A woman was walking her children to school on Thursday morning, Oct. 24, 1996 when she saw something terrible.
Tangie Lynn Sims
A young woman with long blond hair was lying on the ground in an alley just north of East 12th Avenue between Iola and Ironton streets.
When Aurora detectives arrived at the scene they began to canvass the neighborhood.
On Nov. 3, 1996, Aurora police contacted local TV and radio stations and newspapers asking any possible witnesses to come forward.
The body was taken to the Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office. The woman appeared to be in her early 20s. She was 5-feet-3 and weighed 120 pounds. She had hazel eyes.
Authorities identified the remains as those of Tangie Lynn Sims, a 25-year-old woman who had grown up near Chatanooga, Tn. She had most recently been living in a third-floor Alton Gardens apartment at 1550 Alton St. in Aurora.
She had been stabbed multiple times and may have been sexually assaulted.
Authorities contacted Sims’ mother, Geraldine Stamey, in Tennessee. The young woman’s body was sent back to Tennessee.
Tangie had attended the Central Baptist Church and worked at a Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘N Biscuits restaurant as a cook. The Southern-style restaurant chain serves picnic grits, Cajun pinto beans and dirty rice.
Rev. A.R. Sharpe spoke at Sims’ funeral at the Williamson and Sons Funeral Home before her body was buried in the Chattanooga Memorial Park, a large cemetery with tall oak trees, rolling hills and a large duck pond.
While investigating Tangie’s violent murder, Aurora police found that the young woman had a criminal record.