Colorado mom facing charges after 16yo daughter dies with 173 empty alcohol bottles found in her bedroom

An Arvada, Colorado, mother faces a second-degree murder charge after her 16-year-old daughter died of severe, long-term alcohol abuse. Prosecutors say first responders found the teen inside her family home, surrounded by nearly 200 empty liquor bottles.

The First Judicial District Attorney’s Office identified the defendant as Gretchen Leanne Ryan, 55, who lived with her daughter in Arvada, a city about 10 miles northwest of downtown Denver. Ryan contributed to the teen’s prolonged alcohol use and failed to intervene despite repeated medical warning signs, prosecutors allege.

Authorities responding to the residence in the 6400 block of West 85th Avenue in Arvada found Grace Ryan unresponsive on March 9. They pronounced her dead at the scene. A search of her bedroom uncovered 173 empty alcohol containers concealed under her bed and inside a closet.

Ryan allegedly helped supply the alcohol

According to the First Judicial DA, digital evidence suggests Ryan and her daughter consumed alcohol and cannabis together beginning in late 2025. Ryan allegedly helped arrange alcohol deliveries to the home. She also took steps to conceal the teen’s substance use from other family members, according to prosecutors.

Those family members included the girl’s father, who, according to the First Judicial DA, lived primarily in the basement of the home. According to an arrest affidavit obtained by Denver’s 9News, Ryan denied involvement at first, but then admitted she felt at fault because the girl “got into” her vodka and that she should go to jail.

Investigators also said messages recovered from the teen’s devices indicated serious medical distress in the months before her death. The 16-year-old suffered from an inability to walk, trouble keeping food down, and episodes of vomiting blood. The teen also expressed fear that she might die and sought help from her mother, officials added.

The 16-year-old sent her final, unanswered text from a bathroom iPad at 10:07 PM on March 8. It wasn’t until the following morning, more than 10 hours after the teenager’s final communication, that someone placed a call to 911.

The teen left in-person schooling in 2025 and enrolled in online education. She had limited outside activity in the months leading up to her death.

The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office declared the cause of death aspiration pneumonia linked to chronic alcohol use. Officials classified the manner of death as natural while noting what prosecutors described as a behavioral component of alcohol consumption.

Police arrested Ryan in May and booked her into the Jefferson County Jail on a $500,000 cash-only bond. She faces a charge of second-degree murder. She is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on June 17. The investigation remains ongoing as authorities continue reviewing digital evidence and communications tied to the case.