Lounge.

They say they hadn’t had anything to drink and were sober, and they
claim as soon as they got to the bar a man they didn’t know bought them
each one shot of alcohol. A few minutes later, they were both
incapacitated.

“My body just started giving out,” one woman said.

The other woman claims she wandered away from the bar and was found by a relative who just happened to be driving by.

“My legs gave out,” she said. “I was laying in the street.”

The women say the man who bought them the shot tried to take one of them home, but their friend intervened.

“I feel like we were lucky,” she said.

The women reached out to Kenia’s father and mother, Tony and Maria Lee.

The Lee’s now believe Kenia had to have been drugged, too.

“This is what we think happened to Kenia," Tony said, “she staggered
out of the bar and was wandering the streets in no particular direction,
doing things she would never do. So there's no question in my mind."

A spokesperson for 24K Lounge sent FOX31 Denver a statement, which reads in part:

“We pride ourselves on a safe environment at 24K. We provide both a
drug free and safe drinking environment…in eight years of operation we
have never received any liquor violations, including those with regard
to a minor...Our hearts and prayers go out to the family and friends of
Kenia Monge.”

The Lee’s are living every parent’s nightmare, not knowing where their daughter is and praying for her safe return.

“I wake up every night at 1am and I start praying and I say, Jesus, please, take care of my baby," Maria said.

That’s why they want to warn all women to be careful, and don’t end up like Kenia.

The two women who spoke to FOX 31 Denver say they wanted to go the
police, but because it took them nearly 24 hours to recover, they
thought too much time has elapsed.

Police say this type of crime often goes unreported.

They say that if it happens to you, you need to report it right away.

The person who did it could face drug charges, assault or even sexual assault.
http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-women-say-they-were-drugged-at-bar-where-teen-went-missing-20110525,0,4675535.story

JEFFERSON COUNTY - The last person known to have seen 19-year-old
Kenia Monge before she disappeared on April 1 has been extradited from
Texas back to Colorado and was officially charged Tuesday in Jefferson
County District Court.
Travis Forbes - who calls himself the main suspect in the
missing-teen case - has not been charged with her disappearance. Denver
Police do not call him a suspect.
Instead, Forbes was charged with allegedly stealing a car from Wheat
Ridge, Colorado and driving it to Austin, Texas, where police found and
arrested him in earlier in May. The charge of first-degree aggravated
motor-vehicle theft is a felony and carries a penalty of two to six
years in prison, according to a spokeswoman for the First Judicial
District.
Forbes was also charged with misdemeanor theft, contempt of court,
domestic violence, driving under revocation, no proof of insurance and
driving with expired plates, according to Jacki Kelli, spokeswoman for
the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department.
A written summons from Lakewood says Forbes was cited for theft in
January 2011 after trying to leave Walmart with unpaid merchandise
totaling $63.58 in his arms. The summons says Forbes dropped the items
when he was confronted by a store employee and that he left in a white
van. Police stopped the van, which had expired plates, according to the
summons.
In April, Forbes told 9Wants to Know that he spotted Monge drunk
outside of a bar where she was talking to a homeless man. He says he and
his friend Eddie offered to give her a ride home. First, he dropped
Eddie off near his house, then Forbes says he drove Monge to a Conoco
along Speer Boulevard to try to buy cigarettes. When she saw the gas
station was closed, he says Monge jumped out of his white van and bummed
a cigarette off of another man and, ultimately, walked away with him.
Forbes says he did not kidnap, hurt or kill Monge.
In court on Tuesday, Forbes was held over on $50,000 bond.
When asked if he'd like to speak to the media, he replied, "F--- no! They're the reason why I'm here."

http://www.9news.com/news/article/201022/188/Man-connected-to-missing-teen-charged-with-auto-theft

DENVER -- For Kenia Monge's parents, life stopped the day she disappeared."Life
has gone on for everybody else. But our lives are still on April, 1,
2011," said Tony Lee, Monge's father. "What we felt on that day, we feel
on this day."It's been more than two months since Monge vanished.
Last month, Texas police arrested Travis Forbes, a self-described suspect in the case, on unrelated auto theft charges.Forbes
was the last person who gave her a ride. But he still has not been
named by police as an official suspect in her disappearance.The
19-year-old Cherry Creek High School graduate left her cell phone, purse
and car keys in a downtown Denver night club and left her family
clinging to each other, feeling helpless."Every single night, I
go to bed, and I think 'Where is she? Where is my baby?' I need her.
This is too much for me," said Maria Lee, Monge's mother.Together,
the parents find strength in searching for their daughter. They're
putting up 10,000 new missing posters all over Denver.They also launched a Help Us Find Kenia Facebook page.They're
preparing Monge's princess room, complete with presents and a prom
dress for the day she returns. And they're praying that one day she
will."Our only purpose in life right now is to get her home. That's all there is. There is nothing more," said Tony Lee.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/28215116/detail.html

