AURORA, Colo. — A brutal murder was caught on camera in Aurora seven years ago, and to this day, police are still combing the streets for a young woman’s killer.
Chelsea Yasser, 21, was found stabbed to death in a Burlington parking lot in May of 2016, and now investigators are reopening her cold case.
Officers say, despite the video, the case has been a challenge to solve.
“We didn’t get a license plate on the car,” said Detective Jason McDonald of the Aurora Police Department. “The footage of the car is not the best.”
On the night of May 15, 2016, Yasser was seen at an Aurora fast food restaurant.
“Chelsea was at Burger King at Mississippi and Abilene… she’s waiting to be picked up is what it looks like,” said McDonald. “We assume she was picked up probably by the killer.”
Aurora police said Yasser had been in Colorado for about two weeks. She was visiting with her boyfriend, who returned to Arizona a few days before she was killed.
Yasser’s life had taken a difficult turn in the time preceding her death. Her parents describe the former cheerleader and softball player as someone who deserved a “second chance” to turn her life around.
“She ended up working in the escort business,” said McDonald.
McDonald said Yasser’s services were advertised on backpage.com, a website which was seized by the FBI in 2018.
According to McDonald, Yasser listed a number for a burner phone on her advertisements. Police have not been able to obtain records for that phone.
“We do not know who she was scheduled to see that evening,” said McDonald. “However, talking to her friends, she did have a date scheduled that night that she was killed.”
Police describe the van that picked Yasser up as a maroon mini van. It was likely a 1995 though 1998 Ford Windstar.
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After being picked up from Burger King, Chelsea was seen on camera again less than thirty minutes later.
“The maroon minivan pulls into the Burlington Coat Factory parking lot,” said McDonald, adding that Yasser was sitting in the passenger’s seat of the vehicle when the suspect stabbed her 11 times.
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There was a fatal stab wound to her neck.
“It lasted about 30 seconds — the attack,” said McDonald. “And then she stumbled out of the front passenger door of the minivan, walked a short distance, and then collapsed and died.”
The vehicle sped out of the parking lot. Shortly thereafter, a person pulled in the parking lot and called police.
Yasser was pronounced dead a short time later.
Jack Yasser, Chelsea’s father, will never forget the phone call he got from officers.
“I remember falling to my knees,” he said.
He called Chelsea’s mother, Debra Yasser.
“I just fell to the floor and screamed and ran and got ill,” saod Debra Yasser.
McDonald said the stigma of the circumstances surrounding Yasser’s death should not stand in the way of her receiving justice.
“The last couple of weeks of one’s life does not define who they are,” said McDonald.
Jack Yasser still has faith that if someone comes forward with information, the killer could face his day in court.
“I just hope… that justice comes to them so this doesn’t happen again,” he says.
If you have any information on the case, you can report anonymously to Metro Denver Crime Stoppers by calling 720-913-STOP or by clicking here.
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