Josiaz “JoJo” Aragon’s alleged killer took a video of him as he lay dying and then further documented the boy’s murder with footage of his tennis shoes bloodied from stomping on his head, the lead Denver Police investigator testified in an evidentiary hearing Monday.  

Prosecutors said that, in all, Diego Lopez took six videos which implicated him in Aragon’s death, including one showcasing his “bloody, bloody, bloody Air Force 1 shoes.” Another video showed the nickname “DELO” spelled out in $100 and $20 dollar bills lined up on Lopez’ bedroom floor, according to evidence presented Monday.

To cover up the killing, prosecutors said Lopez deleted the videos within minutes of returning home. Said Second Judicial Deputy District Attorney Ashley Beck: “This is someone who took trophy photographs and then did his best to delete them.”

Though the videos had disappeared from Lopez’ phone, investigators were later able to locate the disturbing footage through search warrants, Denver homicide detective Daniel Andrews testified.

Lopez, now 17, has been charged as an adult in Aragon’s death. He is facing counts of first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, and tampering with evidence.

He now faces new charges related to a riot which broke out in his pod at Gilliam Youth Services Center. Prosecutors said that during the fight Jan. 4, Lopez stomped on another teen, who was trying to protect himself with his arms. 

Lured by a gun sale

Police say Aragon had a gun for sale and Lopez lured him to Denver’s Southwest Recreation Center Aug. 8 under the auspice of buying it for $900. 

The rec center was near Lopez’ home in a “safe” neighborhood where “things like this don’t happen,” said Andrews. 

Lopez turned 17 the day after the murder. Coincidentally, Aragon was two days from turning 15. His friends were planning a birthday party scheduled for the upcoming weekend. Instead, they brought balloons and wrote condolence notes on a piece of poster board which they attached to the baseball field fence near where his body was discovered. 

Police believe that Aragon’s death may have been a gang retaliation because he had defended the honor of a friend who died in a killing which happened four months earlier. On the contrary, Lopez’ attorney said there was “Zero! Zero!” indication that Lopez would want to kill Aragon.

“There’s nothing,” said Stephen Burstein. 

Defense attorneys told Second Judicial District Judge Karen Brody there were plenty of other suspects besides Lopez who could have killed Aragon.

In Lopez’ arrest warrant, Denver Det. Andrews wrote that in his experience investigating more than 100 homicides, he had never seen anyone assaulted in so many different ways or more violently.

Aragon’s autopsy showed that he had thirty wounds, twenty of which were made with a knife. He was shot in the back and stabbed in the neck.

Perhaps the most most shocking injury to Aragon was a fractured skull which Andrews said happened when Diego stomped on his head.

Police never found the Air Force 1 tennis shoes, Aragon’s cellphone or the clothes they saw Diego wearing as he ran toward and away from the scene. The footage was captured on home surveillance video.

Because Aragon was killed so violently at such a young age, his death was widely publicized as police asked for the public’s help in finding his killer.

Revealed in Monday’s evidentiary hearing was the fact that one of Lopez’ high school classmates turned him in, according to Andrews’ testimony.

When the friend questioned Lopez about disturbing bloody shoe photos he posted on Snapchat, he told her that he had been in “a little fight,” Andrews testified. Lopez also told the friend that his medication had been making him angry.

It was the classmate who later told a teacher at Bear Creek High School that Lopez may have been involved in Aragon’s death, Andrews said.

Prosecutors hope Judge Karen Brody will find that there is enough evidence to send Lopez to trial in Aragon’s death.  

Unidentified DNA and alternative suspects

During Monday’s hearing, Lopez’ attorneys questioned whether Lopez had help in Aragon’s killing, or possibly wasn’t involved at all. They asked Andrews about unidentified DNA which was found on Aragon’s hand, which suggested that a third person was involved in the murder.

Detectives were never able to match that DNA profile to anyone.

But prosecutors said there was only one person who took the incriminating videos, and that person was Diego Lopez.

He was present in the courtroom wearing a green shirt and khaki pants. His mother watched from the gallery and Aragon’s mother listened to the proceedings from a WebEx feed.

At an earlier hearing, Autumn Aragon was so upset, she ran from the courtroom screaming and had to be subdued by courthouse security.

“Quite a bit of evidence”

Det. Andrews told prosecutors that when he arrived at the crime scene, there was “quite a bit of evidence” strewn near Aragon’s body, including blood in the grass, bloody footprints, unfired 9 mm bullets and a used cartridge casing, a cigarette lighter and the baseplate for a handgun magazine which he indicated may have broken off from the force of the beating.

The veteran homicide investigator also said he was affected by how tiny Aragon was. The 14-year-old weighed less than 100 pounds and was 5’2” inches tall at the time of his death, according to the autopsy report.

The day ended with Lopez’ attorneys calling a couple of coaches who knew the defendant when he was a young shortstop.

“He was a real good kid. He got along with his teammates,” said Charles Christopher Ellis. “This whole situation is sad for everyone involved. You never would expect anything like this ever to happen. It’s just…wow.”

The preliminary hearing is scheduled to continue Tuesday morning.