Armando Mata-Magallanes was 30-years-old when he was reported missing from Denver on July 8, 2011 and found dead on July 9, 2011. The details surrounding Mata-Magallanes’s death are suspicious.
According to a press release from Weld County Sheriff’s Office about the case, Mata-Magallanes left his home to go to work at 5:30 a.m. that day. The reporting party, Brenda De Anda, said he should have returned home around 2:30 p.m.
Later, it was discovered that Mata-Magallanes never showed up for work on July 8. He was last seen driving a 1983 blue Volkswagen Rabbit.
Shortly after Mata-Magallanes left for work, De Anda received a call from him saying he needed money and she needed to sell his truck, she told investigators. Then, an unknown Spanish-speaking man got on the phone with De Anda and said she needed to sell the truck for $30,000 and “they” would call back at 11:30 the following day.
On July 9, an employee of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad contacted the Weld County Sheriff’s Office about a body near the east side of Interstate 76. Deputies were dispatched to the location and identified the deceased man as Mata-Magallanes.
Mata-Magallanes died of a gunshot wound. The manner of death was ruled a homicide. The 1983 blue Volkswagen Rabbit was later recovered in the 1600 block of 29th Avenue in Denver.
According to Detective Byron Kastilahn with Weld County Sheriff’s Office, there is no notable suspect information for this case.
Anyone with information about this cold case is asked to contact Kastilahn at 970-400-2827 or [email protected].