BACKGROUND: (From a previous (September 19, 2025) post of this Blog): "BOULDER, Colo. — The family of Megan Trussell, a University of Colorado student whose body was found in Boulder Canyon in February, gathered on Pearl Street during parents' weekend to raise awareness about her death and push for authorities to reopen the case that investigators ruled a suicide. Trussell was reported missing in February, and her body was discovered days later near the 40-mile marker of Boulder Canyon. Boulder County investigators determined Trussell died by suicide, but her family has criticized the police investigation and conducted their own work, including tracking down her missing cellphone themselves. "I will never know what happened exactly to Megan, especially since they aren't investigating, but maybe we can prevent it from happening again by spreading awareness," said Vanessa Diaz, Trussell's mother."
https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/megan-trussell-family-push-for-case-to-reopen/73-31dcb08e-b552-4ac7-80d7-07b7b67bd654
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The other side: Trussell's parents sharply criticized the process, telling Axios Boulder that reviewers appeared unprepared in a meeting to present the findings last week."There was a lot of shoulder shrugging," her father Joe Trussell told Axios Boulder. They said CBI didn't know until their meeting that family members had located Megan's phone and key video evidence.Meanwhile, the CBI agent that the Trussell family worked with throughout the review was on vacation and not present. They also said a pathologist at the meeting repeatedly referred to the substance in Megan's body as "meth" rather than the prescription amphetamine."
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STORY: "Megan Trussell review raises new questions," by Mitchell Byars, published on September 9, 2026, by Axios. (Mitchell was born and raised in South Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. He went to the University of Colorado Boulder and graduated in 2011 with a degree in journalism. After school, he went to work for the Daily Camera, where he worked for almost 15 years in various roles.)
GIST: "A first-of-its-kind state review supports local authorities' conclusion that University of Colorado Boulder student Megan Trussell died by suicide in 2025.
Yes, but: Trussell's family tells Axios the review only deepened their concerns about the investigation and left them with "more questions than answers" about their daughter's death.
Driving the news: After a seven-month review, the CBI concluded last week that the Boulder County Sheriff's Office's response and investigation were "reasonable, substantial, and supported by the available evidence."
- CBI presented the case to its roughly 40-member Cold Case Review Team, including prosecutors, investigators, forensic specialists, toxicologists, analysts and victim advocates.
- The review found no evidence of homicide or physical assault and no unfinished investigative step that would have changed the determination that Trussell died by suicide.
The other side: Trussell's parents sharply criticized the process, telling Axios Boulder that reviewers appeared unprepared in a meeting to present the findings last week."There was a lot of shoulder shrugging," her father Joe Trussell told Axios Boulder.
Meanwhile, the CBI agent that the Trussell family worked with throughout the review was on vacation and not present.
They also said a pathologist at the meeting repeatedly referred to the substance in Megan's body as "meth" rather than the prescription amphetamine.
What they're saying: Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson thanked the CBI in a statement."We recognize that none of these findings lessen the profound grief felt by Megan's family and loved ones.
"We also recognize the importance of independent review to her family and the community, and we hope it brings some measure of closure and understanding."
Between the lines: Trussell's family requested the review — the first granted under a provisionof Colorado's 2022 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives law."I think the intent behind the law is great," Trussell told us. "But the law as it's written, is broad and vague and allows entirely too much latitude for the CBI.
"That's what I would tell a family in our situation: Do not expect results until this law is tweaked."
Trussell's mother Vanessa Diaz said they didn't conduct any outside investigation or interviews.
What's next: The family says they plan to seek Trussell's complete autopsy report and photographs, which have repeatedly been denied by the coroner's office.They'd like to have the materials reviewed by an independent expert. But Diaz worries that won't happen before tissue samples are destroyed, and is pleading with other state officials to step in.
"[The CBI] made a mistake … because now we're just gonna be really loud and the people who are in power, the people who are in office, they have some answering to do.""
They said CBI didn't know until their meeting that family members had located Megan's phone and key video evidence.
Meanwhile, the CBI agent that the Trussell family worked with throughout the review was on vacation and not present.
They also said a pathologist at the meeting repeatedly referred to the substance in Megan's body as "meth" rather than the prescription amphetamine.
What they're saying: Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson thanked the CBI in a statement."We recognize that none of these findings lessen the profound grief felt by Megan's family and loved ones.
"We also recognize the importance of independent review to her family and the community, and we hope it brings some measure of closure and understanding."
Between the lines: Trussell's family requested the review — the first granted under a provisionof Colorado's 2022 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives law."I think the intent behind the law is great," Trussell told us. "But the law as it's written, is broad and vague and allows entirely too much latitude for the CBI.
"That's what I would tell a family in our situation: Do not expect results until this law is tweaked."
Trussell's mother Vanessa Diaz said they didn't conduct any outside investigation or interviews.
What's next: The family says they plan to seek Trussell's complete autopsy report and photographs, which have repeatedly been denied by the coroner's office.They'd like to have the materials reviewed by an independent expert. But Diaz worries that won't happen before tissue samples are destroyed, and is pleading with other state officials to step in.
"[The CBI] made a mistake … because now we're just gonna be really loud and the people who are in power, the people who are in office, they have some answering to do.""
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog. FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."Lawyer Radha Natarajan: Executive Director: New England Innocence Project; FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true;
