The corpse was reportedly located inside a closet.
More than a week later, Rosenberg's is still shut down, and the last post on the deli's Facebook page, which notes that customers should check the timeline for updates about when the business will reopen, was shared on May 3.
Meanwhile, there's news from the Denver coroner's office. Last week, 29-year-old Shane Richardson was identified as the person whose remains were found over Rosenberg's, but the cause of death remained under investigation.
Now, however, the office reveals that Richardson's cause of death was a gunshot wound, raising the possibility that the fire was deliberately set to cover up evidence of a murder.
Here's the description of Rosenberg's, at 725 East 26th Avenue, from our restaurant listing:
Can you make a perfect bagel in Denver? That's what Josh Pollack, a New Jersey native and University of Colorado grad, decided to find out. After leaving a job in finance in New York City, he studied the process at a vintage New Jersey deli, returned to Colorado to enroll at the Cook Street School of Fine Cooking, and fiddled with a couple of classic bagel recipes to create his own. The dough was better, but the real secret, he found, was in the water — and so he built a system to re-create New York City water. In the summer of 2014, he installed that system at Rosenberg's Bagels & Delicatessen, then opened the doors of his Welton Street storefront to an immediate crush of crowds hungry for fish smoked on the premises, meats imported from New York — and what could be the perfect New York bagel.But this mission was put on hold by the blaze....
...which broke out on the second floor of the Rosenberg's building early on May 2.
Thus far, Denver Fire Department investigators haven't announced the cause of the blaze.
But as indicated by the word on the back of this investigator's shirt....
...the possibility that the conflagration was deliberately set isn't being taken for granted.
The Denver Police Department hasn't released any suspect information thus far.
However, the DPD is on the lookout for two vehicles that belonged to Richardson and were missing after the fire.
The first is a 1997 Subaru Impreza with Colorado license plate 859-ZID....
...and the second is a 2012 Ducati Motorcycle with Colorado license plate QTO-128 that's similar to the ride seen in this pic supplied by the DPD.
The aforementioned May 3 Rosenberg's Facebook post reads:
We apologize for the inconvenience, but due to the fire in the residence above our restaurant, we will temporarily be closed until further notice. Please follow our Facebook page for updates as to see when we will reopen.If you have any information about this crime, you're encouraged to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 820-913-STOP (7867), which is offering a reward of up to $2,000 in the case.
We want to sincerely thank everyone for the outpouring of support. We are humbled by the amount of love from the Five Points, Denver, and restaurant communities. We can't wait to bake bagels again!
— Joshua and Kara Pollack and the Rosenberg's Family
In the meantime, we offer our sincere condolences to the friends, family and loved ones of Shane Richardson.
Here's the latest CBS4 report.