DENVER - More than three months have passed since a teenage girl
went missing in downtown Denver, but the family of Kenia Monge says they
refuse to give up.
The 19-year-old was in the area of 14th and Market Streets
on April 1 when she and her friends lost contact. She was seen a short
time later at the Conoco gas station nearby, and hasn't been heard from
since.
"It's just been hard for us, so hard," said her mother, Maria Lee. "Somebody has to know something."
Denver Police say this is one of their "top priority" cases, and the
family is so convinced that somebody knows what happened to Kenia Monge
that they are asking the community to help.
On Sunday, folks gathered at the Royal Gorge Tavern in Greenwood
Village for a fundraiser with the goal of adding to the $2,000 Crime
Stoppers reward. The hope, family members say, is to get somebody in the
community to say what they know, even if that takes some extra money.
"I beg people: please, if somebody knows something about my baby girl to call us," said Lee.
Samantha Ramage is one of many who heard about the case and did
something to help. Ramage had never met the 19-year-old. But a friend of
hers went missing more than 10 years ago. So she connected with the
family on Facebook and organized the Sunday fundraiser, which included a
silent auction.
"I just hope that Tony and Maria finally find the answers that
they're looking for," said Ramage, as her eyes welled with tears. "And
they get to bring Kenia home," she added.
The last person known to have seen Kenia Monge is Travis Forbes. He
told 9News that he saw Monge drunk outside a bar and he offered to give
her a ride home. When he drove by the Conoco along Speer Boulevard to
try to buy cigarettes, Forbes says Monges got out of the van and bummed a
cigarette off another man. That was the last Forbes saw of the
teenager, he says.
He denies doing anything to her.
Police have never called him a suspect, but he has called himself the main suspect in this case.
Monge's family says they don't know what happened that night, but
they're worried because they've heard Forbes is no longer behind bars
after being extradited from Texas on an auto theft charge.
If you can help police solve this missing persons case, call Crime
Stoppers, at 720-913-STOP. You can remain anonymous, and a good tip
could earn you a cash reward of up to thousands of dollars.
http://www.9news.com/news/article/207408/222/3-months-later-Aurora-teenage-girl-still-missing

FORT COLLINS - The man linked to a missing Aurora teen has been
arrested for attempted murder, sexual assault, arson and other charges
in Fort Collins.
9Wants to Know has learned that Travis Forbes, 31, was
arrested in connection with a suspicious fire and an alleged assault in
Fort Collins on July 5.
According to Fort Collins Police, a 30-year-old woman who lived alone
was assaulted before she jumped from the second-story window of her
apartment complex because it was on fire. She suffered burns and is
still in the hospital in a medically-induced coma.
Det. Jaclyn Shaklee of the Larimer County Sheriff's Office says
Forbes brutally attacked the woman and poured bleach on her body, from
head-to-toe, before setting fire to the apartment. Investigators say
Forbes used the bleach in an attempt to hide evidence and he left the
victim for dead.
Shaklee says the woman and Forbes did not know each other.
Forbes emerged as a person of interest in the investigation when
officials learned late last week of his presence in the Fort Collins
area. Police were monitoring his activities and he was arrested Sunday
night. When he was arrested, police say he was driving the assault
victim's car. He gave police a fake name, so they booked him for false
reporting to authorities.
Later, investigators came to believe he sexually assaulted and beat
the woman, before setting the fire in Fort Collins. According to Larimer
County Detention Center, Forbes was re-arrested Monday night for
attempted first-degree murder, sexual assault, arson and aggravated
motor-vehicle theft. He was arrested and is set to appear in court to
face his charges Wednesday at 8:30 a.m.
The Fort Collins Coloradoan reports police executed a search
of the home owned by Forbes' father on Tuesday afternoon. Investigators
apparently made a grid search in a field behind the house and the
Jefferson County Sheriff's Department was on scene to provide
investigators with a bloodhound.
Kenia Monge disappearance case

