The parents of a freshman found dead at the Colorado School of Mines in 2001 have sued four school employees, claiming the cause of his death was covered up as a drug overdose and inadequately investigated.
The parents of Rio Nicholas say in a federal lawsuit that school administrators and campus police conspired to label his death an overdose because they did not want to ruin the reputation of the school with news of a campus homicide.
School officials declined to discuss the lawsuit or Nicholas’ death.
“We are not prepared to make a comment until there is more review,” said Marsha Williams, a spokeswoman for the school.
The suit names the school’s director of public safety, Richard M. Boyd, school police Sgt. Robert Allen, vice president and dean of students Harold Cheuvront and director of student life Robert Francisco.
“As experienced police officers, Boyd and Allen knew, or had reasonable cause to believe, that it was likely that a homicide had occurred,” the lawsuit says. “Fearing that the Golden police would conduct a thorough investigation that would expose a homicide, Boyd instructed them to leave the scene, which they did.”
Nicholas was a 19-year-old engineering student from Fredericksburg, Texas, involved in the campus Air Force ROTC program. He was found dead Dec. 6, 2001, in a dorm shower.
An autopsy was never performed, but a toxicology test showed high levels of cocaine in Nicholas’ blood, said family attorney Dan Mahoney. Nicholas had one puncture wound, and his body did not show a history of intravenous drug use, the suit says.
Nicholas’ parents had their own investigation done, which revealed the young man died somewhere other than the shower, Mahoney said. They believe that someone injected the deadly dose, but the suit does not reveal a possible motive for why someone would want their son dead.
Nicholas’ body was propped in a sitting position with his legs crossed. His forehead was discolored, and there were cuts on his knuckles and on top of his feet. His face was bluish in color and blood smeared in the shower.
Nicholas’ boxers and jeans lay on the floor and a syringe wrapper and a small plastic bag containing white powder was in the pockets. Water was on the bathroom floor and in the hallway.
When Nicholas came home for Thanksgiving a few weeks before his death, he told his parents that “there are some real dirty people up there at school,” the lawsuit says.
Nicholas’ parents filed the lawsuit as a civil rights case because they claim the school denied them the opportunity to seek justice against the person who is responsible for their son’s death. They are seeking unspecified damages.
“We have anguished for years over the false and manipulative information given to us,” John Nicholas, Rio’s father, said Monday in a statement. “We are confident that the results of this lawsuit will vindicate Rio’s reputation of exemplary campus leadership.”
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-820-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
