Man back in Denver to face charges in slaying of wife
Frank Schilt, accused of killing his wife, Teresa “Terri” Schilt, and placing her body in a trash receptacle, was picked up Thursday by the Denver Sheriff’s Department in Arkansas and returned to Denver.
He is at the Denver City Jail and is expected to appear in a Denver courtroom at 9 a.m. today to be formally advised that he has been charged with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.
On March 30, Schilt allegedly confessed to Denver Detective Tyrone Campbell that he killed his wife. Schilt claimed that on Feb. 25 Terri Schilt became angry after he told her he could not give her a monthly allowance.
He told Campbell he grabbed his wife and pushed her, and she struck the headboard of a bed, causing her death. Then he placed his wife’s body in a trash receptacle in north Denver on March 3, according to documents. Schilt is also accused of trying to kill his daughter. Schilt, 53, said he made several suicide attempts.
DENVER
Nanny disappears after arrival at DIA
A 36-year-old nanny who just arrived Sunday at Denver International Airport on a flight from Hong Kong vanished on a trip to an airport restroom, police Detective Virginia Quiñones said.
Ethel Bofil, described as 5 feet 4 inches tall and with a medium build, was with an American family for whom she works, Quiñones said.
The woman was waiting with the man and his wife for their luggage when she left to go to the restroom. Bofil’s employers are concerned because the disappearance is out of character for her, police said.
Bofil speaks English but is described as “very shy.” She isn’t believed to know anyone in Denver, and nothing happened between her and her employers to precipitate her walking away, Quiñones said.
Anyone with information about Bofil is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.
CASPER
Judge rejects claims of kin in air-tanker crash
A federal judge in Wyoming has dismissed much of the case filed by relatives of two men killed in a 2002 air-tanker crash in Colorado – including claims against federal agencies and the company that operated the firefighting aircraft.
U.S. District Judge William Downes, however, denied a request for summary judgment by six men on the issue of immunity under the Worker’s Compensation Act, saying the act doesn’t provide an “absolute bar” to lawsuits against co-workers. The six men will remain defendants in the suit.
The order is dated March 31. The case itself dates to 2004, when relatives of Ricky Lee Schwartz and Milton Stollak sued, alleging wrongful death and negligence, among other things, stemming from the crash, which occurred when a wing snapped off near Lyons.
The air tanker was operated by Hawkins & Powers Aviation Inc. of Greybull, one of a long list of defendants sued by the families and now dismissed from the suit.
ARAPAHOE COUNTY
Man pleads not guilty in child-assault case
A 32-year-old man accused of pretending he was a boy so he could sexually assault children pleaded not guilty Thursday to five additional charges that will be added to the 72 charges he already faces in the case.
Zuri-Kye McGhee is scheduled to stand trial July 17.
The additional charges include two counts of unlawful sexual contact, two counts of sexual assault on a child with a pattern of abuse and one count of sexual assault on a child.
McGhee is being held at the Arapahoe County jail on $2 million bail.
EL PASO COUNTY
’04 Senate hopeful to lead Harrison schools
Mike Miles, who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2004, is expected to be named superintendent of the Harrison School District by a vote of the school board April 20.
Miles, currently the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8, is the single finalist for the superintendent’s job in Harrison District 2. He is expected to start as superintendent July 1.
Miles, a longtime educator, is a graduate of West Point.
COLORADO SPRINGS
CU-Springs plans to aid student diversity
The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs wants to increase the diversity of its student body to reflect the ethnic makeup of southern Colorado, according to a new report.
UCCS is 9 percent Latino, 5 percent Asian, 4 percent African-American and 1 percent American Indian. The population of southern Colorado is 17 percent Latino, 3 percent Asian, 5 percent African-American and 1 percent American Indian, according to the report UCCS prepared for CU interim president Hank Brown’s blue-ribbon commission on diversity.
The panel of 48 community members plans to meet on the Colorado Springs campus Friday to offer advice on recruiting students of color.
COLORADO SPRINGS
Memorial Hospital unveils its new name
Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs has changed its name to Memorial Health System to more accurately reflect how the hospital has grown.
Once a small hospital established in 1904, Memorial now includes the original hospital on Boulder Street; Colorado Springs Children’s Hospital, also on Boulder Street; Memorial Hospital North on Briargate Parkway; and several outpatient facilities.
DENVER
Third election worker claims retaliation
A Denver election employee filed a federal lawsuit Thursday contending the election commission is trying to fire him for speaking out, the third employee to make such allegations in a year.
William Brennan says the election commission purposefully attempted to limit turnout in the May 2005 election in which voters approved a $378 million justice center. He contends the commission is retaliating against him for voicing concerns about the election.
