DENVER — An assault at an RTD light rail station near downtown Denver is now a death investigation after a 31-year-old victim died days after the assault at the West 10th Avenue and Osage Street light rail station.
Police identified the victim as Gary Aubel III.
"I miss him, I miss him dearly," said Aubel's grandmother Diane Estrada. "I’m expecting him to knock on my door any minute but it’s not going to happen."
On May 7, around 8:30 p.m., Estrada said her grandson was assaulted by someone while waiting for the light rail at West 10th Avenue and Osage Street. Aubel was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and stayed that way for days.
"I said, 'I love you mijo' and he said, 'I love you too, grandma' and that was the last that I talked with him," she said as she began to cry. "That night he took the turn for the worse."
Estrada said Aubel suffered a brain bleed and doctors weren't able to fix it in time. He died on May 18 but he will still live on in others.
"So he saved four lives," Estrada explained about her grandson, who was an organ donor. "He saved four lives with his heart, his lungs, his kidney and his liver."
Denver Police are investigating his death as a homicide. They told 9NEWS that no arrests have been made and they're still gathering suspect information.
"It just hurts so bad, it hurts so bad," she sobbed as she thinks about all that she has gone through lately. For this family, this is not the only tragedy they have faced.
On April 26, around 8:30 a.m., Estrada's daughter, Lupe Mancinas, was hurt in a hit-and-run at West 10th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard in Denver. Police said Mancinas was hit while in a crosswalk.
"She said the truck ran the gas and ran her over," Estrada continued. "He didn't stop he kept going."
Mancinas was seriously hurt. She's still in the hospital with multiple fractures. No arrests have been made in that case either. Denver Police are looking for a dark-colored Dodge Durango they believe was involved in the crash.
"It’s like a hurricane came through and just swept us all up and we’re just going around in a circle round and round and we can’t seem to get out of it," she sighed. "It's just overwhelming. Very overwhelming."
Diane hoped the suspects are soon found and for brighter days ahead.
"Our family and our church wants justice," she said. "Little Gary deserves that."
Denver Police said if anyone knows anything about either of these incidents to contact them or Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867 or visit metrodenvercrimestoppers.com. Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.
Metro Denver Crime Stoppers works by assigning a code to people who anonymously submit a tip. Information is shared with law enforcement, and Crime Stoppers is notified at the conclusion of the investigation.
From there, an awards committee reviews the information provided and, if the information leads to an arrest, the tipster will be notified. Rewards can be collected using the code numbers received when the tip was originally submitted.
> More information about Metro Denver Crime Stoppers can be found here.
> Additional Crime Stoppers bulletins can be found here.
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