19-year-old’s body found wrapped in blankets on bike trailer, CO cops say. Arrest made
An arrest has been made months after a 19-year-old’s body was found wrapped in blankets on a bike trailer, Colorado police say.
Jimmy West, 52, was arrested on a first-degree murder charge in the death of Zaria Hardee, the Boulder Police Department said in a Jan. 30 news release.
At the time of her “tragic” death, Hardee was homeless, Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said at a news conference.
“Zaria should be here today,” Redfearn said. “It is entirely unacceptable that this young woman lived and ultimately died on our streets. Something must change.”
‘A hot Sunday in July’
Neighbors called police “on a hot Sunday in July” after they “noticed an unusual trailer” that had not been moved in days, Detective Commander Brannon Winn said at the news conference.
When officers searched the trailer, they found Hardee’s decomposing body wrapped in layers of blankets, Winn said.
Through investigation, Winn said detectives determined her body had likely been there for several days and, with the summer heat, “her body was badly decomposed.”
The Boulder County Coroner’s Office determined she died from a “blow to the head,” according to police.
After Hardee was identified, a process that took three days, detectives began “to retrace her last steps,” Winn said, adding that they were looking to figure out “where she died and who she was with.”
The investigation led detectives to arrest West, according to Winn.
“We believe the two spent time together within the unhoused community here in Boulder,” Winn said.
‘A tragedy’
During the news conference, Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty was quick to echo Redfearn’s sentiments about Hardee’s death.
“She was 19 years old, 19, and she was living unhoused in our community,” Dougherty said. “And, to me, that is something that should give everyone pause.”
Dougherty said that while “homelessness is a complex issue,” a 19-year-old woman should “not be subjected to the violence that ended her life far too early.”
“It is a tragedy,” he said.
Hardee’s mother, Annastacia Saavedra, told KMGH that West’s arrest “was a relief.”
“I am very, very, very thankful that we can start the healing process now,” she told the outlet.
Saavedra said that when Hardee was a child, she “was like my best friend,” according to the outlet.
“She never left my side. No matter where I went, she was always right there,” she told the outlet. “She was everything a mother could ask for.”
West, who is being held on $10 million bail, is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 4, jail records show.
Boulder is about a 30-mile drive northwest from Denver.
This story was originally published January 31, 2025 at 1:50 PM with the headline "19-year-old’s body found wrapped in blankets on bike trailer, CO cops say. Arrest made."
