CU Boulder student Megan Trussell at The Sink in Boulder, Colo. (Courtesy of Joe Trussell)
In January, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation announced it will review the case of University of Colorado Boulder student Megan Trussell. The review came after Trussell’s parents submitted a request identifying her as an indigenous woman, according to the Bureau.
Authorities reported Trussell missing from her dorm room on Feb. 12, 2025. Three days later, search crews found her body near the 40-mile marker on Boulder Canyon Drive. Trussell’s death was later ruled a suicide in May 2025.
Now, under Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.) § 24-33.5-2602(2)(c)(II), the Colorado Department of Public Safety is required to independently review the cases of indigenous people whose deaths were ruled as suicide or overdose under suspicious circumstances.
“It should not take invoking a statute—one we had to locate on our own—to secure an independent review, but we are relieved this process is finally moving forward,” Trussell’s family wrote in a statement.
The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, in collaboration with the Boulder County Coroner’s Office, conducted the investigation.
The sheriff’s office determined in its investigation that the toxic effects of amphetamine found in Trussell’s system and contributing hypothermia caused Trussell’s death. In the release, BSCO stated that it had found “no evidence to suggest that Megan was physically harmed or killed by another person,” ruling her death a suicide.
However, Trussell’s mother , Vanessa Díaz, found it unlikely that Trussell would ever commit suicide.
“She’s never had any thoughts, behaviors, anything like this in her life,” Díaz said in an interview with the CU Independent in October. “And Megan knew she had a lot of people she could go talk to, she wouldn’t turn to suicide. She just wouldn’t.”
Since the determination, Trussell’s family has rejected the investigation findings. In August, Trussell’s cousin created a petition for CBI and Governor Jared Polis to reopen the case. It has since garnered over 4,000 signatures.
CBI clarified that the case would not be re-investigated in the announcement.
In the family’s statement, they expressed concern for the new review, saying the investigation left them cautious.
“We are asking for a meaningful, independent review – not just a box check,” the statement read.
The University of Colorado Boulder Police Department released a statement supporting the case review. It stated the department will “fully cooperate with and assist the agency in fulfilling its statutory duties.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Jazzy Tung at Jasmine.Tung@colorado.edu
Contact CU Independent News Editor Avery Clifton at Avery.Clifton@colorado.edu
