Rental Breakdown: Her Son Was Killed at an Illegal Party at This Airbnb, but It's Still Available to Book

Miranda Fresquez lay on the ground outside of a Montbello Airbnb for hours, waiting for her son's body to be taken away.

Police tape separated her from eighteen-year-old Rigoberto Esparza III, lying lifeless in the driveway with the bullet that shot through his torso still lodged in his arm. Fresquez begged the officers at the house to let her hold him one last time, as they pleaded for her to go downtown with the other police officers.

But as long as her son was lying on the cold, hard ground, so would she. Fresquez stayed in that spot all night. When the coroner finally retrieved the body in the morning, she chased after the van as it drove away.

"All I could think about is how alone he probably felt," she says. "He died on that fucking floor by himself."

Esparza, called "Rigo" by his family, was at the Airbnb for less than two hours before he was killed. He had come with some friends for a house party, though the short-term rental home was being operated more like a nightclub. Security charged $100 for anyone to enter the house, which was fitted with a stripper pole, bar, DJ and food truck. Rigo was outside when a group of men drove by and shot up the party, reportedly angry over the high cover charge.

Rigo was struck by one of the bullets and died at the scene just after 1 a.m. on March 11, 2023. But the tragedy was not over.

On the day before Rigo's burial, his father, Rigoberto Esparza Jr., committed suicide. He couldn't handle the grief of losing his son, says Mary Esparza, Rigo's grandmother. Rigo also left behind a child of his own: a baby boy who will turn two years old this month.

"I still can't believe it's happened," Mary says. One year after Rigo's death, the Aurora home where she helped raise him still feels empty and quiet. "I don't think it will ever pass. I just sit here crying. It's dead here. We can't be happy. I can't even laugh," she says.

"If it wasn't for my other kids, I would probably be buried right next to them," Fresquez adds. "I don't want to be here. ... I am such a different person now that my son and his dad are gone. It has torn our lives apart, and it's never going to get better."

The shooting that claimed Rigo's life was the third to occur at a rental house owned and operated by Bobby Manigo.

Over the past three and a half years, Manigo has turned two different Denver homes into party houses and rented them out on platforms like Airbnb with a city-authorized short-term rental license. His activities have earned him tens of thousands of dollars while violating local regulations that prohibit short-term rental properties from being used as event venues and require the rentals to be the owner's primary residence.

The houses attracted gun violence, fights, property damage, a burglary and several noise complaints — all before Rigo was killed. An investigation into the first known shooting in 2020 led Manigo to surrender his rental license, though he was given a new license one year later, opening the door for him to continue his operation.

Manigo's new license was revoked in October, more than seven months after Rigo's death. But the house where he died remains listed for rent on at least four short-term rental websites. Two men from Houston were staying at the house when Westword reporters visited on March 1; they claimed they were renting the home for a few days, five months after Manigo lost his short-term rental license.

Manigo declined to comment for this story, asking "How could this benefit me?" But when city investigators spoke to him about the first shooting at his property in 2020, he had this to say, according to their report:

"This is Montbello and shots are fired around here all the time. ... [I'm not] liable for what [renters] do."

Rigo's family disagrees. They hold Manigo partially responsible for what happened to their son.

At only eighteen, Rigo would not have been able to get into a real club, but he was welcomed into Manigo's house. And even though these parties had resulted in violence in the past, Manigo kept allowing them. He co-hosted and attended the party on the night of Rigo's fatal shooting, according to a report from the Denver Department of Excise & Licenses, which regulates short-term rentals.

Three people were arrested and charged in connection with Rigo's murder, but Manigo will not face any legal repercussions.

"He's not being held accountable," says Rigo's aunt Joann Esparza. "It's not fair."

Party House of Horrors

The house at 12240 East 50th Avenue sits on a quiet residential street, next door to a Baptist church. During the day, families and children can be seen playing in their yards in the cul-de-sac across the road. But for years, the house has been the subject of numerous 911 calls and complaints while Manigo was renting it out as a party venue, using platforms like Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com.

One person was hospitalized after being shot at a Halloween party at the house in October 2022. A party attendee opened fire inside the house, shooting off 34 rounds, the Excise & Licenses report says. The victim survived, but no suspects were ever arrested for the shooting, according to the Denver Police Department. The house was being rented on Airbnb at the time of the party.

