Man charged in slaying near Barnes Park
Larimer County coroner says Chantell Wilkes was beaten and drowned
The Loveland Police Department has arrested a man believed to be connected to the 2022 homicide of a Loveland woman found in the Big Thompson River near Barnes Park.
Shortly after 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, officers with the Community Impact Unit located and arrested 45-year-old Asa Peck for his believed connection to the death of Chantell Wilkes, the LPD announced in a Thursday release. The 49-year-old woman, found in the river in August of 2022, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Peck was arrested Wednesday at the intersection of North Garfield Avenue and West Fourth Street without incident and was booked into the Larimer County Jail in Fort Collins on a charge of first-degree murder after deliberation, a class 1 felony.
Bob Coleman, public information officer for the LPD, said there were no specific breaks in the case that led to the Wednesday arrest, just a “result of continued work.” Since the case began, detectives have worked on it “on a continual (basis) and brought it to a close through those efforts,” Coleman said, adding “they never gave up.”
Coleman said Peck was considered a person of interest from the start, and while he did not know of a specific connection between Peck and Wilkes, he said they did know each other as they were both in the unhoused community in Loveland. He added that Peck was still homeless at the time of arrest.
The Larimer County Coroner’s Office has since released that Wilkes’ cause of death was ruled to be the combined effects of blunt force trauma to the head and drowning.
“I am incredibly proud of the diligence and commitment from our Criminal Investigation Division in solving this case,” Loveland Police Chief Tim Doran said in the release. “While we understand this will not take away the pain Chantell’s family and friends are feeling, we are hopeful the progress in this case will bring her loved ones some peace.”
Shortly after her death, Wilkes’ brother Marshall Tucker described her as a loving sister who helped raise and take care of him at a young age. He said that she grew up a fan of ’80s hair bands, even puffing her hair out to match her favorite stars.
He told the Reporterherald in September of 2022 that, in the days following his sister’s death, he had spent a day golfing to try to clear his head. When he was on his way home, he stopped at a Kum & Go and, while in the bathroom, heard one of his sister’s favorite songs playing on the radio while the light above the sink flickered.
“I feel her around me,”
Chantell Wilkes, right, stands with her friend Holly Thompson. Police have arrested someone in connection with Wilkes’ death in 2022.
Tucker said at the time. “I wake up every day thinking it is a nightmare, and it is not. I am never going to be able to talk to her (again), she was my best friend.”
The police department also expressed gratitude for the teamwork between the 8th Judicial District Attorney’s office, Larimer County Coroner’s Office and the public “while we worked together to solve this case.”
Peck remains in custody at the Larimer County Jail on a $2 million cash only bond and is scheduled to appear before 8th Judicial District Court Judge Joseph Findley at 8:30 a.m. March 7.
According to court records, Peck has multiple other criminal cases in Larimer County dating back to 2016, including drug possession cases and a criminal mischief case.