Lacking Colorado woman's physique discovered in trash bag in her old residence

Jenny Goldsberry

June 11, 07:15 PM June 11, 07:53 PM

Law enforcement found the remains of a Colorado woman who had been missing for just more than four decades.

Authorities verified by using genetic testing that human remains located in a trash bag inside of a manhole at 82-calendar year-old Sylvia Frens's last home have been, in point, hers. Frens was beforehand described lacking by concerned relatives associates in 2018. An autopsy discovered that her trigger of dying was blunt power trauma and dominated her demise a homicide.

Frens's son, Richard Vandervelde, 54, was subsequently arrested on initially-degree murder fees, as very well as charges of tampering with a deceased human entire body, crimes towards an at-danger grownup, fraud-identity theft, theft, motor car theft, and abuse of a corpse. He was in Florida at the time of his arrest.

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Not even a week soon after Frens was documented missing, Vandervelde was pulled in excess of for a site visitors violation in Missouri though driving his mother's car or truck. Authorities took him into custody to query him much more after he gave police a fake identify. Police then learned he experienced been working with his mother's debit card and taken $10,000 out of her bank account, additional than fifty percent of which was in the motor vehicle at the time. Vandervelde stated the transactions were all authorized by his mother.

A cellphone found with Vandervelde uncovered Feb. 2018 queries for “map of desolate locations in Colorado” and “least traveled places in the vicinity of grand junction co.”

Information also found queries for “knocking somebody out with a blow to the head,” “knocking an individual unconscious,” “how to knock someone out with no killing them,” "how to knock someone unconscious securely for a long time,” “5 methods to knock somebody out in under 10 seconds,” “how to knock somebody out swiftly and quietly,” and an short article about knockout medicine.

It wasn't right until March 2022 that law enforcement had been able to get permission from the new occupants of Frens's previous residence, which she shared with her son.

Vandervelde is now at the Mesa County Detention Facility, awaiting arraignment on a $1 million dollars-only bond. His next courtroom day is Jun. 21.