HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (KDVR) — Outside the Sonesta Hotel in Park Meadows, a memorial garden to Colin Grice is being constructed.
Grice, a 57-year-old hotel manager, was found shot to death in his Highlands Ranch home last week.
His wife, 55-year-old Victorine Grice was found dead inside her Douglas County jail cell Friday morning.
Grice had been facing murder charges, and the cause of her death remains under investigation.
Colin Grice’s family says it’s been a whirlwind of a week, beginning with a call that he had been killed.
“I was just dumbfounded, honestly,” his sister Aden Beavers said. “Total shock. Total shock.”
But the family said it was in for another surprise, reading court documents for Victorine Grice.
Those documents show Grice told 911 dispatchers, “My husband attacked me. Please help me. I think he’s dead.”
Victorine later told dispatchers, “I think he’s dead. I shot him. He’s a monster.”
It’s a story Colin Grice’s family finds hard to believe.
“I – a million percent – don’t believe any of it at all,” Beavers said. “My brother was a victim. Domestic violence comes in many shapes and forms.”
Colin’s family said the two had been married for about 20 years, but that many had never even met Victorine.
They say Colin was only allowed to call them when he was at work, and that conversations at home were off-limits.
“Methodically, she removed every person close to him,” Colin’s mother Sandy Hughes said.
Hughes said when she did speak to her son, he never mentioned any problems at home.
“I’ll tell you as a mother, I wonder if I reached out and prodded, would it have made it any different?” she said. “And I have to live with that.”
Colin’s family said it’s hoping the story serves as a warning for others in abusive relationships.
“He could not say anything to anyone, and he would not, because of his character. And that ultimately cost him his life,” Beavers said.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office released the following statement to FOX31 Saturday.
Throughout my years as an investigator, I’ve learned that domestic violence knows no gender boundaries. It’s a haunting reality that men, too, bear the scars of abuse and often endure the torment in silence. I hope all domestic violence victims, regardless of gender, can find the strength and courage to come forward and get help before it is too late.
Capt. Joel White, DCSO Investigations
The Department of Justice defines domestic violence as “a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner. Domestic violence can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, psychological, or technological actions or threats of actions or other patterns of coercive behavior that influence another person within an intimate partner relationship. This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone.”
If you or a loved one are experiencing domestic violence, there are sources to get help. One of those sources is the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.
