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Prosecutor suggests an informant in missing-girl case

Two people can be heard on tape

By Jeff Kass, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 16, 2008 at 2:41 p.m.

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Aaron Thompson is accused in girl's death.

Aaron Thompson is accused in girl's death.

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A prosecutor indicated that authorities have a confidential informant in the Aarone Thompson case.

Arapahoe County Deputy District Attorney Amy Richards, during a court hearing Thursday, mentioned conversations in which someone involved in the case talks of "an attempt to conceal the death of Aarone Thompson" and "asking the other person not to report what she knows."

The conversations were apparently recorded and District Judge Mark Hannen said he is reviewing them.

Aarone's father, Aaron Thompson, reported her missing in November 2005 when she would have been 6. Within days, police said she had been killed up to 18 months earlier, although her body has not been found.

Thompson has been charged with 60 criminal counts, including child abuse resulting in death. His trial is scheduled to begin next June.

Thompson, 40, has pleaded not guilty.

At least two people can be heard on the tape, according to courtroom testimony. One is Shely Lowe, Thompson's live-in girlfriend, who has since died, prosecutors indicated.

Richards said that she expected "broad disagreement" with defense attorneys over what parts of the conversations, if any, should be allowed in court.

After briefly discussing the informant issue, attorneys questioned two Aurora police officers involved in entering the home the first two days of the investigation.

Officer Gary Oliver recounted how Thompson showed up at police headquarters Nov. 14 after calling to report Aarone missing because a dispatcher told him it would be two hours before an officer could be sent to the Aurora home.

Oliver said Thompson was calm, straightforward and direct. Oliver said he drove to the Thompson house and searched it but did not notice anything unusual.

Oliver said Lowe also asked him why more wasn't being done to find the girl, such as an Amber Alert.

Aurora police Detective Chuck Mehl was dispatched to the Thompson home the next day. He said Thompson was extremely cooperative and signed a form consenting to a search of his home.

Mehl said he wanted to interview the other children in the home individually - which is standard procedure - in his unmarked car, but Thompson suggested it be done in the Aurora home. Mehl started with the oldest child but said the boy was reluctant and very evasive.

Lowe then objected to having the children interviewed without her present.

Comments

  • October 16, 2008

    2:46 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    sheepherder writes:

    He should tell them where the body is...what a dirt bag!

  • October 16, 2008

    3:02 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Scott writes:

    Hopefully the pathetic People's Prostitute (DA) will protect this informant. Colorado's People's Prostitutes have a horrible record in protecting informants and witnesses from the scum that the informant/witness is going to testify against.

    Scott

  • October 16, 2008

    3:09 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Sal writes:

    Hey, Scott. Protecting people costs money, and the state legislature can't get anymore without putting through a constitutional amendment. People love TABOR when they get to vote out higher taxes, then wonder why on earth Colorado ranks 47th in education and our DA's have to say "Good Luck" to people who want to testify.

  • October 16, 2008

    3:23 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Scott writes:

    BiotchMAMA,

    I understand your confusion, I need a better descriptor for the DA. Where I get "People's" from is that criminal charges are (were?) filed as "The people versus <scum_bag's name>". Hence, why I refer to the DA as "People's". I know, it's confusing.

    BTW, the eldest bugged out of going to the Halloween house. If you see a guy on a blue Honda motorcycle wearing a yellow jacket and a black helmet with a white parachute riggers emblem on it, that's me.

    Scott

  • October 16, 2008

    3:43 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    BigSky182 writes:

    Isn't it going to be difficult to protect a woman who died over a year ago?

    "The conversations were apparently recorded and District Court Judge Mark Hannen said he is reviewing them now."

    "The figure in question on the tapes is Shely Lowe, Thompson's live-in girlfriend, who has since died."

  • October 16, 2008

    3:48 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Motormouth writes:

    Sad, if this was about the little white girl in a city called Bolder, there would be so many comments and words of concern but it's just a little nobody black girl. Shame on everyone who has chosen to disregard and disrespect this little girls memory through indifference and speaking on matters that aren't related!!!!

  • October 16, 2008

    3:59 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    mytwosense writes:

    Motormouth, you're wrong. There have been numerous threads about little Aarone, with an extremely large amount of posts. This one just got recently put up.