In December that same year, another Airbnb party at the house resulted in a violent fight, with someone smashing a window with a metal pipe and threatening to shoot others at the party. In April 2021, police were called over reports of party-goers flashing guns and tasers. In July 2022, someone burglarized the house after a rental event, breaking a car window, kicking in the door and stealing multiple items. Police believe that alcohol is often served to minors at these events, according to the report.

The city estimates that Manigo earned at least $80,000 from renting out the house for 165 nights in 2022, charging $500 per night on average, not including money he may have collected from individuals attending the parties hosted at the house.

All of these behaviors violate city regulations that prohibit short-term rental properties from being used as event or party venues and from operating in a manner that adversely affects the safety or welfare of the neighborhood. Denver also requires that short-term rental operators live in the rental as their primary residence, which the report concluded Manigo was not doing.

In addition, the events held there likely go against Airbnb's policy of banning open-invite parties. The March 2023 party where Rigo was killed was advertised by a promoter and marketed on social media, Fresquez says; she provided a flier for the party that she says Rigo sent her. 

While Manigo rented out the house to host other people's parties, he also attended or co-hosted them, working with promoters to advertise the events and charging hefty entrance fees at the door. Manigo co-hosted the party where Rigo was killed, according to the city report.

"[Manigo] was marketing and running the house as a club, not as a short-term rental, completely abusing the way he was using the property," the report found. "Neighbors are scared every time they see someone enter the residence; they’re concerned that there will be a shooting and that their houses or vehicles are going to be struck. Neighbors shouldn’t have to live in fear of what’s going on next door to them."

Neighbors declined to speak to Westword for this story. Fresquez says she got the same response when she tried to talk to one neighbor shortly after her son's death: "She was terrified. She said she didn't want any problems."

Despite the many incidents that occurred at the rental house, the city was not aware of them until after Rigo's murder, says Eric Escudero, spokesperson for the Denver Department of Excise & Licenses. He says the department immediately took action after learning of the incidents in May, two months after Rigo's death and two years after the first police reports in April 2021.

"As soon as the Department of Excise & Licenses had information about previous incidents, the city asked the booking platform to remove the listing from their platform as the city completed the investigative process," Escudero says. "Once the investigation was complete and the city had the necessary information to revoke the license, the city took action."

While Manigo's rental listing on Airbnb and Booking.com does appear to be gone, when this story was published it remained Vrbo, HomeToGo, Tripadvisor and FlipKey, where the house was listed for rent as of March 18 at between $209 and $401 per night. The Vrbo listing advertises the house as "420 friendly," with "parties and events allowed on site," featuring photos of a stripper pole, massage table, light-up jacuzzi tub, pool table and bar. (The listings on HomeToGo, FlipKey and TripAdvisor have been removed since this story was published. Vrbo still has the listing up.)

The Tripadvisor listing says it was last updated in 2024 — meaning it has been active since Manigo's short-term rental license was revoked last October. The most recent review on Vrbo is from mid-June, one month after the city attempted to remove the house's listing on booking platforms: "A great fit for our bachelor party," the reviewer wrote.
When Westword stopped by the house on March 1, the two men staying there said they were renting it while in town for a club opening. They declined to identify what platform, if any, they had used to rent the house. One of the men said he was unaware of the incidents that previously occurred at the Airbnb or that Manigo had lost his short-term rental license.

"He ain't said nothing. But I'm just with him [the other guest], I don't know nothing," the man said. "If I knew this, I know I wouldn't be in here."

Manigo allegedly began searching for ways around the license revocation before it was even official, the city claims. The report says Manigo's sister tried to rent out a different house under her name to continue his parties once the city moved to take down Manigo's short-term rental listings. "[Manigo] tries to find loopholes to continue running these venues," the report notes.

This isn't the first rental property Manigo has abused. Before he was granted a short-term rental license for 12240 East 50th Avenue in December 2021, he held a license for 5516 Sable Street from 2018 to 2020. Many of the same kinds of incidents occurred at that house, according to city reports.

There was a shooting inside 5516 Sable Street in August 2020 while it was being rented for a party via Airbnb. At least six shots were fired inside the house, but no one was injured, and no arrests were made in connection with the shooting, according to Denver police. Just like the house on 50th Avenue, the Sable Street house was used as a party venue — complete with a stripper pole and ATM in the basement — and Manigo admitted that he did not live there.

