Kerry Humphrey pleads guilty to lying for Travis Forbes, Kenia Monge's murderer | The Latest Word | Denver | Denver Westword | The Leading Independent News Source in Denver, Colorado
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Kerry Humphrey pleads guilty to lying for Travis Forbes, Kenia Monge's murderer

On April 1, 2011, nineteen-year-old Kenia Monge disappeared -- and she remained missing until September, when Travis Forbes, who originally portrayed himself as a good Samaritan, led authorities to her body outside Keenesberg. Forbes pleaded guilty shortly thereafter -- but it wasn't until this week that his girlfriend, Kerry Humphrey,...
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On April 1, 2011, nineteen-year-old Kenia Monge disappeared -- and she remained missing until September, when Travis Forbes, who originally portrayed himself as a good Samaritan, led authorities to her body outside Keenesberg. Forbes pleaded guilty shortly thereafter -- but it wasn't until this week that his girlfriend, Kerry Humphrey, did likewise, admitting that she lied to give him an alibi.

An affidavit for Humphrey's arrest, on view below, offers the details for her falsehoods, and many of Forbes's. The document notes Monge's disappearance after a night of clubbing, as well as the discovery that her purse, cell phone and keys had been left at the venue in question, 24K.

Stored in the phone was a text message that read, "Hey this is Travis, the guy who gave you a ride last night, - white creepy van." That was followed by a smiley face symbol and the question "did you get home okay?"

After seeing that text message, Anthony Lee, Monge's father, contacted Forbes, who met with him accompanied by a pal, Edward Fajardo. At that time, Forbes offered an account of the evening that he also shared with police. He and Fajardo took a very intoxicated Monge to Club Lavish, on Market Street, to retrieve her car, he said, but they couldn't find it -- so he offered to drive her home. Before they arrived, though, they stopped at a Conoco to get cigarettes, only to discover that the station was closed. Monge then saw a man, identified only as "Dan," smoking nearby and bummed a cigarette. Shortly thereafter, he continued, Monge walked off with Dan -- and that was the last time he saw her.

The report points out that Forbes told Lee, "I wish I knew more about what happened to your daughter, but I told you everything I know" -- lines delivered with tears welling in his eyes and evident emotion in his voice.

During a subsequent interview, Forbes claimed that he'd arrived at the home of his girlfriend, Humphrey, at after 3 a.m. on April 1 and split at approximately 8:30 a.m. -- information that was confirmed by Humphrey during her own sit-down. She told a detective that she hadn't gone out with Forbes on the evening of March 31, but she saw him upon his arrival at 3:30 a.m. She recalled him saying something about a "fun night."

In addition, Humphrey parroted the story Forbes had already told officers about what had happened in his exchange with Monge.

How believable was this tale? Not very -- especially after cell phone records revealed that Forbes was nowhere close to Humphrey's home between the hours of 3 a.m. and 8 a.m. on April 1.

This information prompted another chat with Humphrey, who stuck with her previous claims -- at least until she was shown phone records noting Forbes's GPS coordinates, which proved she wasn't telling the truth.

At that point, the affidavit catalogs a change in tune, with Humphrey revealing that Forbes asked her to lie about his whereabouts that night. First he told her he'd slept in his van, which might not sound convincing to investigators searching for Monge. Later, he claimed he'd been on a "marijuana run" -- a no-no since he was on probation.

Humphrey told cops she never asked Forbes why he'd asked her to lie for him -- but she'll be living with the consequences of doing so for quite some time to come. She pleaded guilty to one count apiece of attempting to influence a public official and perjury, plus two counts of false reporting to authorities, earning 2,000 hours of community service and up to two years in Denver County Jail.

Forbes, for his part, will spend the rest of his life behind bars. Look below to see a larger version of Humphrey's mug shot, as well as the aforementioned affidavit.

Kerry Humphrey Arrest Warrant

More from our News archive: "Kenia Monge disappearance: Self-described suspect Travis Forbes's dirty panties secret."

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