    You wait and see, when this goes to trial, it will be one of the most closely followed stories by Rocky Mountain News readers. Our hearts are broken for this little girl and we want to see justice done by her.

    Please, please don't turn this into a race issue. If there's one thing RMN readers seem to agree on, it's our general outrage whenever a child in our community has been abused, hurt, or killed.

  • October 16, 2008

    4:05 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Scott writes:

    BigSky182,

    Regarding your 3:43 PM. I see your point. However, the article is not clear whether the "confidential informant" is the late Shely Lowe or another person who recorded the conversation and turned the tapes over to the cops.

    Scott

  • October 16, 2008

    4:55 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    sweetater writes:

    I agree PLEASE do not make this a race issue, children see no color (races) and when a child is involved we should see no color either. How people can do this to a child is beyond me. I, like everyone else wishes her dad would say where the body is, same goes for the little girl back east(? ) Mom doesn't report her missing for a month ? Jon Benet was followed so close because the only color that was seen was the color green $$$$. Mom and Dad had money.

  • October 16, 2008

    5:03 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    sweetater writes:

    And on second thought, I don't care child or not color, should be no issue, in any crime. We have got to start getting along better folks. That is a change a long time coming. I don't care which canidate says it.
    United we Stand, Divided we Fall (flat on our faces)

  • October 16, 2008

    5:18 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    middlekid writes:

    Motormouth, where have you been? This case has been all over the news since the beginning.

    Sweetater, I agree that it isn't about race, but it isn't about the upper class having privilege, either. A little girl died in that case, too. Your accusation that because the Ramsay's had money they had special treatment is way off base.

  • October 16, 2008

    5:22 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    buffsblg writes:

    Terribly written article, but it seems that the informant was someone that recorded conversations between the informant and Shelly Lowe. The judge is probably trying to decide whether statements by Lowe can be used against Thompson. The law on hearsay (out of court) statements is complicated, especially where the person that made the statements is not available to testify. The U.S. Supreme Court (usually through Justice Scalia) has recently made some rulings that limit the use of those statements.

  • October 16, 2008

    5:33 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    sweetater writes:

    Middlekid BY NO Means is that what I was saying, I was trying to state that the reason that was followed by the media the way it was is because they had money. I really felt for the parents in that one from the very beginning of that whole thing I could not figure out why they were not looking at other suspects besides family. I am sorry if I mis wrote that. Or made it seem like they had privliges, they got no privlige in that case what so ever. It was tried in the media, why did the media HOUND them and they were HOUNDED, because they had a pretty house etc. PLEASE by no means take it as I thought they had priviliges.

  • October 16, 2008

    7:45 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    EZBakeOven writes:

    I hope when this case finally goes to trial, Aaron Thompson gets exactly what he deserves.

  • October 16, 2008

    10:13 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    p_myers661 writes:

    Don't blame lack of funds on TABOR. This case is the proof that they don't spend the money we give them properly. They all moan and groan about TABOR because its a politicians divine right to spend money because they know best. We need to set aside so many millions of dollars for things like office redecoration, nice limos and free gas for convention organizers. We see too much waste every day.
    Aarone got the attention because too many people in social services dropped the ball to start with and it all came to a head when three of them ended up in the same place for a home visit and got an obviously false missing child report.
    Other neighborhood investigations quickly proved the girl had been gone for a long time.
    The issue of money for protection is not a matter of how much money the state gets. It's a matter of how they decide to spend it. How much did they spend with their "donations" to make commercials about amendments? Yes, the city did that!

    Our hope is that people see through the lies and remember that we still don't have any accountability for Ref C which used a similar case to justify approving Ref C because it would provide funds for such things. They underestimated the amount they would get because the economy got much better faster.

    Much better to ask the cops where they spent the money. The answers will make you furious especially because they want to keep our tax rebates for what they want to spend it on without any limits. Read to see which amendment will kill TABOR and what their promises are.

    Concentrate on this trial. He will most likely plead guilty and get a soft landing if the recordings are allowed in. He's lower than dirt. Good thing most people here see that and are talking about how we keep this kind of thing from happening again.

    Sorry no proofread today. Need meds now.