Tragedy struck the Denver community as police confirmed the body found in a Lakewood alleyway is that of missing Denver woman, Jax Gratton. Lakewood Police Department, having announced an investigation into a suspicious death, found the body on Friday in the 9600 block of West Colfax Avenue. According to 9NEWS, Gratton had been missing for nearly two months before the discovery.
As sorrow envelops her workplace, Saikele, Gratton's co-worker, described her as obtained by CBS News Colorado as "genuine, caring, funny, and authentically herself." In a community still grappling with the weight of her absence, Gratton's friends and colleagues at the Denver salon where she worked gathered to remember the vivacious soul she was. They recount how she brought energy and life into any space, signifying a beacon that, in her abrupt absence, seems dimmed too soon.
While plans for a vigil are underway, Gratton's death resonates with poignant loss and an immediate void. Salon manager Brandy Carey, also a friend of Gratton's, revealed to CBS Colorado that they are taking time to process this agonizing revelation. As a trans woman, Gratton championed the rights and protection of the trans and LGBTQIA+ community. Her friends pledge to continue her advocacy, a testament to a spirit stifled but causing ripples of change beyond life.
Circumstances around Gratton's death are shrouded in mystery. Despite the body being in advanced decompositional stages, Cherilynne Gratton-Camis, Gratton's mother, confirmed to KDVR that her daughter was found wearing the same clothes from the night she vanished.