As part of a settlement agreement with the city, Manigo voluntarily surrendered his short-term rental license for 5516 Sable Street in December 2020 but was allowed to reapply for a new license beginning in July 2021. He secured a short-term rental license for 12240 East 50th Avenue five months later.

"The review of the application at the 12240 East 50th Avenue address did not find sufficient grounds to deny the application," Escudero says.

While investigating the violent crimes committed at 12240 East 50th Avenue, the city discovered that this house was not Manigo's primary residence, either, since he rented it out so frequently. In addition, investigators found that Manigo falsely claimed to earn no income from the rental on his renewal application for the rental license, despite the city estimating that he earned at least $80,000 from the house in one year.

Manigo's short-term rental license for 12240 East 50th Avenue was revoked on October 30. He did not appear at the required hearing regarding his discipline.

He will be eligible to apply for another license in October 2025.

The State of Airbnbs in Denver

To date, Denver has revoked just five short-term rental licenses since the city began regulating them in 2017. Nine other licenses have been surrendered, some voluntarily and some compelled by the city.

Manigo is the only owner to ever lose a license more than once, and the first person to lose a license since 2020.

Of the fourteen licenses revoked or surrendered, ten were due to the rental property not being the owner's primary residence. The other four — including Manigo's two license losses — were because of violent parties disturbing the neighborhood.

One Airbnb Halloween party resulted in multiple fights, alleged assaults and one man firing a gun into the street outside 624 East 12th Avenue in Denver's Capitol Hill neighborhood on November 1, 2019.

While investigating the incident, city officials discovered that the short-term rental license holder, Shannon Baker, lived in California and was not using the Denver house as her primary residence. She applied for a California driver's license just one month after receiving the short-term rental license, according to city reports. Baker surrendered her rental license in January 2020 and was prohibited from reapplying for one year.

A week later, on November 9, 2019, police were called to an Airbnb at 1008 South Madison Street five times for noise complaints, disturbances and gunshots. A party inside of the Belcaro rental had grown out of control, culminating in attendees firing guns outside of the house in unknown directions before driving off. No one was injured.

The house's owner, Madeline Philley, had received her short-term rental license only two months prior, according to city reports. She surrendered her license in January 2020 and was also barred from applying for a new license for one year.

Neither Baker nor Philley were ever granted new licenses, according to city records.

The city's Airbnb issues don't stop at violence. A Denver man, Shaunik Raheja, was indicted on federal fraud charges in January for allegedly running a national scam using Airbnb and Vrbo to defraud thousands of victims by posting fake or duplicate listings for rental properties. The scheme generated more than $8.5 million in 2018 and 2019, according to the indictment.

Raheja used two people who claimed to be his long-term tenants to secure short-term rental licenses for two Denver properties in 2019, according to Excise & Licenses. He also held his own short-term rental license for 3315 Navajo Street from 2019 to 2020. He applied for a license at 3442 Osage Street in 2021, but withdrew the application after the city asked Raheja to sign an affidavit attesting that the home was his primary residence.
Only 175 complaints were filed against Denver short-term rentals in 2023 — the lowest since the city started regulating them in 2017, according to Excise & Licenses. By comparison, there were an average of 278 complaints each year from 2018 to 2022, peaking at 479 complaints in 2019. But complaints could be going to the wrong place.

Police were notified about the violent and disruptive incidents occurring at Manigo's 50th Avenue house beginning in April 2021, while Excise & Licenses apparently didn't begin its investigation into the rental until May 2023.

"When the Department of Excise & Licenses receives complaints, every complaint is investigated," Escudero says. "When the city uncovers information about rules and regulations being violated, the city takes enforcement action, as was the case at both [of Manigo's] addresses."

Denver residents can submit complaints regarding short-term rentals by calling 311. Neighbors can report when rentals disturb the neighborhood, host suspicious activity, operate without a license and more; in some circumstances, the city will provide a free mediation service to try to resolve the conflict.

When someone runs a short-term rental without a license, the city typically gives a written warning, followed by a $150 fine if the rental does not cease within thirty days. A $500 fine comes thirty days after that, then $999 after another thirty days. From there, the city can issue an additional $999 fine every day that the activity continues. The city also asks rental platforms to remove the listing or face fines for processing an illegal transaction.

