The Heartbreaking Case of 19-Year-Old Kenia Monge | True Crime Documentary

The Heartbreaking Case of 19-Year-Old Kenia Monge | True Crime Documentary

In downtown Denver, a 19-year-old named Kenia Monge went to a bar with her friends. She had too much to drink, left her things on the table, and went to the restroom, but she didn’t come back. Cameras showed her leaving the bar by herself that night. Something scary happened to her, and no one knew what. This sad story is about Kenia Monge, a lively 19-year-old girl who disappeared in April 2011.

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Early Life and Dreams

Kenia was born in Honduras on January 26th, 1992. Her mom, Maria, was only 15 years old at the time. Dealing with the challenges of being a young mom, Maria made a tough choice to leave Kenia with her grandmother and move to the US. Although it was a difficult decision, Maria believed it was the best for Kenia’s future.

In the US, Maria met Tony Lee, and they created a happy family with two kids, Kim and Anthony. Kenia joined them in 2004. Not speaking much English initially, she quickly adapted. Her new family welcomed her warmly, and Tony became her loving dad. Kenia and her half-sister, Kim, became best friends. Life felt perfect for Kenia. Originally from Honduras, where opportunities were limited, Kenia appreciated every moment in the United States. She did well at Cherry Creek High School and followed her passion for broadcasting at a local Denver college.

Kenia thrived, moving into her own apartment with her boyfriend, Louis Easton. Not only was Kenia smart, but she also had a kind heart. Her caring nature attracted many friends, and everyone saw that this young woman was destined for success. But nobody knew that her life would soon take a sad turn, shocking her family and friends.

The Night of the Disappearance

Like any teenager, Kenia and her pals wanted to enjoy the nightlife in downtown Denver. Even though they were underage drinking, to get into bars and clubs they used fake IDs. Kenia’s parents, Tony and Maria, had no clue about this, thinking their daughter was responsible and followed the law. However, teenagers will be teenagers.

On the night of March 31st, 2011, Kenia and her friends went to the 24K Lounge to have a good time. Kenia enjoyed dancing, but things took a bad turn when they all drank alcohol. Because she was young, the effects hit Kenia quickly. After a trip to the restroom, she was kicked out of the club due to being too intoxicated, leaving her phone and purse behind. Alone outside, she couldn’t reach her friends inside.

Kenia’s friends grew worried when she didn’t return. Assuming she left with someone, they planned to return her belongings the next day. Unfortunately, Kenia’s keys were among them, and her fate turned tragic. Kenia had a new group of friends who didn’t stick together like her usual pals. That night, they left the club without searching for her.

A Desperate Search

The next day, Kenia’s boyfriend, Louis, and her family grew concerned. Louis contacted Kenia’s sister, Kim, but no one had information. Desperate for answers, they reached out to everyone they could think of. Later, Kenia’s friends admitted they used fake IDs to enter the club and last saw her just after midnight. The lack of communication and unfamiliarity with this new group led to the tragic outcome for Kenia.

Surprisingly, Kenia’s friends brought her purse to her home because she had left it at the nightclub. Inside, they found her phone, keys, and wallet. This shocked Kenia’s family because she always had her phone with her; they felt something was really wrong. Tony was very worried but didn’t give up hope. He searched Kenia’s phone thoroughly, hoping to find a clue about where she was. He found a strange text from someone named Travis, who mentioned giving her a ride the previous night. Tony got excited, thinking this might help find Kenia. He called Travis many times, but no one answered.

Frustrated and worried, Tony and Maria decided to report Kenia as missing. The officer they spoke to was not sympathetic and said they had to wait 72 hours before filing a report. Tony refused to wait and kept trying to contact Travis.

Meeting Travis Forbes

Finally, on Saturday, Travis called back. He said he saw Kenia talking to a homeless man outside the club and offered her a ride to her car. Travis knew the area well, but when Kenia wanted cigarettes, they stopped at a closed gas station. There, she met a man named Dan, and they walked away together, speaking in Spanish. Travis lost sight of her then. This information left Tony and Maria anxious, but also hopeful that they might find Kenia soon.

Tony thought Travis’s story was weird and hard to believe, but he still thanked Travis for telling him. After that, Tony called the police and told them what Travis said. He wanted them to look into a missing person’s report, but they said it was too soon. Tony was upset about this, so he called Travis again and asked a lot of questions. Travis suggested they meet at the Conoco gas station where Kenia was last seen.

