Brother arrested for stabbing death of sister

When officers from the Denver Police Department arrived at a suburban home Thursday afternoon, they found a woman being consoled by a neighbor, and a young woman's body lying next to an overturned trash can.

The woman, 45-year-old Vicky Lewis had received a call while she was at work, from her daughter's school saying that she had missed classes that day.

Lewis returned home to try and make contact with her 17-year-old daughter, Marnee Kelley-Mills.  She stated that she was unable to locate her daughter, or her older son,25-year-old Darsean Kelley, and phone calls made went unanswered.

Lewis told police that she noticed a stain on the driveway and that the hose had recently been used.  She additionally noticed that the trash cans were out of place.

That was when she investigated.

Inside of the trash can, underneath a white trash bag, she located a black trash bag that contained a duffel bag.  Inside of that duffel bag, she found her daughter showing signs of stab wounds to the neck.

Detectives reviewed doorbell footage from the home and found footage that showed what appeared to be Kelley dragging a black bag to the trash can and placing it inside.

“He killed my daughter today while I was at work and she was on her way to school. I just am in this vicious cycle of mental health issues. I can’t get help for my oldest son,” Lewis cried.

Lewis told police that her son was diagnosed as schizophrenic which they had attempted to manage as best they could, but said that it proved impossible as a single mother.

During a vigil on Friday night, Lewis said, “I’ve been dealing with a mentally ill son for five or six years.”  According to the Denver Post, she went on to explain that things would vacillate dramatically between highs and lows when he would take his medication then miss dosages, and at times, things would change moment to moment with Kelley slipping in and out of lucidity.

“My oldest, son who is 25, has mental health issues and the police are always called to my house and they tell me there’s nothing they can do," she said, expressing that she felt as though she and her son had been let down by the justice system and mental health care providers.

“I’m poor. I can’t afford to put him in a facility,” Lewis said. “Poor people are sick too. You can’t lock them up and forget them.”

“That is not a good scenario when it comes to someone’s mental health needs that can deteriorate quickly and lead to all sorts of unfortunate outcomes for individuals,” Mental Health Colorado’s CEO Vincent Atchity said, addressing situations where people have a need yet are told to wait.  He advised that people could contact the Colorado crisis services hotline 844-493-8255 or text talk 38255

Thursday night, at about 8 PM, Kelley was located and taken into custody and charged with murder.  He was ordered held without bond.  At the time of his arrest, a detective noted what appeared to be dried blood on the top of Kelley's left big toe.

There is an advisement hearing scheduled for 8:31 AM on January 30th.