Forbes was first mentioned in the news when he called himself a suspect in the case of missing Aurora teenager Kenia Monge.
Monge, 19, was in the area of 14th and Market Streets on April 1 when
she and her friends lost contact. She was seen a short time later at
the Conoco gas station nearby, and hasn't been heard from since.
The last person known to have seen Monge is Forbes. He told 9NEWS
that he saw Monge drunk outside a bar and he offered to give her a ride
home. When he drove by the Conoco along Speer Boulevard to try to buy
cigarettes, Forbes says Monge got out of the van and bummed a cigarette
off another man. That was the last Forbes saw of the teenager, he says.
He denies doing anything to her. Police have never called him a
suspect in the missing teen case, but he has called himself the "main
suspect" in the case.
9NEWS spoke with Monge's family on Tuesday and Tony Monge, said he was "shocked" by Forbes' arrest.
"We're just in shock, really in shock about the events of the day," he said.
Tony Monge says he has previously talked to Forbes and calls what
Forbes told him "fantastic." Tony Monge says Kenia would never stop for
cigarettes and would not talk to a homeless person.
"I want to talk to him. I want to ask him one question: Where is
Kenia?" Tony Monge said. "If you guys talk to him [Forbes], ask him:
Where is Kenia?"
1st Bank has created the Kenia Monge Benefit Fund to increase the
reward leading to the arrest and prosecution for a person who was
involved in her disappearance. If you have information, call Crime
Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867). You can remain anonymous.
Forbes' criminal history
This is not Forbes' first run-in with the law. On May 3, Forbes was
arrested at 2:30 p.m. in a home in northeast Austin, Texas. Roger Wade
with the Travis County Sheriff's Department says he was charged with one
count of unauthorized use of a vehicle in Texas and an outstanding
out-of-state warrant from Colorado on car theft.
The Colorado case traces back to a warrant from Wheat Ridge, where he
was wanted for a car-theft charge from April 8. His arrest warrant was
issued on May 5 and he was extradited to Colorado. He was released from
jail in Colorado on June 30 at 8 p.m.
He was released from parole a year ago after being convicted of
burglary in Larimer County and serving about three years in prison,
according to the Colorado Department of Corrections records. In April,
Forbes told 9Wants To Know Reporter Deborah Sherman he was addicted to
drugs when he was a teenager and used to break into dentist offices to
steal the drug Demerol.
Forbes was also caught allegedly shoplifting in Lakewood and was
charged in January with a misdemeanor along with driving with expired
license plates and without insurance, according to a criminal history
report by the Colorado Department of Public Safety.
Records show he has been arrested three times for burglary, twice for
shoplifting and several other times for assault, parole violations,
trespassing and disturbing the peace since June 1997.
Forbes has had problems with his finances in the last two years because of his business, according to his website.
He was evicted from his last residence in Denver in January because
he didn't pay rent and owes his landlord $3,000 in damages he left
behind, according to his landlord Dena Kitsos.
The caretaker of the property says Forbes had a pot growing operation
in the basement of the rental property and had rigged the electrical
meters to steal electricity for his lights.
"He had a roomful of pot plants. It was a serious grow room," Matt
Smith of Foothills Painting, who had to clean out the property after
Forbes was evicted, said.
Smith estimates there were at least 15 large marijuana plants in the apartment.
Forbes has not been arrested because of the alleged grow operation.
http://www.9news.com/dontmiss/207627/630/Man-linked-to-missing-teen-arrested-in-fire-attack

This asshat is looking guiltier and guiltier.
I have had my suspicions from day one with Kenia...

FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Jeni Forbes said she's not being a protective grandmother; she just wants people to hear the other side of her grandson's story.Her
grandson, Travis Forbes, 31, whom she describes as artistic and
sensitive, is charged with attempted murder, assault and arson."Do you think he's capable of committing the crimes he's accused of?" asked 7NEWS Reporter Russell Haythorn.
"No, I don't. I truly don't. I know him deep down, and no," said Jeni Forbes.Ft.
Collins police said Travis Forbes attacked a woman at an apartment
complex on the west side of town on July 5, left her for dead and then
tried to set her apartment on fire."It's overwhelming from our perspective," said Jeni Forbes. "Unexpected and overwhelming."She said her grandson was with family on July 4 and 5."His
demeanor was fine," said Jen Forbes. "It's surprising that he could
have been involved in a crime earlier that morning or that night, and
then to have been so normal with me."Jeni Forbes said Travis was at home early on the morning of July 5."When our son got up at 6 o'clock on Tuesday morning, he said he saw Travis asleep on the couch -- on his couch."Travis
Forbes was also questioned in connection with the disappearance of
Kenia Monge. She vanished April 1 after partying at a LoDo night club
called 24K.Travis Forbes admitted to police he met Monge that
night and gave her a ride to a Denver gas station, but he said that's
where he dropped Monge off.Monge's parents told 7NEWS Tuesday they believe Travis Forbes knows what happened to their daughter."(Kenia's
disappearance) is also a mystery," said Jeni Forbes. "And I'm so
heartbroken for her parents. I truly am. But, I think Travis was trying
to help her and then she left."

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/28537854/detail.html

It wouldn't be the first time that a person of his ilk had pulled the wool over somebody's eyes.

