WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.560 Welcome back to Beyond the Silence Whispers Across 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:06.400 America. I'm Sammy and tonight we are traveling 00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:09.460 to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, to the 00:00:09.460 --> 00:00:12.539 quiet suburban landscape of Littleton, Colorado. 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:15.359 This is a community that has known more than 00:00:15.359 --> 00:00:18.420 its share of tragedy, a place where the collective 00:00:18.420 --> 00:00:22.460 heart has been broken and mended many times over. 00:00:22.660 --> 00:00:26.079 We are looking into a case that remains a jagged, 00:00:26.079 --> 00:00:30.190 unhealed wound in the local memory. the 2000 00:00:30.190 --> 00:00:33.689 double murder of Nick Kunzelman and Stephanie 00:00:33.689 --> 00:00:36.770 Hart Grizzle. This is a story of young love, 00:00:36.869 --> 00:00:40.210 a mundane late -night shift turned into a nightmare, 00:00:40.409 --> 00:00:43.390 and a killer who vanished into the thin mountain 00:00:43.390 --> 00:00:46.710 air, leaving a trail of questions that have gone 00:00:46.710 --> 00:00:51.170 unanswered for a quarter of a century. The year 00:00:51.170 --> 00:00:55.740 was 2000. It was Valentine's Day week. a time 00:00:55.740 --> 00:00:58.399 when the air in high schools is usually thick 00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:01.859 with the trivialities of teenage romance, the 00:01:01.859 --> 00:01:05.120 exchange of carnations, and the frantic planning 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:10.540 for upcoming spring dances. Nick Kunselman was 00:01:10.540 --> 00:01:14.500 15 years old, a hardworking student at Columbine 00:01:14.500 --> 00:01:17.780 High School who held down a job at a Subway sandwich 00:01:17.780 --> 00:01:21.280 shop on South Pierce Street. He was known for 00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:24.379 his gentle soul. his shock of blonde hair, and 00:01:24.379 --> 00:01:27.859 his absolute, unwavering dedication to his girlfriend, 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:33.040 16 -year -old Stephanie Hart Grizzle. Stephanie 00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:36.200 was a bright, popular girl with a smile that 00:01:36.200 --> 00:01:39.359 could light up a room, and the two were inseparable, 00:01:39.500 --> 00:01:42.340 often found studying together in the library 00:01:42.340 --> 00:01:44.799 or simply enjoying the company of their shared 00:01:44.799 --> 00:01:48.120 friend group after school. They represented the 00:01:48.120 --> 00:01:51.799 quintessential high school couple. full of potential 00:01:51.799 --> 00:01:55.140 and focused on a future that felt limitless and 00:01:55.140 --> 00:01:58.379 bright. Nick and Stephanie were the heartbeat 00:01:58.379 --> 00:02:01.739 of their social circles. Their lives were defined 00:02:01.739 --> 00:02:05.439 by simple joys, weekend movie nights at the local 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:08.780 theater, and the perceived safety of their suburban 00:02:08.780 --> 00:02:12.659 surroundings, which made the events of a cold 00:02:12.659 --> 00:02:15.960 February night not just a tragedy, but a fundamental 00:02:15.960 --> 00:02:18.699 terrifying violation of the peace their community 00:02:18.699 --> 00:02:23.509 relied upon. The mystery began in the early morning 00:02:23.509 --> 00:02:27.430 hours of February 14, 2000. Nick was working 00:02:27.430 --> 00:02:30.530 the closing shift at the Subway Shop, just blocks 00:02:30.530 --> 00:02:33.969 away from Columbine High School, which had been 00:02:33.969 --> 00:02:36.310 the site of a horrific national tragedy only 00:02:36.310 --> 00:02:39.210 ten months prior. The community was still in 00:02:39.210 --> 00:02:41.669 the fragile, raw stages of collective mourning, 00:02:41.889 --> 00:02:44.969 trying to reclaim a sense of normalcy and trust 00:02:44.969 --> 00:02:48.099 in their everyday environment. Stephanie had 00:02:48.099 --> 00:02:50.379 gone to the shop to wait for Nick to finish his 00:02:50.379 --> 00:02:53.419 cleaning and inventory so they could spend time 00:02:53.419 --> 00:02:56.139 together as the clock ticked toward Valentine's 00:02:56.139 --> 00:02:59.539 Day. It was a routine they had established, a 00:02:59.539 --> 00:03:02.699 safe, public place for a late -night meet -up 00:03:02.699 --> 00:03:05.680 that allowed them a few extra moments together. 