When first responders arrived, James was already dead. Two of her four children were reportedly inside the house at the time of the shooting.
Juliána King, who launched a GoFundMe campaign for James’ children in the aftermath, described her as someone who embodied warmth: “Jennifer was the epitome of sunshine. Anyone who knew her thought of her as the nicest person they had known.”
Berthoud, a small Colorado town shaken by the tragedy
Berthoud is a small community in Larimer County, northern Colorado. The shooting on April 28, 2025, occurred late at night in a residential neighborhood, striking James inside her own home. The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office led the investigation and made the arrest within three days of the incident.
Twenty years of fighting cancer, cut short at 49
Jennifer James had been battling breast cancer since the age of 29 — a fight that spanned two decades and four separate diagnoses, each one survived. At the time of her death, she was in the middle of yet another round of treatment.
Her oldest daughter, Ashley James, described a woman who faced illness without complaint and lived entirely for her children. In a statement shared with 9News, Ashley wrote: “She never once complained about her treatments in those 20 years. She was the most selfless mom and did everything for us kids. Her resiliency is something that I have always admired and is something that I hope to carry on in her memory.”
Ashley also told KDVR: “It just makes me mad that such a senseless act of violence occurred, and you never think that’s going to happen to you. She was the most selfless mom that anyone could ask for. She kind of devoted her whole life to us kids, so I’ll be forever grateful for everything that she did for us.”