Man extradited in missing-girl case

Travis Forbes is suspect in Colorado investigation


Updated: Friday, 15 Jul 2011, 11:58 AM CDT

AUSTIN (KXAN) - A suspect in a missing-girl case from Colorado, Travis Forbes has been extradited back to that state after being arrested in Austin. Police arrested the 31-year-old on an out-of-state auto theft warrant. He is also a suspect in the case of a missing girl from Aurora, Colo. Police
in Denver said Forbes was the last person to see Kenia Monge, 19.
Witnesses said Monge left a Denver bar after partying with friends. Forbes
was arrested on May 4 on the auto theft warrant, which was issued in
April, from an address near the University of Texas campus on Kern
Ramble Street. He was then extradited back to Colorado on May 22. Forbes
said in a KUSA interview that he was driving home from a bar in Denver
after a graduation celebration with friends from a cosmetology school
when he noticed Monge, who he said appeared to be drunk. Forbes said she
was stumbling and crying. "She was very inebriated and emotional
and I was just trying to figure out where she had come from, who her
friends were," Forbes said. "When we found her at 2:30 in the morning,
she was drunk." Forbes said a friend he called "Eddie" was with
him in his van but walked home while he drove Monge to a bar. There,
she told him she left her car and her friends. When they couldn’t find
either Forbes said he let Monge use his cell phone to call friends who
didn’t answer. After offering to take her home Forbes said she
wanted to get cigarettes. They stopped at a gas station but it was
closed. Police say that is the last place Monge was seen. Forbes
told KUSA that Monge wanted a cigarette so badly; she jumped out of his
van to bum one form a man who was at the gas station smoking a
cigarette. "They sat down, smoked cigarettes and all of a sudden,
I was no longer important. I was just one stranger and then she was off
with another stranger," Forbes said. "I didn't think anything of it. I
didn't get any bad vibes from this person. He was clean cut. He wasn't
homeless." Forbes said the man was Asian; 5-feet-4-inches tall,
thin, small build, round, boyish face and nice looking. He said the man
was wearing jeans, basketball shoes, a silver jacket and spoke fluent
Spanish with Monge. "She walked off with him. There was no reason
for me to have thought anything about it. And it was 3 in the morning,
so I went home," Forbes said. The next morning, Forbes said he texted Monge to see if she ever found her car. He said he never heard back from her. That’s when Forbes decided to come to Austin for meditation time with friends. "We
all sent out cords of light to this girl, asking her to be found and
come home and clear the energy off of me from all of this," Forbes said. Meanwhile, Denver police have been searching multiple areas looking for evidence in the Monge case. Monge,
who is from Aurora, was at a nightclub with her friends the night she
went missing. On Friday, Denver police released cell phone pictures that
were taken of her within hours of her disappearance. Denver police said they do not believe the teen ran away and have made it their top priority to find her. Police
would not say if they are looking for the man whom Forbes described as
"walking away" with Monge. Police will only say they are looking for
anyone with any information about her. Although Forbes is believed to be the last person to seen her, he said he's not to blame for her disappearance. "Everybody has their own choices. And she chose to walk off with this guy, and I can't blame myself for that," Forbes said
http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/man-extradited-in-missing-girl-case

Man officially charged in Fort Collins sex assault, fire
6:46 PM, Jul 19, 2011



FORT COLLINS - A man suspected of beating and sexually assaulting
a woman in Fort Collins and setting fire to her apartment has been
charged with 12 felony counts.
VIEW TIMELINE OF TRAVIS FORBES' CASE
Prosecutors announced the charges against 31-year-old Travis Forbes in
his first appearance in Larimer County court Tuesday morning.

Police escorted a somber Forbes into court. Prosecutors announced the
charges, which include two counts of attempted first-degree murder,
three counts of sexual assault, another count of first-degree arson and a
count of motor vehicle theft, among others.

"Prosecutors obviously believe they have enough evidence to win a
trial," 9NEWS Legal Analyst Scott Robinson said. "Otherwise they would
not have filed the charges. Since the victim of the offense is not in a
position to talk to the police, the evidence must be something other
than a direct accusation from the victim herself."

Court documents on the case, which police say happened in the early morning of July 5, are sealed.

Forbes is being held on a $350,000 cash-only bond.

Forbes is also the last person known to have seen Kenia Monge, the
missing 19-year-old woman from Aurora. He has been questioned but not
charged in the disappearance of Monge, who went missing on April 1 after
leaving a Denver nightclub.

In an earlier interview, Forbes had told 9NEWS he was the "main suspect" in the case.

"Forbes has made a little bit of a spectacle of himself by referring to
himself as a suspect in another case. At least if these allegations are
proven to be true we may well be dealing with a very, very sick
individual," Robinson said.

Forbes will be in court again on Aug. 19.
http://www.9news.com/news/article/208744/188/Man-officially-charged-in-Fort-Collins-sex-assault-fire

Stepfather says police believe they have found body of Kenia Monge
By Jordan Steffen The Denver Post

Posted: 09/07/2011 12:39:08 PM MDT
Updated: 09/07/2011 01:40:50 PM MDT

The stepfather of a 19-year-old woman who disappeared in April from a Denver nightclub says police have told him they believe they have found her body.

