The man being held on suspicion of murder in the death of a 13-year-old Broomfield girl made his first appearance in court today.
A shackled Alexander “Alex” Pacheco, 18, entered the courtroom with his head bowed, a thick shock of black hair hanging over his forehead.
The slender teen’s eyes remained downcast throughout the short hearing. He made no sign to his parents, nor to the family of his girlfriend, Kelsey Shannon, whom he is suspected of killing.
“When I found out he was in jail, I broke into tears,” said a woman who identified herself to reporters as a friend of Pacheco’s and gave her name as Sierra.
Sierra said she believes Pacheco is wrongly accused because he was dating an underage girl. “He’s not a violent person.”
Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Kowert told the judge that she expects to formally charge Pacheco with first-degree murder at a hearing Friday afternoon.
He is accused of killing Kelsey, whose decomposed body was found last week behind a screen of cattails in a drainage ditch less than a mile from her home.
Kelsey disappeared Oct. 14 after arguing with her parents over her choice of companions.
Police arrested Pacheco early Saturday at his Lakewood home.
They haven’t said what led them to Pacheco, and arrest and search-warrant affidavits that could shed some light on evidence in the case remain sealed at the request of prosecutors and Pacheco’s public defender.
Megan Ring, deputy state public defender, said she hadn’t had a chance to read the documents.
Kowert told Judge John Pokovich that she wants the papers opened only to Pacheco’s lawyer. The documents should be sealed because the case is still under investigation, she told a reporter.
Pacheco’s parents sat in the front row of the Broomfield County courtroom behind the table where their son stared into his lap. Kelsey’s parents and other family members and friends filled several rows on the other side of the courtroom.
Pacheco is being held without bail in the Broomfield jail.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
