Photos: Man shot to death at I-70 Quality Inn -- but was it murder?

Overnight, police confirm that a man was shot to death near Interstate 70 and Peoria -- although that's not where his body wound up. Moreover, a woman who was with the man was reportedly injured but not shot. At this writing, it's not clear whether the incident qualifies as murder...

By Michael Roberts

May 19, 2014

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Overnight, police confirm that a man was shot to death near Interstate 70 and Peoria -- although that's not where his body wound up. Moreover, a woman who was with the man was reportedly injured but not shot.

At this writing, it's not clear whether the incident qualifies as murder or something else entirely

Here's a Denver Police Department tweet prior to 5 a.m. about what went down.

#DPD inv walk-in shooting at Children's Hospital in Aurora. Adult male deceased at hospital. #DPD found shooting occurred 3800 blk Peoria.
— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) May 19, 2014

This address may not be quite right, but close. According to 9News, the shooting took place in the parking lot of a Quality Inn, whose listed address is 3975 Peoria Way.

Here's a view of the hotel during the daytime in a Google Maps image....

...and this is what it looked like a short time ago, as seen in a Twitpic from reporter Colleen Ferreira, accompanied by text about shell casings found in the lot:

Still an active scene in parking lot of Quality Inn. Police tell me they found numerous shell casings on the ground pic.twitter.com/kNnE0L4A9W
— Colleen Ferreira (@ColleenFerreira) May 19, 2014

After the shooting, the woman was able to drive to Children's Hospital in Aurora, where another 9News reporter, Noel Brennan, is camped out. Here's a Twitpic from him.

Police surround entrance of Aurora Children's. Victims of Denver hotel shooting drove themselves here #9newsmornings pic.twitter.com/N3gI4bFR1T
— Noel Brennan (@Noeltbrennan) May 19, 2014

Thus far, police have not released the identity of the dead man or the woman, and neither is there an indication as to whether a crime has been committed or if the shooting took place in self-defense. More details are expected to emerge, but it's too soon to know if they will make sense of the gruesome events at the Quality Inn.

Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.

More from our Colorado Crimes archive circa July 2013: "David Norman allegedly caught on video dumping body of murdered girlfriend."

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

Contact: Michael Roberts

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