Page 47 - Kenia News Today

It was kenias ring. give it to her. >> it was kenias favorite ring. >> i gave it to her and she was so happy. she said thank you, and she was holding me. and that moment i was holding her, its like i was holding kenia. >> we are related in tragedy. weve got a connection with each other unfortunately for the rest of our lives, and -- because of travis. >> reporter: tony and his family built a memorial here on the high plains where kenia was found. and they devote themselves now to spreading aware...

None of that was in my head. none of it was premeditated. >> reporter: but then it all came out. travis told them how he spotted kenia on the street. how he raped her, how he strangled her, how he stuffed her in his cooler, drove around with the body in his white van for a whole day, then stored it in the bakerys freezer while he cleaned out his van with bleach and burned her clothes. and then early the next morning he buried her body near a clump of cottonwood trees. >> after we were done with ...

A speech for that day. and i had to tell her. >> what was that like? >> that was the hardest thing ive ever done. then i -- >> she had been hanging on to hope. >> she had been hanging on to hope. >> you had to finally -- >> i had to snatch that rug out from under her. and she lost it. and there was nothing i could do for her because i had already lost it myself. >> reporter: then tony had to tell his children. kenias little sister and brother. >> and the first question out of both of their mouth...

>> i stuck my hand out and said, appreciate it, and we shook hands. and when i shook his hand, it was as if an earthquake was going on under his feet, and it was only in my hand i could feel his arm wasnt shaking, his body wasnt shaking, there was no quivering, but i felt that shake and i looked at him and i knew i was shaking the hand of the last person who had seen kenia alive. there was no doubt in my mind. i knew it that instant. >> and you believed as of that moment that she was dead? >> ye...

>> started? oh, it had more than started for kenia monge, swallowed up by, well, whatever it was, some dark presence haunting the happy, tipsy streets of lodo. >> kenias family starts to worry. had that dark presence, whatever it might be, come for their own daughter? coming up -- >> something is wrong. something is wrong. >> thats when i went into high alert. >> when "chilling connections" continues. alert. >> when "chilling connections" continues. everything i buy. and last year, i earned $3...

Didnt do anything wrong. >> why did that happen? >> i would talk to her sometimes daily, and she was his biggest supporter. >> she wouldnt believe that he was a dangerous guy. >> absolutely not. not the travis forbes she knows. there is no way that he did anything to kenia. >> but here was the problem. without the stolen car charge there was no way to keep travis in jail. they had to let him go. deputy d.a. kerri lombardi was -- >> nervous. i mean, i was really worried about what he would do. it...

Times. nothing. >> what janet didnt know is that kenia and the two other girls couldnt get into the club, the bouncers werent buying their fake i.d. cards, so they went to another club nearby, even took a few pictures, but they didnt tell anyone they were there. >> and i sent her the last message about 11:30, and nothing. >> so when the clubs closed, janet headed home without kenia, who she assumed was with some other friends. >> i thought, okay, theyre probably just having fun, you know? and sh...

>> but by now, family and friends were not alone in their search for kenia. a veteran denver police detective named nash gurule started looking, too. to say detective gurule is imposing is perhaps an understatement. looks more like a character from the sopranos but hates when children go missing. >> i wanted to find her. i wanted to give her family closure. i wanted to give the city of denver closure. i was determined to bring her home. i was determined to bring her home. >> gary lombardi was th...

>> he was pretty much keeping a low profile. so we pull our surveillance. >> reporter: they couldnt know, of course. couldnt know what was coming. 4th of july. fireworks lit up the fort collins sky. and then early the next morning at an apartment complex a fire of a different sort altogether. >> weve kicked -- we just kicked the door in, were screaming for somebody. the upstairs is -- were just calling for somebody to see if theres somebody in the apartment. >> reporter: oh, yes. there was someo...

The government shutdown is now entering its fourth day. the president spent his christmas eve at the white house tweeting that he was all alone and waiting for the democrats to make a deal on border security. trump also tweeted that turkish president erdogan says that he will, quote, eradicate whatever is left of isis in syria. the white house says erdogan invited trump to visit turkey in 2019 and the president is open to a potential meeting. now back to "dateline." ♪ ♪ welcome back to "da...