In extreme cases, the city can issue a criminal citation, which could result in jail time, Escudero says: "If they won’t get a license or can’t because they are legally prohibited from hosting a short-term rental at an address, the city takes strong enforcement efforts."

There are currently 2,748 active short-term rental licenses in Denver, Escudero says, and the city estimates that 92 percent of all advertised short-term rentals in Denver have the required licensing. Since 2017, the city has denied 284 applications for new licenses and license renewals.

"The city has seen consistent growth and more compliance over the last year," Escudero says. "Denver has one of the most successfully regulated short-term rental markets in America in terms of licensing compliance. We are proud of the success we’ve had with a high compliance rate and consequences for illegal operators."

The Life Lost 

Before they learned about Manigo's history, Rigo's family held a vigil outside of the Montbello Airbnb where he was killed. Dozens of Rigo's friends and family members gathered in the driveway where he died to light candles and release balloons. Manigo was there, too, Fresquez says.

Manigo gave the family $200 toward Rigo's funeral expenses — though Rigo had paid $100 to enter the party that night. Looking back on the interaction, Fresquez says it makes her sick.

“He’s undermining what happened to Baby Rigo at his house," Fresquez says. "The fact that he thought his pocket change was going to make everything okay is offensive. No amount of money is worth Baby Rigo's life.”

Rigo's family describes him as an exceptionally kind person — a friend to many, even if they weren't friends to him. When he was ten, he asked to donate his birthday presents to the homeless. As a teenager, he was always there to drive his family members to work and help fix their cars.

Fresquez says she would call Rigo whenever she had a question about anything, from life advice to how to remove a stain from a carpet. She still finds herself dialing his phone number today when she needs help with something.

He wasn't much of a partier, spending most weekends with his new baby son. The party where Rigo was killed was the first one he'd been to in nearly half a year, his family claims. Fresquez says she and Rigo's father struggled with addiction and legal trouble when Rigo was young, so he wanted to be a better role model for his own child. He had plans to go back to school and become a barber.

Now, Rigo's baby will grow up only knowing his father through photographs. Fresquez reflects on a recent visit with her grandson, watching him play at the gravesites of Rigo and his grandfather. "That's how he has to play with his dad," she says through tears. "He has to go to the cemetery."

"That's the hardest part," Joann Esparza adds. "To watch Rigo's son have to call him 'Dada' through a picture. ... He was a good kid and a good man. He had so many goals in life. He was ready to do all those things, and, unfortunately, he didn't make it."

Three people were arrested and charged in connection to Rigo's murder: twenty-year-old Joseph Lash, nineteen-year-old Alijah Scott and twenty-year-old Daniel Villegas.

According to the arrest affidavit, Lash and Scott allegedly fired between 41 and 52 rounds at the Montbello rental house at random, striking Rigo once. The men were reportedly angry about having to pay $100 to enter the party, which they saw advertised on Facebook. Villegas allegedly drove the car used in the drive-by, circling the party three times as the passengers prepared for the attack and then opened fire.

Lash and Scott were both charged with first-degree murder, according to the Denver District Attorney's Office. Lash pleaded not guilty on February 29, with his next court appearance scheduled for April 11. Scott has a preliminary hearing on May 24. Villegas was sentenced to twelve years in prison, but the sentence was suspended on the condition that he complete five years in the Youthful Offender System.

While Rigo's family hopes the court system will bring justice to the shooters, Manigo faces no such consequences. No criminal charges were ever brought against Manigo related to the various crimes committed on his property, according to the DA's office.

“If he was doing business by the rules and regulations, my son would still be alive," Fresquez says. "People's lives are being taken away for his own personal gain while he goes on about life, not affected by the loss of our loved ones.”

If it was up to her, she adds, Manigo would be in jail. At the very least, the family hopes no one else will be hurt at one of his rentals. But they're not optimistic.

"He doesn't care," Mary Esparza says. "He got his profit, he got his money. He couldn't care less about what happens after."

Update: This story was updated on March 20 to reflect the fact that Home2Go, FlipKey and TripAdvisor have all removed their listings for the home since publication of this article.