What happened to Sylvia Frens? Colorado woman reported missing four years ago found dead as son is accused of murder

Officials in Colorado recently discovered the remains of a Grand Junction woman, Sylvia Frens, who had been missing for four years. Reportedly, her remains were found in a trash bag inside a manhole at her former property. The rest of the neighbourhood is in a state of shock as it is hard to believe that the woman they were searching for four years had never left the house.

Richard Vandervelde (54), son of Sylvia Frens, has now been arrested by Grand Junction Police in connection with her murder.

As reported by her daughter, Sylvia Frens went missing in May 2018. Richard Vandervelde became a person of interest soon after the investigation began. He was suspected of killing his own mother. The search for Frens eventually led the authorities to her property because they assumed that it would be the prime location for uncovering important evidence against Richard.

Upon entering the house, investigators detected a musty odour emanating from the bedroom and a brown stain on the floor, according to KKCO. However, lab examination revealed no traces of blood.

For years, there were no new leads as to Frens' location, but Richard Vandervelde's alleged involvement was suspected.

According to court records, following the recent discovery of her remains, Vandervelde was found in Florida on May 19, 2022, and placed in the custody of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office as a fugitive from Mesa County. He was charged with the first-degree murder of his mother. On June 3, VanderVelde was flown back to Colorado to face the charges.

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Richard is suspected of murdering Sylvia Frens and pawning off her belongings

On June 5, 2018, Vandervelde was pulled over by Missouri authorities for purportedly telling a lie regarding the disappearance of his mother. He said that his mother had left for a funeral in California with a woman named 'Barb.' He alleged that Frens had left for California in April without disclosing any more information.

According to Grand Junction PD, Vandervelde possessed Frens' car and stole $10,000 cash out of her bank account over the last four years. Reportedly, he was also pawning off her possessions.

The discovery of Sylvia Frens' dead body stuffed in a garbage bag, almost four years since the investigation began, offered new clues to the investigators. The current occupant of Sylvia Frens' house reported a suspicious trashbag inside a manhole on the property in March 2022. DNA tests verified that the remains were indeed Frens'.

Police said in a press release,

"An autopsy concluded injuries consistent with blunt force trauma to the head and the manner of death was ruled a homicide."

Vandervelde has been charged with first-degree homicide, fiddling with a deceased human body, offences against an at-risk adult, fraud-identity theft, robbery of $5,000-$20,000, motor vehicle theft, and abuse of a corpse. He is scheduled to appear in court on June 21,