Running from his wife’s former lover, Thomas Crookham heard three shots and instantly felt a burning sensation in the hand he was using to carry his son.
Then the boy went limp. Crookham saw blood coming from 2-year-old Noah’s back after one of several bullets police said were fired by Earl Ryan reached the child’s chest.
On Monday, Ryan, 40, a former high-school valedictorian and dealer of rare books, made his first appearance in court.
Wearing a sleeveless jail outfit designed to prevent suicide, he stared at the floor silently as he learned he would be held without bail on suspicion of first-degree murder, attempted murder and other crimes.
In court papers, police said the shootings appeared to be the result of Ryan’s jealousy at the prospect of Crookham, 30, reuniting with his wife Angela, 27.
Ryan had been living in the basement of Angela Crookham’s home since the spring to help her with rent at the Congress Park duplex at 1243 Madison St. They had been friends when both lived in Cincinnati.
Thomas Crookham said he was aware that his wife’s relationship with Ryan had become “intimate at least once,” he told police. But neither that, the divorce petition she filed last November nor the request for a restraining order she sought in February against her husband had deterred him from trying to reconcile with her.
On Sunday, the Crookhams went to Mass together, then returned to the house. Ryan was there.
Thomas Crookham said Angela had previously asked Ryan to move from the home, but he had not yet done so. On Sunday morning, it was Ryan who was asking Thomas Crookham to leave.
“Ryan then saw Thomas Crookham and asked Angela how long Thomas was going to be here,” according to court papers filed Monday. “Angela stated it was apparent to her that Earl was angry.”
Just before 9:40 a.m., Angela saw Ryan in the basement as she started a load of laundry.
“This is it,” Ryan told her, according to police.
Moments later, she heard Thomas Crookham and Ryan arguing.
“Run, Angela!” Thomas yelled to her. She heard two shots as she ran out the back.
Police believe Ryan fired shots inside then chased Thomas Crookham and Noah from the duplex. Outside, he fired at them again, striking both and killing Noah. Angela Crookham said she watched from down the street as Ryan fired at her husband and son.
Ryan returned to the front porch of the house, where he threatened suicide until police arrested him two hours later.
“I am sorry. I did not mean to shoot anyone,” a neighbor heard Ryan say. “I am sorry. Tell them that I am sorry.”
Angela Crookham had been hired in the summer of 2007 to teach Spanish at the Denver School of Science & Technology. She worked at the charter school only three or four days, resigning before the school year started because of personal issues, said principal Bill Kurtz.
On the Internet, there are photos of Angela Crookham with Noah, smiling together on her Facebook page. Another photo of Crookham holding her son is on a social site for mothers who are breastfeeding.
“She’s a very good person. She loves people and is very adventurous,” said Carrie Sorenson, a friend from Colorado Springs who was supposed to meet with Crookham on Sunday. “But I got a text message that said, ‘This is not going to work.’ She canceled at the last minute.
“I am very sad to hear this. I know she loved Noah very, very much.”
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
