March 25, 2025
A now 72-year-old former maintenance worker has been charged in connection with the 2007 unsolved murder of a mother in Frederik County, Colorado.
Darrell Burklund was arrested in York, Nebraska and charged with second-degree murder.
On April 6, 2007, officers with the Frederick police department responded to a call at a home in the 7900 block of Larkspur Circle. There, they found the body of 25-year-old mother, Jessica Rose Bejarano.
According to a 2007 article in the Denver Post, it was the victim’s brother-in-law who called police after finding her fatally wounded, with her children alone and crying in the home.
Jessica was described as 140lbs, 5ft3, with dark hair. She had a tattoo of a flower on her left ankle and a geometric design on her lower back.
The decedent was found naked in the shower, at the bottom of the shower stall, with a stab would to be chest. This injury would later be ruled as the victim’s cause of death.
A 2015 Times Call article wrote that police were called to Bejarano's home responding to a "suicide call." When she was found with a fatal stab wound Frederick Police said they decided to involve the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
Bejarano's son, 2, and daughter, 6, were in the home while their mother was brutally stabbed to death. They would later go to therapy to work through what they had witnessed.
The child initially told police “a Black man shot mommy.”
An affidavit obtained by 9News states she also said: "A big man came into the house and poked mommy in the chest with something."
When later talking with police, the victim’s four-year-old daughter told them : “daddy shot mommy with a knife,” and told police she had heard them arguing over a hole in the wall of the bathroom.
She also drew a picture depicting her father, who had an angry face, holding a knife.
Their father, Daniel Bejarano, was confirmed to be at work at the time of the murder, he also provided DNA, including blood and hair samples.
He was quickly ruled out as a suspect, putting investigators back at square one without a suspect.
Although Daniel has never been charged with any crime in connection with his wife’s murder, he told the Times Call in 2015 that he still felt he was considered a person of interest and was not allowed to see his own children at the time the article was published.
He added that his children were asleep when he left and that he had no idea why his daughter said what she did.
According to media outlets the children spent some time in foster care before their grandmother was able to take custody.
When asked about other suspects at the time, Weld County District Attorney, Michael Rourke, stated: “There are a number of possible suspects. To say that there is just one would be inappropriate. We wouldn’t want investigators to have tunnel vision on one suspect.”
Jassica Bejarano's aunt, Toni Carpenter, spoke to the Times Call in 2015 where she said: “If I could post billboards up and down Interstate 25, I would.”
In 2021 the Colorado Bureau of Investigation Cold Case Task Force put up a billboard along the I-25 that read: "Do you know who killed me? Jessica Bejarano April 2007" along with an image of the victim and the Colorado Government's web address.
Her picture and a brief summary of the case details were also printed on a playing card as part of the cold case playing card deck.
On March 18, 2025, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) published a statement where they announced, more than 17 years after Jessica's murder, that a suspect had been arrested in connection with her death.
Darrell Burklund, now 72 years old, was arrested in York, Nebraska, and booked in at the York County Sheriff’s Detention Center on one count of second-degree murder.
He would have been in his mid-fifties at the time of the crime.
DNA evidence collected at the scene matched that of Burklund, who was subsequently interviewed on 14 March, before being arrested. At the time of writing, he is awaiting an extradition hearing, and is eventually expected to be transported to Colorado.
CBI Director, Chris Schaefer, praised the "tireless work" of investigators who have worked on the case over the years, adding: "I want to remind the victims' families to never give up hope. No matter how old or complicated these cases are, our cold case team is dedicated to resolving the most difficult cases no matter how long it takes."
According to 9News, who obtained an affidavit, Burklund was a contractor for a maintenance company that had worked on the family’s home.
According to the report of the alleged killer, knowing the victim's husband had gone to work, he knocked on the door of the home, and after a struggle ensued, stabbed Jessica in the chest.
9News reports that following this confession, Burklund penned a letter to the victim's daughter.
He wrote: "Hello my name is Darrell Burklund. I'm the man who took your mother's life 18 years ago. An accident and bad judgement on my part. I robbed your family of the most important person in your life. IF I could go back to that day I could guarantee things would be different. The things I put your family thru has worked on me all this time as is your case my family meant everything to me. I don't expect your forgiveness my conscience will torture me the rest of my life. If I could turn back the hands of time you, your brother and dad would enjoy your mom while you were growing up. I'm so sorry this happened.”
March 18, 2025
March 11, 2025
