Yesterday, in our first post about a homicide at the Denver West Inn (see our previous coverage below), Lakewood Police Department spokesman Steve Davis told us that a suspect was in custody, but no arrest had been made.
By late afternoon, however, Cody Sewick, 21, had been booked on suspicion of first-degree murder.
Look below for additional details and photos of Sewick, as well as more information about the crime itself.
Sewick hasn't been the busiest Facebooker, but he's posted a number of self-portraits, including this one....
...and this one: And here's a larger look at his current profile pic: As for posts, he hasn't shared anything since February, when he wrote, "Fuck i hate bein sick cant do shit cant even smoke this some bull shit." Previous notes from 2013 include, "Time to make momey [sic] n nothin else," "Tryin to live my life wirhout life gettin in the way if u know wat i mean," "Wanna get high" and "Wake n back [sic]."
The "About" section of his page states that he attended Woonsocket High School in Rhode Island and Wheat Ridge High School here, with his job listed as "SSI" -- presumably "Supplemental Security Income."
Now, of course, Sewick is in custody at Jefferson County Jail for the death of a still unidentified man whose body was found just after 2 p.m. yesterday at the aforementioned Denver West Inn, 7150 West Colfax.
The county coroner has yet to announce a cause of death in the case, and the LPD isn't offering any clues. Rather, cops simply note that due to investigation, detectives quickly identified Sewick as a person of interest and presumed acquaintance of the victim -- and he was located at around 2:20 a.m. yesterday morning. After interviews, he was processed on a first-degree murder beef.
Sewick is expected to make his first court appearance today. In the meantime, the LPD continues to ask anyone with additional information about Sewick, the victim or the homicide to phone the department at 303-987-7111.
Look below to see Sewick's booking photo, followed by our original post.
Continue for our previous coverage of the homicide at the Denver West Inn, including an interactive graphic showing the area near the crime scene. Original post, 8:50 a.m. December 10: When they arrived at the Denver West Inn on West Colfax yesterday afternoon, Lakewood police officers knew a man was dead.
But they didn't know how he got that way.
A lot's changed in the hours since then. A Lakewood Police Department spokesman confirms that a homicide investigation is underway, and while no arrest has been made at this writing, a suspect is in custody.
The incident took place at the Denver West Inn, 7150 West Colfax, an address captured in the following interactive graphic. If you have problems seeing the image, click "View Larger Map."
View Larger Map
At 2:10 yesterday afternoon, according to LPD spokesman Steve Davis, a member of the inn's management staff put in a call about a dead man in one of the motel's rooms. "We responded in a matter of minutes," Davis says -- but after taking a quick look at the scene, "we backed out of the room while we were waiting on search warrants," which didn't arrive until sometime after 6:30 p.m.
Initially, Davis notes, "it wasn't quickly apparent to us what type of death we had. But when we were able to go in there, it was obvious from evidence at the scene and further investigation that the death was as a result of homicide."
At this point, the LPD isn't saying what kind of weapon and/or method was used in the killing. Likewise, details about the victim and the suspect are being withheld thus far. In the case of the former, next of kin must be contacted. As for the latter, Davis notes that "the person we're interviewing has not technically been arrested yet, but I believe that will happen later today. We feel very confident we're talking to the right person, and I don't want the public to think there's still someone running around out there who committed this crime."
What was the relationship between the two men? "We certainly feel like they were acquaintances," Davis replies. "This was not a random act, stranger-on-stranger. We have good reason to believe they were acquainted."
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Investigators remain on the scene at this writing. If you have any information about what took place, you're encouraged to phone the Lakewood PD at 303-987-7111.
Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.
More from our Mile High Murder archive: "Is Steven Perez, fatal stabbing victim, North Side Mafia gang member "Sly Dog"? (26)"
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