Kenia Monge Missing: Man tied to Denver case charged with attempted murder in different case
(CBS/KCNC/AP) FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Travis Forbes, the man who says he was the last one to see missing Denver woman Kenia Monge before she vanished is now accused of arson and assaulting a different woman.
Police in Fort Collins arrested Forbes, 31, on Monday night on multiple charges. Police think he is responsible for both the July 5 fire at an apartment complex and the assault on 30-year-old Lydia Tillman, a resident at the complex, reports CBS station KCNC.
Tillman was seriously injured when she jumped out the second story to escape the flames. Police said she was also assaulted in her apartment beforehand.
There were several ignition points in the building and evidence of an accelerant inside the unit, police say according to the station.
Tillman was taken to a Denver hospital and for several days after the crime was not physically well enough to talk to investigators.
Forbes faces charges in the case that include attempted first-degree murder, sexual assault and arson. He was already in jail in Fort Collins at the time of Monday's arrest. He was taken into custody over the weekend on a charge of false reporting of identity to authorities.
Kenia Monge, 19, has been missing since April 1. Her disappearance in Denver has been highly publicized by Denver media outlets.
Forbes told police he met Monge at a bar that night. He says he dropped her off a Denver gas station later on. She hasn't been seen since. Denver police say Forbes' arrest in Fort Collins doesn't change their investigation of Monge's case.
So far Forbes has not been listed as a suspect in the Monge case by Denver police, despite the fact that Forbes has stated publicly that he should be considered a suspect. Police have interviewed him about the case in the past.
Monge's parents say they can't find a connection between their daughter and Tillman, but see a frightening similarity in the cases. Tony and Maria Lee said they are more convinced than ever Forbes is involved in their daughter's disappearance.
"Travis Forbes knows where Kenia is, and I want him to tell us where Kenia is," said Tony Lee, Monge's stepfather. "The one that shocked me the most, of all the three charges that really convinced me that he knows something, is the arson."
Tony Lee was referring to Forbes allegedly burning something in a barrel outside a LoDo business the night Monge disappeared.
"Burning evidence is the first thing that comes to your mind," he said, reports the station.
The couple still holds out hope their daughter is alive.
After the Monge disappearance Forbes was arrested in Texas on a stolen vehicle warrant. He was extradited to Colorado and then released from custody in Jefferson County on June 30 after charges were dropped in that case.
Complete coverage of Kenia Monge at Crimesider
