2 arrested for murder in Colorado cold case of woman last seen 5+ years ago

Two people have been arrested for murder in connection with the cold case of Kimberly Bell who was last seen in July 2019. On Tuesday, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office provided an update on the case that's been five years in the making. 

Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly said that Bell, 51, was last seen in the Denver metro area in late July 2019. Her sister reported her missing a month later. Weekly said the two people in a car with Bell the night she went missing have been arrested. 

Javier Martell, who goes by Alex, and Jennifer Bremer have been identified as the suspects in Bell's disappearance. Martell was arrested last Thursday and is facing two counts of first-degree murder. Bremer turned herself in on Friday and is facing accessory to a crime and identity theft charges. 

According to investigators, Bell was in the driver's seat of her vehicle with the two suspects, who she knew, at the Lincoln RTD parking structure near Park Meadows Drive when Martell, who was in the backseat of the car, became upset with her and strangled her from behind. He then ordered Bremer to drive to a Home Depot where Weekly said Martell purchased several items including an axe. 

Weekly said that Martell then used that axe to dismember Bell's body near Estes Park and disposed of the trash bags containing her dismembered body in a nearby veterinary clinic dumpster. Weekly said that to date, Bell's remains have not been located. 

Weekly said that the cold case team took over the investigation into Bell's disappearance in 2021 and that without them, the case would most likely remain unsolved. 

"If an agency just assigns these cold cases to detectives and hopes for the best, they will not be solved. They have to dedicate time and energy to truly solve these cases, or else they are just kicking the can down the road," said Weekly. 

One of the investigators said that the family is working toward closure now that arrests have been made. 

"We've talked to them a few times, they're definitely struggling, over five years since they've known what happened to their sister, to their loved one but they're starting to get some answers now," said crime analysis supervisor and Forensic Genetic Genealogist Michele Kennedy.  

Weekly said some aspects of the case remain unclear and the investigation continues.