Family of murdered Fountain man speaks on recent arrest of suspect 1 year after his death

FOUNTAIN, Colo. (KRDO)--A 17-year-old is now in jail for the murder of a man found along the train tracks in Fountain just over a year ago.

31-year-old Christian Cook's family said although they are grateful the police stayed on this case to find his alleged killer, they're still angry knowing their son was left near train tracks to die.

"Multiple people drove by and saw him laying there. They mentioned it on Facebook but nobody called it in. It took the railroad worker to call it in," said Michelle Cook, Christian Cook's mother.

A railroad worker found Christian Cook dead near the train tracks in Fountain on April 9th, 2023. It took Fountain police a little more than a year to find his alleged killer. It's been a heartbreaking and frustrating year for his mother Michelle. 

"It made me angry this past year that he was still out there doing whatever," Michelle Cook said.

On Monday, the Cooks got a call from police telling them that an arrest had been made.

"Detective Bixby called my husband and told him that there had been an arrest and that somebody around him spilled the beans," Michelle Cook said.

Michelle said that although this arrest won't bring Christian back, it is a step toward justice.

"I'm a lot happier now that he is locked up," said Michelle. "I'm just glad he's finally off the street. I'm sad to know that he is in juvenile detention cause he's 17, so that means he was 16 when he did this."  

Michelle and her family said they're now preparing for what they expect to be a lengthy trial before they work on healing. 

"I'm just really relieved that I don't have to worry about this kid hurting anybody else," said Michelle.

Police say they won't be releasing the suspect's name because he is under the age of 18.