Denver police spokesman Det. John White said investigators were searching an area near Keenesburg for the body of Kenia Monge. He would not say what led the investigation there.

Tony Lee posted on a Facebook page devoted to the search for his stepdaughter that it was "with great, great sadness" that he had to "report to you that Denver police have called me and they believe they have found Kenia. I do not have any more info at this time."

"They are telling me she has passed," Lee wrote.

Police were searching an area along Interstate 76 about 2-miles from Weld County Road 53, said Weld County Sheriff's spokeswoman Margie Martinez.

Monge who disappeared from the 24K Lounge on March 31. Police have information that Monge was last seen with a man named Travis Forbes at a gas station about 2 miles away at 3 a.m. April 1. Forbes has denied involvement in her disappearance.

On July 10, Forbes was arrested for investigation of an attack on a Fort Collins woman, who lept from a second-floor window of her burning apartment early the morning of July 5. He has been charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and three counts of sexual assault and arson in that case.

Police have pursued several leads in the Monge case, but so far have been unable to find the woman or her body. She remains officially listed as a missing person.

Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794 or jsteffen@denverpost.co

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_18843641

Stepdad: Kenia Monge's Body Has Been Found

DENVER -- The father of a missing Aurora teen Kenia Monge has reported that police have told him that her body has been found.On the family's Help Us Find Kenia Facebook page,
Monge's stepfather, Tony Lee, wrote, "With great great sadness, I
have to report to you that Denver police has called me and they believe
they have found Kenia. I do not have any more info at this time. The new
channels have already picked this up that is why I'm telling you now
... they are telling me she has passed."

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/29108381/detail.html?treets=den&tml=den_break&ts=T&tmi=den_break_1_02540109072011

Denver police have not confirmed Lee's report.However, police did confirm that Denver officers, following up on a lead in the case of the missing
Aurora teen, are searching an area near Keenesburg.Officers have
cordoned off a square acre underneath a cluster of cottonwood trees,
located just south of Interstate 76, between Hudson and Keenesburg,
between the highway and the railroad tracks.Officers set up a red tent underneath the trees and investigators have
been digging in that area most of the afternoon.
This is not the first time Denver officers have searched in Keenesburg. On
April 8, officers were searching the roads near a Keenesburg landfill.
Police never said what they were searching for and if they found anything.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/29108381/detail.html

DENVER -- A first-degree murder charge has been
filed against a suspect in connection to the disappearance and death of
Aurora teen Kenia Monge.The district attorney's office said Travis Forbes, 31, was formally charged Thursday in connection with Monge's slaying."The
charge alleges that in the early morning hours of April 1, 2011, Forbes
met the victim, convinced her to get into his car, and later killed
her. Her body was recovered (Wednesday) in an area of south Weld County
after new information was developed jointly between the Denver DA’s
Office and the Denver Police Department," the joint news release stated.
The news release was sent on behalf of the DA's Office and the Denver Police Department.Forbes is already in custody in
Larimer County for another violent crime from July, and he will be held
there without bond, said district attorney spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough.He is scheduled to appear in Denver District court on Sept. 23, where he will be formally advised of the murder charge.
Coroner Identifies Remains As Kenia Monge
Monge disappeared on April 1 after visiting a Denver nightclub.
She left her purse, car keys and cellphone at the club, police said.Forbes is the last known person to have seen her alive and admitted publicly to giving her a ride in his van from the club.The
CALL7 Investigators confirmed that Forbes himself led investigators to
where Monge's body was buried in a grove of cottonwood trees between
Interstate 76 and railroad tracks, halfway between Keenesburg and
Hudson.A source told 7NEWS Forbes agreed to lead investigators
to the shallow grave in return for the district attorney taking the
death penalty off the table.The Denver Police Department's crime
lab processed the area for eight hours on Wednesday and later that
evening, removed a decomposed body from a shallow grave.The
Denver coroner is conducting an autopsy on the body, which they
positively identified as Kenia Monge. The coroner's office has not
released her cause of death.
Woman With Forbes On Night Of Arrest Talks
Forbes was arrested in the early morning hours of July 10 while
walking with a 25-year-old woman he had just met after the bars had
closed.That woman, Elizabeth Ann Nix, realizes she escaped what may have been a close call."I'm
grateful (police) were on top of him. It made me think a lot about
situations and bad people. It was a reality check for sure," Nix said.She
said she goes to school so she hadn't thought about Forbes for some
time, but she's glad Monge's family has some form of closure."I'm happy for her family. They don't have to wonder anymore," Nix said.Nix
was walking back to her apartment with Forbes, around 3:45 a.m., when
an officer approached them, saying that he was checking on the report of
two people trying to open car doors. Forbes identified himself as
"Travis Kennedy" and said he did not have ID, and did not recall his
phone number or address.The officer then put Nix in the back of
the police car for what the officer said was for "her own safety," and
told her that Forbes was a "dangerous man" and that he was being
monitored by detectives.Forbes was arrested that morning for
giving a fake name to police officers. But on July 19 Forbes was charged
with 12 counts, including attempted murder, arson and three counts of
sexual assault.Police in Fort Collins said he beat and raped a
30-year-old Fort Collins woman and then set her apartment on fire on
July 5. The victim jumped out of her second story window and suffered
injuries from the attack, the fire and the fall. She survived, but
barely. She was in a medically induced coma for a while.However,
her family wonders if her attack could have been prevented. If Forbes
had been arrested when officers first suspected him in the Monge case,
he would have been in custody and would have never been in Fort Collins.However, the victim's father told 7NEWS he doesn’t want to dwell on the past and wants to move forward.Forbes has a lengthy history of crimes against women.In
July 2004, Forbes hit a woman in the head with a rock while she was
jogging in Highlands Ranch. He took a plea and was sentenced to 30 days
in jail.When he was 17, Forbes broke into 16 Fort Collins homes
and businesses, stealing more than $15,000 in cash and property. When
police searched his room, they found several pairs of women's panties,
including three belonging to a woman whose first name started with an M.
Two of the white panties had an "M" written in marker that the woman
had not inked and a 1½-inch rip in them.Denver police learned of
Forbes after he texted Monge's cellphone the evening after she
disappeared. The text message read, "Hey, this is Travis, the guy who
gave you a ride last night, white creepy van :) did you get home okay?"Police then searched his Denver workplace, Deby's Bakery and Cafe, and his white van, according to a search warrant affidavit.The
bakery owner, Monica Poole, told police that she found the security
system turned off the night Monge disappeared. The owner said the video
showed Forbes turning the security camera off and he was wearing what
appeared to be a latex glove up to his elbow.An employee of a
neighboring business told police that he saw two or three men standing
behind the bakery on the night of April 1, burning materials in a
55-gallon barrel, the affidavit said. The employee said a white cargo
van was parked by the men in such a way that it blocked his view.Police took a yellow rubber glove and a metal barrel into evidence, the warrant stated.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/29120296/detail.html

