Englewood – The mother of a recently slain woman stood in an Arapahoe County courtroom and stared at a man who she believes is connected to her daughter’s death.
“I want him to remember my face,” said Myong “Christine” Wolfe, as a court official tried to move her from the room following Robert Ray’s hearing Wednesday.
Wolfe’s 22-year-old daughter, Vivian Wolfe, was killed June 20, along with fiancé Javad Marshall-Fields. Police haven’t identified a suspect, and a $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest.
Marshall-Fields was an “extremely important” eyewitness for the prosecution in a trial against Ray that was supposed to start this week, said Deputy District Attorney John Hower.
Ray is accused of being an accomplice to a July 4, 2004, shooting at Lowry Park that killed Gregory Vann and injured Marshall-Fields.
Marshall-Fields had positively identified Ray in the homicide and was working with authorities on the case, Hower said.
Without Marshall-Fields, the prosecution’s “evidence is greatly reduced, and the strength of the case has been greatly weakened,” Hower said.
The courtroom was under heavy security Wednesday. A deputy with a metal detector checked people before they entered. And a gang expert from the Aurora Police Department kept watch inside.
Judge Michael Spear agreed to postpone Ray’s trial until Nov. 14 to give the prosecution more time.
Ray faces three charges in three separate cases in Arapahoe County. Besides the accomplice case, he was charged in August with being a previous offender in possession of a firearm and, most recently, accused of violating conditions of his bond.
In total, Ray is being held on $350,000 bail, effectively keeping him behind bars.
Hower said investigators are working nonstop, uncovering new evidence and witnesses by the hour in the 2004 slaying and the June 20 double homicide.
However, Ray’s attorney Harvey Steinberg countered: “I understand that he has investigators working on the case. … But that doesn’t mean there is a likelihood that the evidence will be discovered.”
Myong Wolfe arrived at the Arapahoe County courthouse with her husband to sit through Ray’s hearing.
“I want to see Robert Ray’s face,” she said. “I want to find out who he is, and I want him to see my face. I want him to remember my face.”
After it was over, Wolfe walked to her car on her way to the wake for Marshall-Fields. She wore black and had spent the day preparing for today’s joint funeral.
The 19-year-old Ray, 5-foot-9 and 135 pounds, wasn’t what Wolfe expected.
“He doesn’t look like a killer,” she said. “He looks like a young kid. He doesn’t look like a monster. I don’t know what’s going on.”
Staff writer Jeremy Meyer may be reached at jpmeyer@denverpost.com or 303-820- 1175.
