Brenda Gail Denton was beaten and stabbed to death, but it doesn’t appear she was sexually assaulted, according to an autopsy report released Friday.
Denton, 38, lived in the same neighborhood where accused serial rapist Brent J. Brents was hiding out.
Brents was arrested Feb. 18 after he allegedly assaulted a female apartment manager in the 1000 block of Marion Street, a block away from Denton’s apartment.
Denton was found dead March 8 in her apartment in the 900 block of Lafayette Street.
Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson wouldn’t say whether police had excluded Brents as a suspect but said the case remains under investigation.
Denton was found in the living room wearing a black robe lined with leopard-cloth trim. She also wore black trousers, a black shirt, a black bodysuit and black socks.
Her clothes were intact, and she did not appear to have suffered from sexual trauma, according to the Denver coroner’s office report.
Denton died from blows to the head that fractured her skull and sharp injuries to her jugular vein and throat.
The 130-pound woman had a blood-alcohol content of 0.089 percent, just slightly above the legal driving limit.
Family members suspect Denton died at least two weeks before she was found.
The last time Denton came to her volunteer job at the Gathering Place, a day shelter and resource center for homeless women at 1535 High St., was Feb. 9, a Wednesday.
She failed to show up five days later for her Monday shift and didn’t call the center.
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-820-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.