CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — A man and a woman have been arrested in the case of 51-year-old Kimberly Bell, who went missing in 2019, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said.
The sheriff's office held a news conference Tuesday announcing the arrests of Javier "Alex" Martell, 30, and Jennifer Bremer, 38, for Bell's murder.
Bremer is charged with one count of accessory to crime and one count of identity theft, both of which are felonies. Martell is charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly said Bell was reported missing in August of 2019 by her sister. Bell had been living with her sister in Franktown and had stopped showing up for work around July 22, 2019.
Bell's case was turned over to a cold case team in 2021.
On Tuesday, Weekly said that according to witness statements, the suspects, Martell and Bremer, were known to Bell and were in her car with her on July 22, 2019, at the Lincoln Station RTD Park-N-Ride.
Martell "became enraged with Bell" and pulled her out of the driver's seat and into the back seat with him, choking her, Weekly said. Martell then told Bremer to get into the driver's seat and drive. Martell continued to choke Bell until she was dead, Weekly said.
Martell and Bremer then drove to various locations around the Denver metro area with Bell's body in the back of the car, including to a Home Depot where Martell purchased several items, including an ax, Weekly said.
The pair then drove to a remote location near Estes Park where Martell dismembered Bell's body. Afterward, Martell put Bell's body in trash bags and left them in a dumpster at a nearby veterinary clinic, he said.
Bell's body has not been found.
“We’ve never had a case quite like this in Douglas County," Weekly said Tuesday.
Weekly thanked the sheriff's office's cold case unit for their years of hard work, as well as many partner agencies.
“You can’t put the price on human life, so we will do whatever we can to solve these cases,” Weekly said.
Bremer has been released on bond, according to court documents. Martell is in custody in Douglas County on a $10 million cash-only bond.