Tony really wanted answers, so he agreed to the meeting and hung up. He grabbed his gun, and when Maria asked where he was going, he told her about meeting Travis. Since the police were not helping, Maria was scared and begged him not to go, but Tony had no choice and left without saying more. Worried about Tony, Maria called the police and told them where Tony was going and that he had a gun. The police decided to send an officer to make sure everything stayed okay at the gas station.

The officer was there along with Travis and his friend. Travis repeated his story, but something felt strange. Tony and the officer checked Travis’s van because of a strong bleach smell. They found something suspicious and told the police officer, who then questioned Travis more privately. The van smelled really bad, like chemicals, and there was a new carpet inside that made them suspicious. The police officer asked Travis to check the van. When they opened the back, it looked clean with a fresh carpet, but the front was messy with food wrappers and trash. The officer found this strange but couldn’t keep Travis without a reason.

As they were leaving, Travis said sorry to Tony and admitted he should have done something. Tony thanked him and reached out for a handshake, but Travis’s hand was shaking. At that moment, Tony felt like Travis might be the last person who saw Kenia alive.

The Investigation Thickens

Three days after Kenia went missing, the police officially started looking into it. On April 4th, they investigated Travis Forbes, a 31-year-old with a troubled history. He had committed crimes in the past, like breaking into homes and businesses when he was 17 and stealing a lot of money. They found women’s underwear in his room that he had vandalized with the letter ‘M’. Travis got in trouble for burglary when he was 17 but didn’t go to prison for the full nine years. In 1998, he faced criminal harassment charges, and in 1999, he violated probation with a knife and got community corrections.

Travis became a suspect in Kenia’s disappearance due to his criminal record, which included an assault charge in 2004 for throwing rocks at a woman. At the time Kenia disappeared, Travis was on probation for domestic violence. His criminal history showed a progression from smaller crimes to more violent ones. Witnesses, including his ex-girlfriends, mentioned a change in his behavior during sexual role-playing, stolen underwear, assault charges, and a lack of remorse for breaking curfew. Travis’s dangerous behavior led investigators to work hard to find out the truth about Kenia’s disappearance.

Meanwhile, Kenia’s family and friends tirelessly searched for her, putting up missing person flyers across the community. On April 5th, surveillance footage from Deb’s Bakery and Cafe provided some insight into Travis’s whereabouts. He was brought in for questioning the next day, sticking to a story about being with his girlfriend on April 1st. However, detectives found that Travis’s phone records didn’t match his story, and he wasn’t near his girlfriend’s home at that time. Detectives realized the seriousness of the situation and feared for Kenia’s safety. On April 8th, Lieutenant Matthew Murray of the Denver Police expressed deep concern, saying, “We have reason to believe that what took place is not good. We are very concerned.”

Monica Po shared crucial information with detectives, revealing that on April 2nd, she found the security cameras turned off when she arrived at the bakery. Reviewing the footage, she saw Travis alone in the bakery around 7:30 p.m. on April 1st, wearing long latex gloves. According to Monica, Travis wasn’t supposed to be there that day. Before the cameras were disabled, Travis was seen taking a trolley into the walk-in freezer wrapped in duct tape, bringing in a carpet roll, and coming out with a bottle of bleach. He then turned off nearby cameras.

Detectives investigating Kenia’s disappearance spoke to other business owners for information. One eyewitness reported seeing two guys burning a large barrel behind the bakery with a white van nearby. Another business owner observed Travis cleaning a big white cooler in his van the next day. Monica confronted Travis about the incident, and he claimed it was due to moldy marijuana. He also said he turned off the cameras to change clothes. Monica didn’t trust Travis because he often lied. She noticed a cut on his arm, and he said a homeless man had attacked him while he was sleeping in the van.

Fleeing and The Second Attack

Travis left the state about a month after Kenia disappeared, and Monica remembered his strange behavior, like selling oats at a very low price and talking about leaving the country. Travis expressed anger, blaming Kenia for ruining his life when he left for Austin, Texas. Detectives looked into every detail of Travis’s story, but his sudden disappearance raised more suspicions. They questioned his girlfriend, Carrie, who supported Travis’s alibi, but phone records showed Travis was actually 40 miles away in Keenesburg instead of being with Carrie. Despite 15 searches in Keenesburg using foot, horseback, and aircraft, there was no sign of Kenia or any human remains. The mystery deepened, leaving everyone uncertain about Kenia’s fate.

