Celebrations turn to tragedy for one Fountain family

(FOUNTAIN, Colo.) — What began as a fun Fourth of July celebration for the Llanos family ended in tragedy.

The Fountain Police Department (FPD) reported on Friday, July 5 that it was investigating a death that occurred on Thursday, July 4.

The Llanos family said 24-year-old Tatiana Llanos left a Fourth of July event to spend time with friends with the intention of going back home to spend the rest of the holiday with family, but she never made it back.

“Whoever did this to us, to her, took this away from us,” said Jose Llanos, Tatiana’s father as he held up multiple photos of his daughter.

A day meant to be a celebration of patriotism turned into a parent’s worst nightmare.

“What if you get woken up at 3:00 in the morning? One minute she was okay, another minute she’s going out with some friends, [and] the next minute, all of a sudden, she’s on the side of the road,” added Jose Llanos.

Around 4 a.m., on July 5, Jose Llanos heard a knock at his front door, only to find a lieutenant and coroner delivering the news that his daughter was dead.

“That’s when our world turned upside down. Our hearts broke,” he added.

Tatiana Llanos spent the fourth of July with her family who tells FOX21 that between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., she left to hang out with friends, but never returned home.

“Whoever did this changed lives. He impacted us. He took away dreams that she had of being a bride someday, having children, and making us grandparents. It has hurt us in ways that we can’t ever imagine,” added Jose Llanos.

On July 4, just after 10:30 p.m. an El Paso County Sheriff’s Deputy was patrolling the area of Fountain Mesa and Caballero Avenue when they found a woman lying in the road. At first, they thought she had been shot, but police now say that was not the case nor was she hit by a car.

“I would hope that if you were a friend, you wouldn’t do this to someone, let alone leave them on the side of the road,” added Jose Llanos.

Police have not released the name of the woman found and the Llanos family said they are now using this time meant for grieving, to find answers.

“It just feels to me like something happened, and in between there, maybe someone got nervous, maybe someone got scared. But, I do believe that, maybe, I think there’s just no way no one else knows what happened,” added Jose Llanos.

Detectives with FPD are now investigating the case.

“There were no torn clothes, there were no scrapes. It was just the way he described it… she was in the middle of the road, it just looked too staged,” said her father.

He said police told him Tatiana died from possible blunt force trauma to the head. Now, the family says all they want are answers and justice for their daughter.

“All we want is answers, that’s all we want. We’re not trying to go after someone, I’m not trying to find someone to blame, that’s not it. I want answers,” said Jose Llanos.

FOX21 reached out to FPD for comment but has not heard back. As of now, police have not released any information on a possible suspect or an official cause of death.

To report any information regarding what happened to Tatiana Llano, call FPD at (719) 382-6918.

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