DENVER --
The remains of a 19-year-old woman who went missing after leaving a
downtown nightclub earlier this year were identified Thursday
afternoon, several hours after prosecutors charged a man with killing her.
The 4-foot-11 inch, 115-pound Kenia Monge (mon-Hay')
disappeared March 31 from the 24K Lounge in lower downtown Denver,
leaving her purse and cellphone at the club. She was wearing a black
skirt, black jacket and red high-heeled shoes.
Police later discovered she had been at gas station two miles away at about 3 a.m. on
April 1, with 31-year-old Travis Forbes.
Denver police questioned Forbes in April, but hadn't called him a
suspect until this week. Prosecutors said Thursday that he faces a
charge of first-degree murder in the case and accused him of killing
Monge after persuading her to get into his car.
Investigators found Monge's remains Wednesday in a field near Keenesburg, about 40
miles from Denver. The Denver Coroner's office didn't say how she died
in its Thursday announcement on the identity of her remains.
Forbes,who is in jail on unrelated charges, has denied any connection to
Monge's disappearance. He told police he picked her up at about 2:30
a.m. and planned to give her a ride home but left her at the gas station.
"She walked off with no coercion, under her free will," he told The Denver Post in April.
Police have searched Forbes' van and seized several items, including a large
cooler from the bakery where he worked, the newspaper reported.
Forbes is in custody at the Larimer County Detention Center on $350,000 bail
on suspicion of sexual assault and arson following a July 5 apartment
fire that forced a woman to jump from a second-story window. Police
arrested him in that case on July 10.
Forbes is expected to be advised of the murder charge in the Monge case on Sept. 23.
The Larimer County public defender's office declined to comment on
Thursday. Police investigators also declined to comment on the Monge case.
Monge's stepfather, Tony Lee, didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/07/2395410/remains-believed-to-belong-to.html#ixzz1XTo5T5MY

Kenia Monge laid to rest

Web Staff
FOX31 Denver
4:09 p.m. MDT, September 16, 2011

AURORA, Colo. -- In a moving tribute attended by hundreds Friday, friends and family members paid their final respects to 19-year-old Kenia Monge.

“We’re here today to end this chapter in our lives...to take this little girl home in a proper way,” Monge’s father, Tony Lee, said in prepared remarks.

Monge’s body was found buried next to Interstate 76 in Weld County on Sept. 8.

Prosecutors say she was murdered by a man who picked her up after she left two friends at a lower downtown Denver nightclub in April.

