Aurora – Everyone believed Javad Marshall-Fields and Vivian Wolfe were destined for success.
They were in love, recently graduated from Colorado State University and heading into a life full of wild possibilities when gunfire Monday night at an Aurora intersection killed them both.
Aurora police are seeking their killer, and a $2,000 reward has been posted for any information that would lead to an arrest.
The double homicide drew special attention because Marshall-Fields was scheduled next week to testify against Robert Keith Ray, a man prosecutors say drove a getaway car in a July 4, 2004, shooting that wounded Marshall-Fields and killed his 20-year-old friend, Gregory Vann.
That trial is likely to be postponed until August, said Michael Knight, spokesman for the 18th Judicial District attorney. He said the prosecution has other witnesses who will enable the case to move forward.
Ray, charged with being an accessory to murder in the 2004 shooting, is free on $25,000 bond. Marshall-Fields’ family said they believe Monday’s shooting is connected to the Ray case. Police and prosecutors say no connection has been proven and no suspects have been named.
Knight said that after Monday’s shooting, only one witness has contacted the DA’s office to express fear. Witness advocates are working with that person, said Knight, who wouldn’t elaborate.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t surprise friends of Marshall-Fields that the gregarious grad would be willing to set aside his postgraduate ambitions to take the stand in a testy case that already had spawned altercations in the courthouse hallways.
“It’s so like Javad,” said Paul Thayer, director of CSU’s Center for Advising and Student Achievement. “He was busy trying to do the right thing, whether it was difficult or not.”
Marshall-Fields and Wolfe were both 22 years old and had both been enrolled in CSU’s Key Academic Community, a program in which students live and take many of the same classes together. Friends saw their relationship bloom and marveled at their positive outlook on life, though both had overcome obstacles to get their degrees.
“They were on the mountaintop,” Thayer said. “They were both warm and generous … and were so dedicated to getting their degrees.”
Thayer said he had heard from many people across the campus who expressed their sorrow.
“The outpouring today is overwhelming. There have been calls and tears all over the campus. People have been getting together informally to console each other. Everyone has strong memories of Javad and Vivian.”
He said Wolfe “was just absolutely open, very warm and enthusiastic, willing to try things. She was a wonderful friend to others.”
Wolfe graduated in December 2004 with a dietetics major and had served as an officer in the Korean American Student Association.
Marshall-Fields graduated in May majoring in speech communication. He was involved with the Black Student Alliance and had been lauded for his volunteer efforts around Fort Collins.
The city in 2002 gave him a Community Civility Award for cleaning yards for the elderly, working with Food Bank Ministries and volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. He earned a scholarship and was in the university’s President’s Leadership Program. He worked for a car rental agency in Fort Collins.
Barry Logan, president of the Black Student Alliance, was Marshall-Fields’ roommate for a semester and remembers him as involved in everything – either behind the scenes or in front.
“The thing I remember most is that he knew everybody; everywhere we went, he knew people,” Logan said.
Though CSU president Larry Penley didn’t know the couple, he commended their lives in a statement: “I’ve been told how hard they worked to overcome any challenges in their lives, and how warmly they embraced the people around them. … Many were inspired by their vitality and determination to make a difference in the community and in the lives of others.”
Staff writer Kieran Nicholson contributed to this report.
Staff writer Jeremy Meyer may be reached at 303-820-1175 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com.
