Two years after a 20-year-old woman known to those close to her as “Josie” was found dead on a City Park West street, Denver Police are asking the public for help solving her killing. Grace Monet McKittrick was found deceased near East 16th Avenue and North High Street on August 14, 2024, and her death has since been classified as a homicide that remains unsolved.
The renewed appeal came in a crime alert issued this week by the Denver Police Dept., which is directing anyone with information to Metro Denver Crime Stoppers rather than handling tips directly. Tipsters can remain anonymous and are eligible for a reward of up to $2,000 if they contact the tip line at 720-913-7867 or submit information through Metro Denver Crime Stoppers’ website. The department noted that to qualify for the reward and stay anonymous, tipsters must go through the tip line or the online portal, which is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The case is logged under Denver Police Department case number 24-438777.
An autopsy conducted by the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner determined that McKittrick died from asphyxia by strangulation, officially ruling her death a homicide, according to Public Technologies. That finding filled in a detail missing from the original police crime alert, which had not specified the cause of death. Denver officers initially responded to the scene as an outdoor death investigation before reclassifying it as a homicide inquiry once preliminary medical examiner findings came back, 9News reported at the time — standard protocol for outdoor deaths until foul play or traumatic injuries are confirmed.
A Daughter, Adopted as a Newborn, Remembered by Her Mother
McKittrick's full name was Ambrosia Grace Monet McKittrick. She was adopted as a newborn in October 2003 by Shelley McKittrick, a prominent local housing advocate and former director of homeless programs for the city of Aurora, according to details her mother shared in a GoFundMe campaign following her death. Funeral and memorial services were provided in Denver by the Monarch Society, per Legacy.com.
Hoodline first reported on the case in August 2024, shortly after McKittrick's body was found and the investigation opened. Two years later, no suspect has been publicly named, and no motive has been disclosed.
A Violent Corner of the City, and a Citywide Backlog
The stretch of City Park West near East 16th Avenue and North High Street where McKittrick was found sits within a neighborhood that recorded a violent crime rate of 2,332 per 100,000 residents in 2024, according to data cited by Move 4 Less. The neighborhood falls within Denver's City Council District 9.
Denver recorded 70 homicides in 2024, the year McKittrick was killed, before the number fell 41% to 37 homicides in 2025 — the largest percentage drop among major U.S. cities that year, per the Denver Gazette. The Denver Police Department’s Major Crimes Division posted an 81% homicide clearance rate in 2025, well above the 2024 national average of 61%, the department reported in January.
Even with that clearance rate, Denver Police maintain jurisdiction over more than 780 unsolved cold cases, which account for over 40% of the roughly 1,800 active cold cases tracked statewide by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, according to Law Week Colorado. The department runs a dedicated Cold Case Unit staffed with full-time investigators focused exclusively on unresolved cases.
How Tips and Technology Factor Into Solving Old Cases
Metro Denver Crime Stoppers operates as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit that assigns tipsters secret code numbers so they never have to identify themselves or testify in court, according to the Parker Police Department. The program has awarded more than $1.3 million in rewards since it was founded in 1981.
Beyond public tips, Denver Police rely on federal Bureau of Justice Assistance grant funding for their Integrated Cold Case Project, which uses forensic genetic genealogy and advanced DNA testing to develop new leads in cold homicides. The department’s cold case program has analyzed more than 1,100 cases using that grant funding since it launched.
For now, McKittrick’s case remains open, with no publicly identified suspect or motive. Anyone with information is asked to call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867 or submit a tip online, and can call 911 in an emergency or the department’s non-emergency line at 720-913-2000.
