New details have emerged in a double murder case in the Franktown area after a judge in the 18th Judicial District ordered the release of the arrest affidavit today.
Casey Devol, 29, was arrested Feb. 9 for allegedly killing his sister and his sister’s boyfriend. The victims, Jessica Mitchell, 32, and Bryan Todd Gray, 34, were discovered Feb. 8 in a garage adjacent to a house on Russellville Road where the two lived.
Devol appeared in district court virtually from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday.
Judge Patricia Herron started the hearing by acknowledging that many people in the virtual courtroom were friends and family members of Devol and his sister. During the hearing, the court addressed 14 motions from the defense, including a request for a gag order and a request to prohibit the prosecution from obtaining Devol’s jail records.
The gag order was not granted, and Herron agreed to review any request by the prosecution to view jail visitor logs but said it was likely that they would be handed over to the prosecution.
Ara Ohanian from the public defender’s office represented Devol in the case.
Ohanion objected to Devol’s arrest affidavit being released to the public, saying the case has gotten “quite a bit of publicity.” Deputy District Attorney Andrew Steers said the affidavit doesn’t contain the full facts of the case and therefore should be permitted to be open to the public. Herron agreed.
The affidavit revealed that someone who worked with Gray discovered him and Mitchell inside the garage of the Russellville Road home at about 1:30 p.m. Feb. 8, according to the affidavit.
Mitchell appeared to have been shot in the stomach and had a “pry bar” on top of her. Gray appeared to have been shot in the head and had a plate of food — a hot dog and beans — on top of him “as if he was getting ready to eat,” according to the affidavit.
Investigators also reported the rear door to the home was left ajar.
According to the affidavit, the “Deputy described the residence as ‘ransacked’ and stated multiple drawers were open throughout the home.”
When the responding deputies looked at the security footage for the home, they saw someone entering the garage where Gray and Mitchell were found “carrying multiple handguns and a long gun.”
The day after the victims were discovered, someone who identified themself as a friend of the family said they suspected Devol, Mitchell’s brother. The affidavit stated the caller said they “knew that Casey and Jessica did not have a good relationship” and that Devol had not showed up to his job at Castle Rock Water in two days.
Devol worked as a plant mechanic for Castle Rock Water and was awarded with the Water Treatment Maintenance Award by the American Water Works Association six months ago, according to a 2021 Colorado Community Media report on the accolade.
Investigators then compared Devol’s license photo to the video surveillance footage and determined it was the same person.
Deputies also found that Devol’s 2001 Ford F-250 truck was scanned by a camera at South Gilbert Street and Plum Creek Parkway in Castle Rock at about 7 a.m. Feb. 7, and the vehicle was an “exact match” for the one captured at the scene on video footage.
On Feb. 9, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office asked for the public’s help in finding Devol, calling him “armed and dangerous.” A few hours later, Devol was found in Salina, Kansas.
Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said Feb. 11 that his office did not yet have a clear understanding of the motive in the case.
Devol had his first appearance in court Feb. 14 and was charged by the 18th Judicial District with two counts of first-degree murder and felony animal cruelty. Spurlock confirmed that a dog named Cleo was also found dead at the scene.
Comments have poured into the sheriff’s office’s social media accounts from people saying they are a friend of Devol’s and surmising there must be more to the story.
“We’re getting the same information from witnesses and people interviewed that this kind of behavior would be out of character for the suspect,” Spurlock said.