Key dates in the case
2005
Nov. 14: Aaron Thompson reports to Aurora police that his daughter Aaroné is a runaway. Police say later that Thompson failed to disclose her age in his initial contact. After 90 minutes, police learn that she is 6 years old and elevate the case to high-priority status.
Nov. 17: After three days of searching, police suspend their efforts and obtain a search warrant for the Thompson home. A custody order is issued to remove the remaining seven children from the house. Authorities say Aaroné was likely killed and name Thompson and his common-law wife, Shelley Lowe, as “persons of interest.”
Nov. 18: Authorities begin to interview the children removed from the home; cadaver dogs are used in a search of the home.
Nov. 21: Police quote the children as saying they haven’t seen Aaroné “in a while.” The first custody hearing occurs.
Nov. 22: Authorities ask Thompson and Lowe to be interviewed.
Nov. 25-26: Aaroné’s grandfathers participate in a search of the neighborhood where Aaroné was reported missing; Lowe gives birth to a daughter, Tanisha Thompson, who is immediately taken into custody by Arapahoe County Human Services.
Dec. 1: In a television interview, Thompson and Lowe deny killing Aaroné.
Dec. 3: Police complete their search of the Thompson residence.
Dec. 6: Court documents obtained by The Denver Post report that Lowe’s ex-boyfriend told authorities that Aaroné was dead and that Lowe and Thompson buried her in a field.
Dec. 8: A judge affirms a gag order in the custody case.
Dec. 23: Thompson and Lowe meet with their children and Lowe’s teenage brother for the first time since police began their homicide investigation.
2006
March 28: Lowe’s brother and son call The Denver Post to say that Lowe and Thompson did not kill Aaroné.
April 19: A jury unanimously rules not to reunite Thompson and Lowe with the eight children who had been in their care.
May 4: Authorities announce the convening of a grand jury to hear evidence in the suspected killing of Aaroné.
May 13: Shelley Lowe, 33, dies of an apparent heart condition.
June 4: Aaroné’s aunt tells the Denver Post that her former friend Shelley Lowe “is not innocent by a long shot.”
July 11: The Denver Post reports that community activist Alvertis Simmons, a former supporter of Thompson and Lowe, was summoned to testify before the grand jury investigating Aaroné’s disappearance.
2007
Jan. 9: The Arapahoe County grand jury investigation into Aaroné’s disappearance is extended six months.
March 2: The Denver Post reports that an Arapahoe County jury in 2006 concluded in a noncriminal trial that Aaron Thompson was responsible for the “serious bodily injury or the death” of Aaroné.
May 16: Grand jury issues indictment, and Aaron Thompson is arrested.
COMPILED BY DENVER POST STAFF LIBRARIAN BARRY OSBORNE
