On Valentine’s Day in 2000, the double murder of Columbine students and teenage sweethearts, Stephanie Hart-Grizzell, 16, and Nick Kunselman, 15, shocked residents of South Jeffco, many still reeling from the tragedy that occurred in their high school 10 months earlier.
On the night of Feb. 13, Hart-Grizzell had driven to the Subway sandwich shop where Kunselman worked to hang out with him while he finished his shift at the restaurant.
But before they could lock up and leave, someone came in and brought both of their young lives to a tragic end.
At around 12:45 a.m., another Subway employee, who has not been formally identified, was driving past the restaurant when they noticed the lights were still on.
According to Colorado Bureau of Investigation cold case files, before going in to check things out, the coworker saw a person described as a white male about 5 feet 7 inches tall with blonde hair and wearing a red jacket fleeing the area. They then went inside to find Hart-Grizzell and Kunselman dead of apparent gunshot wounds. An investigation ensued, but leads dried up quickly.
Reports of possible drug dealing at the sub shop circulated widely during the initial investigation, but a connection to the murders never materialized.
Numerous tips have been received in the 22 years since the murders occurred, but none of them have led to an arrest.
In 2021, a reward for information leading to an arrest was increased to $100,000. At that time, the Jeffco Sheriff’s Office was hopeful the increase would lead to more viable information.
“With this significantly increased reward, people who haven’t come forward with their information will be much more likely to do so now,” Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Shrader said. “We are continuing our diligent work to bring justice to Nicholas and Stephanie.”
So far, the large reward has yielded no results.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Tipsters can remain anonymous.