Travis was arrested in Austin, Texas, on May 4th for car theft. Detectives flew there and questioned him for 3 hours, showing him surveillance footage. Travis gave excuses, claiming the marijuana was moldy and questioning why he wasn’t arrested earlier. He refused to talk about his relationship with Kenia and asked for a lawyer. Detectives obtained a DNA sample with a search warrant. Although Travis was supposed to return to Colorado on June 30th, his friend withdrew the auto theft accusations, leading to his release.

Travis came back to Fort Collins and Denver, and the detectives watched him closely. They followed him to bars and clubs and even saw him in a drunk situation with the Fort Collins police. Telling the local police about their suspicions regarding Travis, the Denver detectives wanted him to cooperate. But after the first night’s incident, Travis seemed to calm down, and there was no reason to keep watching him, so they stopped the surveillance after three nights.

On July 4th, Travis Forbes roamed the streets of downtown Fort Collins looking for his next victim. Lydia Tillman, who had recently moved back to the area from Longmont, Colorado, was enjoying the fireworks alone. She didn’t know Travis was following her. After the fireworks, Lydia walked home, still unaware that Travis was trailing her. When she reached her apartment, he attacked her violently, forced her inside, and assaulted her. He strangled her and punched her repeatedly, breaking her jaw and causing severe brain injuries.

Despite Lydia’s struggle, Travis doused her lifeless body in bleach and set her apartment on fire as part of his evil plan. But as the flames engulfed the room, something in Lydia resisted. She gathered her strength and jumped out of the second-story window to escape the fire. When firefighters, police, and an ambulance arrived, they found a brave survivor amid the ashes. Lydia was taken to the hospital, but her suffering continued. When asked about her attacker, she could only say a heartbreaking “no”. Unfortunately, she suffered a stroke right after reaching the hospital, putting her in a coma for five painful weeks.

Closing In

The fire destroyed much of the forensic evidence, but there was a glimmer of hope. Investigators found microscopic DNA on unburned nails—a potential clue to the elusive attacker. Examining both cases, detectives noticed chilling similarities and suspected Travis Forbes was responsible for both Kenia’s disappearance and Lydia’s attack.

Travis roamed the streets on July 9th, acting creepy towards women. When the police approached, he lied about his identity, claiming to be “Travis Kennedy.” They had to let him go, risking the city’s safety. But Travis couldn’t resist and struck again, targeting another woman. The officers acted quickly, arresting him at 3:00 a.m. for providing false information, but they kept quiet about their suspicions regarding Lydia’s attack. Travis easily posted bail.

The forensic team tirelessly analyzed the DNA under Lydia’s nails, linking it to Travis’s sample from a previous arrest. On July 11th, just before posting bail, Travis faced new charges of attempted murder, sexual assault, and arson.

Confession and Justice

Detectives rushed to build a case against Travis for Kenia’s disappearance. On August 26th, during a jail visit, Travis surprised them with an offer to spill everything in exchange for a deal. He pleaded not to be labeled a sex offender and asked to avoid the death penalty.

Travis revealed a horrifying story about that April night. Pretending to help Kenia, he and a friend lured her into a van near the 24K Club. Travis’s dark intentions emerged. He attacked her, but she fought back. In a moment of darkness, he silenced her, hiding her lifeless body in a bakery’s freezer. Travis thought about his next move and chose Keenesburg. There, he made a shallow grave under some cottonwood trees near Interstate 76. After the terrible act, he cleaned his van and removed all signs of Kenia.

On September 7th, with detectives and his lawyer, he showed them Keenesburg. They found a 4-foot deep grave where Kenia lay wrapped in plastic in a sad position. On September 26, 2011, during his hearing, Travis surprised everyone by admitting guilt to the first-degree murder of Kenia Monge. This was unusual because most don’t confess at this stage. He got a life sentence without parole for Kenia’s murder and 48 years for trying to kill Lydia Tillman. Both sentences would be served at the same time, meaning Travis would spend his life in prison.

Legacy

To honor Kenia Monge’s memory, the Kenia Monge Foundation was created. It helps women, children, and families in Colorado by providing resources, education, and financial aid. They also support families of crime victims.

A memorial service on September 16th, 2011, at Aurora’s Glory to Glory Christian Center remembered Kenia’s impact on many lives. During the service, Kim emotionally spoke about her big sister Kenia, saying goodbye and “see you later.” She shared cherished memories and believed Kenia became a guardian angel.