00:03:07.180 --> 00:03:11.659 Around 12 .45 a .m., a fellow employee who happened 00:03:11.659 --> 00:03:13.819 to be driving by noticed that the lights in the 00:03:13.819 --> 00:03:17.000 shop were still burning bright. The open sign 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:19.620 was perhaps still glowing, and Nick's car was 00:03:19.620 --> 00:03:21.919 still in the parking lot well past the scheduled 00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:26.120 closing time. Sensing something was deeply, fundamentally 00:03:26.120 --> 00:03:28.860 amiss, the employee walked into the shop and 00:03:28.860 --> 00:03:32.060 discovered a scene of absolute silent devastation. 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:35.659 The mundane quiet of the sandwich shop, usually 00:03:35.659 --> 00:03:38.520 smelling of fresh bread and floor cleaner, had 00:03:38.520 --> 00:03:41.120 been shattered by a burst of unthinkable violence. 00:03:41.759 --> 00:03:44.840 Nick and Stephanie were found behind the counter. 00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:48.039 both having been shot to death in what appeared 00:03:48.039 --> 00:03:50.979 to be a senseless sudden execution that left 00:03:50.979 --> 00:03:54.800 no room for escape, no time for a plea, and no 00:03:54.800 --> 00:03:58.780 chance for a goodbye. The initial investigation 00:03:58.780 --> 00:04:01.439 was frantic and exhaustive as a community already 00:04:01.439 --> 00:04:04.199 reeling from past trauma faced a new terrifying 00:04:04.199 --> 00:04:07.620 reality that violence had returned to their doorstep 00:04:07.620 --> 00:04:11.180 with renewed cruelty. The Jefferson County Sheriff's 00:04:11.180 --> 00:04:14.199 Office immediately cordoned off the scene. searching 00:04:14.199 --> 00:04:17.759 for any microscopic forensic footprint, a spent 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:20.540 shell casing, a stray fiber, or a microscopic 00:04:20.540 --> 00:04:25.540 drop of DNA left by the intruder. Witnesses reported 00:04:25.540 --> 00:04:28.120 seeing a suspicious young man leaving the area 00:04:28.120 --> 00:04:31.699 around the time of the murders, a male, approximately 00:04:31.699 --> 00:04:36.000 16 to 20 years old, standing about 5 feet 7 inches 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:38.899 tall with a medium build, wearing a dark coat 00:04:38.899 --> 00:04:41.680 with a hood pulled low. Despite this description 00:04:41.680 --> 00:04:44.920 and the creation of a widely circulated composite 00:04:44.920 --> 00:04:48.500 sketch that stared back from every storefront, 00:04:48.699 --> 00:04:52.259 window, and telephone pole in Littleton, the 00:04:52.259 --> 00:04:55.000 individual was never identified. The precision 00:04:55.000 --> 00:04:57.240 and terrifying speed of the murders suggested 00:04:57.240 --> 00:05:00.500 a killer who was either extremely composed or 00:05:00.500 --> 00:05:03.879 driven by a singular dark purpose. There was 00:05:03.879 --> 00:05:07.089 no evidence of a robbery. as the cash register 00:05:07.089 --> 00:05:10.269 remained untouched and full of the day's earnings, 00:05:10.470 --> 00:05:13.810 and there were no signs of a struggle or defensive 00:05:13.810 --> 00:05:16.889 wounds that would indicate a personal motive 00:05:16.889 --> 00:05:21.430 or a frantic fight for survival. As the weeks 00:05:21.430 --> 00:05:23.990 turned into months, the investigation into the 00:05:23.990 --> 00:05:27.350 subway murders began to stall, hampered by a 00:05:27.350 --> 00:05:30.389 lack of physical evidence and a motive that remained 00:05:30.389 --> 00:05:34.740 stubbornly, agonizingly elusive. Investigators 00:05:34.740 --> 00:05:37.899 explored every possible angle, from the plausible 00:05:37.899 --> 00:05:41.360 to the fringe. Was it a random act of violence 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:44.120 by a transient predator passing through the Denver 00:05:44.120 --> 00:05:47.560 metro area? Was it cruelly linked to the lingering 00:05:47.560 --> 00:05:50.480 tensions and copycat threats in the community 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:53.899 following the Columbine shooting? Or was it something 00:05:53.899 --> 00:05:57.980 far more personal, a hidden grudge or a dark 00:05:57.980 --> 00:06:01.459 obsession held by someone who knew Nick or Stephanie's 00:06:01.459 --> 00:06:06.040 closing routine? The ambiguity of the case led 00:06:06.040 --> 00:06:09.459 to a climate of intense localized anxiety in 00:06:09.459 --> 00:06:12.680 Littleton. Parents who had just begun to let 00:06:12.680 --> 00:06:15.180 their children out of their sight after the events 00:06:15.180 --> 00:06:17.800 of the previous year kept them closer than ever. 00:06:18.620 --> 00:06:20.819 Businesses increased their security protocols 00:06:20.819 --> 00:06:24.160 and the simple act of a teenager working a late 00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:27.360 night shift became a source of profound paralyzing 00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:30.899 fear as the realization set in. that a double 00:06:30.899 --> 00:06:33.959 murderer was likely still walking the same suburban 00:06:33.959 --> 00:06:37.060 streets, hiding in plain sight behind a mask 00:06:37.060 --> 00:06:41.959 of normalcy. Over the last 24 years, the case 00:06:41.959 --> 00:06:44.860 of Nick and Stephanie has remained one of Colorado's 00:06:44.860 --> 00:06:47.220 most high -profile and frustrating cold cases. 