Lakewood Police are investigating a homicide after being called to a home in the 2100 block of S. Coors Circle, Dec. 29, 2020. Upon their arrival at approximately 2:45 p.m., officers were informed by friends of the home's resident, that they’d discovered a deceased female inside.
The victim has been identified as Hilary Engel, 45, of Lakewood.
According to John Romero with the Lakewood Police Department, Engel appears to have died of strangulation.
Engel's social media lists her as an EMT, and her employer as St. Anthony Hospital.
A suspect, 51-year-old Karl Aaron Bemish was tracked to a hotel in Trinidad where he was taken into custody by Trinidad Police on Dec. 30, 2020. Bemish is currently being held without bail in the Jefferson County jail on suspicion of committing First Degree Murder, after being transported back from Las Animas County. He is due back in court on Jan. 8, to be advised of charges that will be filed against him.
According to Las Animas Sheriff, Derek Navarette, Bemish's arrest resulted from a call to perform a welfare check on him at the Days Inn Hotel in Trinidad, where Trinidad police discovered he was wanted on a Jeffco warrant. Navarette said once Bemish was arrested, he was taken to a local healthcare facility for treatment of injuries not related to the arrest.