Sources say Travis Forbes led authorities to her body. He faces charges of First Degree Murder. “Kenia was a normal teenager,” recalled Lee. “She had normal teenager issues. I had to make her clean her room. I had to make her do her homework.

“I thank God that he gave her to us for the years she was here.”

Forbes remains in custody in Larimer County where he faces charges of attempted murder and sex assault in an unrelated incident which occurred after Monge’s disappearance.

http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-kenia-monge-laid-to-rest-20110916,0,5132529.story

DENVER -- A man long suspected of killing a
missing teen pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on Monday and was
immediately sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of
parole.Travis Forbes, 31, admitted to killing 19-year-old Kenia Monge, who disappeared from a Denver nightclub in April.Forbes entered the plea during a hearing in Denver District Court Monday afternoon.
Forbes told the court that what he did was horrible and life in prison won't make things right for the Monge family.Forbes' family broke down in tears as they listened to Monge's family described their heartbreak of losing their daughter.The
Aurora teen, a Cherry Creek High School graduate, disappeared on April 1
after visiting a Denver nightclub, 24K Lounge, with friends. She left
her purse, car keys and cellphone at the club, police said.After the sentencing, Kenia's family talked about Forbes and the ordeal they've endured since the teen vanished."He's more or less been holding us hostage," said Tony Lee, Monge's stepfather. "We've been under his thumb since April 1.""Now, he doesn't have control over us anymore," Lee said.Monge's
mother, Maria Lee, said, "I know my daughter's not here anymore. But
she's in heaven, and she's waiting for me. One day, I will be there with
her."Forbes was the last known person to have seen Monge alive
and admitted publicly to giving her a ride in his van from the club.
Even though he had described himself as a suspect, for months, he denied
having a hand in her disappearance.But then on Sept. 7, Forbes
himself led investigators to a makeshift grave where Monge's body was
buried in a grove of cottonwood trees between Interstate 76 and railroad
tracks, halfway between Keenesburg and Hudson.A source told
7NEWS Forbes agreed to lead investigators to the shallow grave, as well
as plead guilty to two cases, in return for the district attorney taking
the death penalty off the table. Forbes was charged with first-degree
murder soon after Monge's remains were identified.The deal Forbes
made with prosecutors was that he would agree to plead guilty to
first-degree murder in the Monge case and attempted first-degree murder
in a Fort Collins case if prosecutors took the death penalty off the
table.On Tuesday Forbes is expected to plead guilty in the Fort Collins case and will be sentenced to the maximum 48 years in prison.Forbes
is suspected of attacking, sexually assaulting a Fort Collins woman and
setting her apartment on fire on July 4. The woman, Lydia Tillman,
escaped by jumping out of a second-floor window. She suffered critical
injuries from the attack, the fire, and the fall. Tillman survived and
has been released from the hospital but she has a long and difficult
recovery ahead.
Forbes' Story Fishy From Beginning


Denver police learned of Forbes after he texted Monge's cellphone the evening after she disappeared.The text message read, "Hey, this is Travis, the guy who gave you a ride last night, white creepy van :) did you get home okay?"When
police questioned him, Forbes he said he picked her up and they
stopped at a gas station off Speer Boulevard and Pennsylvania Street
because Monge wanted cigarettes.Forbes said Monge bummed a
cigarette from a male passerby named "Dan" and she then walked off with
the man, according to court records.Early in the investigation, 7NEWS Reporter Marc Stewart asked Forbes if he killed Monge."No," replied Forbes. He denied any knowledge of the teen's disappearance.
Tony Lee said he knew Forbes was the killer ever since he and a
police officer met the man a day after Monge disappeared at the gas
station where Forbes claimed he last saw her.Forbes told the
stepfather, "I wish I knew more about what happened to your daughter,
but I told you everything I know," the police officer wrote in a report.
As Forbes spoke, he had tears in his eyes, his voice was unsteady and
"his whole body was shaking," the officer noted."When I did shake
his hand," Tony Lee recalled Monday, "it was that trembling that was
inside of him. It wasn't visible trembling, it was an internal
trembling. And that's when I knew."Investigators searched Forbes'
Denver workplace, Deby's Bakery and Cafe, and his white van, according
to a search warrant affidavit.The bakery owner, Monica Poole,
told police that she found the security system turned off the night
Monge disappeared. The owner said the video showed Forbes turning the
security camera off, the affidavit said. The owner said he was wearing
what appeared to be a latex glove up to his elbow.An employee of a
neighboring business told police that he saw two or three men standing
behind the bakery on the night of April 1, burning materials in a
55-gallon barrel, the affidavit said.Police took a yellow rubber glove and a metal barrel into evidence, the warrant stated.
History Of Crimes Against Women