00:06:47.740 --> 00:06:50.860 The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office has never 00:06:50.860 --> 00:06:53.839 stopped working the file, periodically utilizing 00:06:53.839 --> 00:06:57.600 advancements in touch DNA technology and ballistics. 00:06:58.410 --> 00:07:00.870 to re -examine the evidence recovered from behind 00:07:00.870 --> 00:07:04.250 that subway counter. They have followed thousands 00:07:04.250 --> 00:07:07.110 of leads from across the country and conducted 00:07:07.110 --> 00:07:09.529 hundreds of interviews with former students and 00:07:09.529 --> 00:07:12.670 local residents, yet the identity of the subway 00:07:12.670 --> 00:07:17.269 killer remains a shadow. The enduring pain for 00:07:17.269 --> 00:07:20.250 the Kunzelman and Hart -Grizzle families is the 00:07:20.250 --> 00:07:23.500 total lack of accountability. They have lived 00:07:23.500 --> 00:07:26.399 through decades of empty chairs at holiday tables 00:07:26.399 --> 00:07:29.839 and missed milestones. Graduations, weddings, 00:07:29.980 --> 00:07:33.100 and the births of grandchildren. That Nick and 00:07:33.100 --> 00:07:36.379 Stephanie were denied, all while knowing that 00:07:36.379 --> 00:07:39.160 the person responsible has escaped into the fabric 00:07:39.160 --> 00:07:42.079 of society, perhaps living a life they stole 00:07:42.079 --> 00:07:46.040 from two innocent children. The case of Nick 00:07:46.040 --> 00:07:49.240 Kunzelman and Stephanie Hart Grizzle. remains 00:07:49.240 --> 00:07:51.939 a haunting reminder of the fragility of safety 00:07:51.939 --> 00:07:54.720 and the persistence of grief in a town that has 00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:58.160 seen too much of both. It stands as a testament 00:07:58.160 --> 00:08:00.740 to a community that refuses to forget its children 00:08:00.740 --> 00:08:03.620 and a law enforcement agency that refuses to 00:08:03.620 --> 00:08:07.360 give up on the promise of justice. The subway 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:10.839 shop has changed hands and seen many faces over 00:08:10.839 --> 00:08:13.759 the years. And the students who walked the halls 00:08:13.759 --> 00:08:16.240 of Columbine with Nick and Stephanie are now 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:19.439 adults, with careers and children of their own. 00:08:19.660 --> 00:08:22.680 But the memory of that Valentine's Day tragedy 00:08:22.680 --> 00:08:26.180 remains a dark, indelible mark on the history 00:08:26.180 --> 00:08:29.839 of Littleton. A reminder that some shadows never 00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:32.820 truly lift until the light of the truth is finally 00:08:32.820 --> 00:08:38.000 shed upon them. I'm Sammy. And I'll keep telling 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:40.100 these stories because someone out there knows 00:08:40.100 --> 00:08:42.460 something, and for people like Nick Kunzelman 00:08:42.460 --> 00:08:45.600 and Stephanie Hart -Grizzle, silence should never 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:50.120 be the end. The truth remains just out of reach, 00:08:50.279 --> 00:08:53.120 and the shadows around this case only grow deeper 00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:56.379 as the decades pass. Someone out there knows 00:08:56.379 --> 00:08:59.159 more than they have ever admitted, perhaps a 00:08:59.159 --> 00:09:02.559 friend who noticed a change in behavior, a relative 00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:05.809 who recognized that hooded coat, or a confidant 00:09:05.809 --> 00:09:09.269 of the killer. And one small, seemingly insignificant 00:09:09.269 --> 00:09:13.470 detail could finally crack everything wide open. 00:09:13.870 --> 00:09:16.330 What do you think is still hiding beneath the 00:09:16.330 --> 00:09:19.649 surface of this suburban mystery? Drop your theories. 00:09:20.070 --> 00:09:23.570 Even the smallest clue or a remembered conversation 00:09:23.570 --> 00:09:26.129 from 20 years ago can spark the breakthrough 00:09:26.129 --> 00:09:29.730 a family has waited a lifetime for. For more 00:09:29.730 --> 00:09:32.549 chilling mysteries and untold stories, tune in 00:09:32.549 --> 00:09:36.090 to Beyond the Silence, Whispers Across America 00:09:36.090 --> 00:09:39.509 on all major podcast platforms or find us on 00:09:39.509 --> 00:09:43.610 Facebook. Until next time, listen closely, trust 00:09:43.610 --> 00:09:45.289 your instincts, and stay safe.