Criminal Justice Reporter
Shelly Bradbury
Shelly Bradbury is the criminal justice enterprise reporter at the Denver Post. She joined the paper in 2019 and previously worked as a crime reporter at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in Pennsylvania and the Chattanooga Times Free Press in Tennessee. She’s been a reporter since 2012, focused on policing, public safety, jails and courts. In Pittsburgh, she helped the newspaper earn the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news after a mass shooting at a local synagogue, and in 2020 she was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in local reporting for an investigation into child sexual abuse among Amish and Mennonite communities.
Featured Stories

More people died in police chases in this Denver suburb than in the state’s biggest cities
The Denver Post examined the region’s approach to police pursuits after the Aurora Police Department quietly broadened its policy in October to allow officers to chase more suspects.

Inside the investigation of a CBI scientist’s years of misconduct: “God forbid we have someone in prison that shouldn’t be”
During the internal affairs investigation, Yvonne "Missy" Woods' colleagues reacted to her conduct with anger, betrayal and bewilderment, their interviews show.

How Pueblo weaponizes contempt of court to inflate jail time for minor crimes
Pueblo city judges have sent people to jail for months on charges that in other Colorado courts are punished by one or two days in jail. Experts call it "draconian"...
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Colorado mom who portrayed daughter as terminally ill sentenced to 16 years in prison for causing 7-year-old’s death
Five years after Olivia Gant, 7, died in a Denver hospice after being fed only popsicles and juice for 19 days, a judge on Wednesday sentenced her mother to 16...

State auditor finds evidence of illegal activities in Colorado’s Judicial Branch, refers 4 ex-employees for criminal investigation
An investigation by the state auditor into the Colorado Judicial Branch found evidence of occupational fraud, apparently illegal transactions and the misuse of public funds, according to an executive summary...

New Fifth Judicial District chief judge replaces predecessor who threatened stepson with rifle
A new chief judge permanently took over leadership of Colorado's Fifth Judicial District on Friday, three weeks after the former chief judge pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly...

Aurora police name suspect in triple shooting at church
Aurora police on Sunday named a 31-year-old man as the suspect in a shooting that killed one woman and injured two men at a church Friday night.

Sister of Green Valley Ranch arson suspect pleads guilty to federal drug, gun charges
The 24-year-old sister of one of the suspects accused of starting the 2020 fire that killed five members of a Senegalese family pleaded guilty Thursday to federal drug and gun...

Judge moves Barry Morphew murder trial to Cañon City due to “massive” pretrial publicity in Chaffee County
A judge on Monday moved the murder case against Barry Morphew into Fremont County on the grounds that Morphew could not receive a fair trial in Chaffee County, according to...

His parents pay all his expenses. Should he qualify for a public defender?
An unemployed man whose parents pay all his expenses and let him live rent-free in their home is entitled to a public defender despite his parent's financial resources, the Colorado...

Two men killed in separate crashes in Aurora
Two men in their 60s were killed minutes apart in separate crashes in Aurora Saturday, according to Aurora police.

One killed, two wounded in Denver drive-by shooting
A man was killed and two others wounded in a drive-by shooting in northeast Denver Saturday night, police said.

Man shot to death during “gathering” in northwest Aurora home
A man was shot to death early Sunday morning at a home in Aurora, police said.