Forbes has a long history of crimes against women.When he
was 17, Forbes broke into 16 Fort Collins homes and businesses, stealing
more than $15,000 in cash and property, according to court records.When
police searched his room, they found several pairs of women's
underpants, including three belonging to a woman whose first name
started with an M. Two of the white panties had an "M" written in marker
that the woman had not inked and a 1½-inch rip in them.
Forbes Hit Woman In Head With Rock


In July 2004, Forbes was arrested for hitting a female jogger in
the head with a rock as she ran with a friend in a Highlands Ranch
neighborhood, according to Douglas County Sheriff's Office records.The
victim, Allison Biever, wrote in a statement to deputies that she and
her friend ran by a man standing with a woman by a car, and suddenly she
felt a painfully stinging sensation in the back of her head.The
joggers turned and saw the man throwing rocks at them, a deputy's report
said. When the women confronted him, Forbes yelled obscenities."What are you going to do, you stupid (expletive)," Forbes said, the report said.Olga
Kaydanov, the woman with Forbes, said: "He is not normally like this.
Just when he gets drunk, he acts different," according to report.Forbes told the deputy he was kicking rocks and one accidentally hit the woman's leg.In
a plea agreement, the district attorney dismissed an assault charge and
Forbes pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of harassment involving
physical force, according to court records. He was sentenced to 30 days
in jail and 12 months supervised probation, including receiving alcohol
evaluation and treatment.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/29301465/detail.html

Kerry Humphrey pleads guilty to lying for Travis Forbes, Kenia Monge's murderer

By Michael Roberts
Thu., Aug. 2 2012 at 3:29 PM

On April 1, 2011, nineteen-year-old Kenia Monge disappeared -- and she remained missing until September, when Travis Forbes, who originally portrayed himself as a good Samaritan, led authorities to her body outside Keenesberg. Forbes pleaded guilty shortly thereafter -- but it wasn't until this week that his girlfriend, Kerry Humphrey, did likewise, admitting that she lied to give him an alibi.

An affidavit for Humphrey's arrest, on view below, offers the details for her falsehoods, and many of Forbes's. The document notes Monge's disappearance after a night of clubbing, as well as the discovery that her purse, cell phone and keys had been left at the venue in question, 24K.

Stored in the phone was a text message that read, "Hey this is Travis, the guy who gave you a ride last night, - white creepy van." That was followed by a smiley face symbol and the question "did you get home okay?"

After seeing that text message, Anthony Lee, Monge's father, contacted Forbes, who met with him accompanied by a pal, Edward Fajardo. At that time, Forbes offered an account of the evening that he also shared with police. He and Fajardo took a very intoxicated Monge to Club Lavish, on Market Street, to retrieve her car, he said, but they couldn't find it -- so he offered to drive her home. Before they arrived, though, they stopped at a Conoco to get cigarettes, only to discover that the station was closed. Monge then saw a man, identified only as "Dan," smoking nearby and bummed a cigarette. Shortly thereafter, he continued, Monge walked off with Dan -- and that was the last time he saw her.

The report points out that Forbes told Lee, "I wish I knew more about what happened to your daughter, but I told you everything I know" -- lines delivered with tears welling in his eyes and evident emotion in his voice.

During a subsequent interview, Forbes claimed that he'd arrived at the home of his girlfriend, Humphrey, at after 3 a.m. on April 1 and split at approximately 8:30 a.m. -- information that was confirmed by Humphrey during her own sit-down. She told a detective that she hadn't gone out with Forbes on the evening of March 31, but she saw him upon his arrival at 3:30 a.m. She recalled him saying something about a "fun night."

In addition, Humphrey parroted the story Forbes had already told officers about what had happened in his exchange with Monge.

How believable was this tale? Not very -- especially after cell phone records revealed that Forbes was nowhere close to Humphrey's home between the hours of 3 a.m. and 8 a.m. on April 1.

This information prompted another chat with Humphrey, who stuck with her previous claims -- at least until she was shown phone records noting Forbes's GPS coordinates, which proved she wasn't telling the truth.

At that point, the affidavit catalogs a change in tune, with Humphrey revealing that Forbes asked her to lie about his whereabouts that night. First he told her he'd slept in his van, which might not sound convincing to investigators searching for Monge. Later, he claimed he'd been on a "marijuana run" -- a no-no since he was on probation.

Humphrey told cops she never asked Forbes why he'd asked her to lie for him -- but she'll be living with the consequences of doing so for quite some time to come. She pleaded guilty to one count apiece of attempting to influence a public official and perjury, plus two counts of false reporting to authorities, earning 2,000 hours of community service and up to two years in Denver County Jail.

Forbes, for his part, will spend the rest of his life behind bars. Look below to see a larger version of Humphrey's mug shot, as well as the aforementioned affidavit.

Kerry Humphrey Arrest Warrant

http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2012/08/kerry_humphrey_lying_travis_forbes_kenia_monge_murder.php