Families struggle as American Elm murders remain unsolved: "People going back to the normal life. But we don't"
The American Elm restaurant in West Highlands will reopen Friday evening, two and a half weeks after a mysterious double shooting that remains unsolved.
The daytime shooting, which took place on April 24, took the lives of general manager Emerall Vaughn Dahler and prep cook Ignacio Gutierrez Morales.
"People going back to the normal life. But we don't," said Miguel Lopez, son-in-law of Gutierrez Morales. "This is unreal. What happened to us? We don't want for no reason in the whole world for it to happen to anyone else."
The family of Gutierrez Morales shares their grief with another family.
The family absorbed Emerall Vaughn Dahler about a dozen years ago, when she was in her early 20s. She was estranged from her biological family and in need of a home.
"She was beautiful inside and out. And how someone felt like they had the right to walk in there and just kill her in cold blood, I can't understand it," said the woman Emerald called, mom, Marilyn Stengel.
Stengel and her husband opened their Arvada home to Emerall, who had been couch surfing as a single mom with her one-year-old son, until a co-worker, Stengel's daughter, Danica Woolard started bringing her home to Arvada.
"I just kept bringing her. It was like they didn't have somewhere to sleep, so I just brought her and her son. He snuggled me in bed," said Woolard, who called Emerall a sister after she was absorbed into the family.
Woolard's father was the one, who told Emerall to just move in. There was no question about it.
"My dad was just that way. Because of how he grew up and my mom has always been very giving," Woolard expressed.
They loved Emerall and her son Michael.
"She was like a missing piece in our family. And now, that's gone," Stengel said. "She always walked in the door and said, 'Hi ma' and I got a hug and a kiss every time."
Emerall stayed with the family for almost 13 years, until she got married.
"I loved her as if she were my own," Stengel said.
At work and around the house she was tireless.
"She was always working and never met somebody with a work ethic like hers before," said Woolard, who met Emerall when she took a waitressing job at the Sports Column in Denver.
Emerall also worked at the Elks Lodge in Arvada and New Image Brewing, where she moved up. Later she moved on to American Elm.
During football season when there were late games they would work late and get up early, spending a few off hours in the basement of the Arvada home.
"We would get off work at two or three in the morning and have to be back at 7 a.m. So, we would stay up all night, go back to work," Woolard recalled.
Now, she wonders who could have killed the person she called a sister.
"It just feels like my sister was targeted... It just kind of feels like it was personal so it does worry me."
But it doesn't make sense she mentioned. Emerall had no enemies.
"I've tried, I've wracked my brain. My brother and sister and I have all talked and none of us can think of it."
She's spoken with Emerall's husband, Andrew, who remains too shaken to speak publicly. He can't think of anyone either. Emerall and her husband were two people meant for each other says Woolard.
She described him as an incredible stepfather to Michael. So far, he is sharing custody with Michael's biological father.
At Emerall's funeral, Michael spoke, saying he could forgive his mother's killer. There wasn't a dry eye in the house says the family, but it showed what a great young man he is.
Denver police have asked for tips in the case, but have shared little, even with the families. The call came in at about 12:30 p.m. on April 24, but police will not share a suspected time of the crime.
The two were working to prepare for opening later in the day. Initially, police did say there was no threat to the community. But now the families wonder.
"I don't think that's completely true. These people kill two innocent people in cold blood and you telling me that the public is not in danger?" asked Miguel Lopez, who is married to one of Gutierrez Morales' three daughters.
"I hope by them saying there's no threat then they have an idea who did this and that's kind of the hope I have to hold onto," Woolard said.
But nearly three weeks have passed. The restaurant is reopening to help the remaining staff begin to earn an income again.
American Elm and the families have received support from the restaurant's customers and the community at large.
There were large crowds at two benefits on May 1 at New Image Brewing in Arvada and Hops and Pie in Denver.
That support has meant a lot to the families. But what they really want now is a confession or an arrest.
"I grew up without a father. So this is the closest that I'm going to have to a father. This is my kid's grandfather," Lopez said. "He just kept (sharing) joy to people. How can someone like that have enemies?"
Any detail they asked for should be shared with Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720.913.STOP (7867). There is a $5,000 reward for information in the case. Tips can be made anonymously.
"The best thing would be for whoever did this to come forward," Woolard expressed. "I'm having a hard time trying to start healing and to fully grieve because the thought of the person who did this is still walking free. I can't get past that."
