Autopsy Sheds Light on Final Moments Before Denver Hairstylist Disappeared, but Her Cause of Death Can't Be Determined

Yahoo

07-08-2025

"The effects of postmortem decomposition have made it impossible to prove or rule out multiple possible mechanisms of death," read Jax Gratton's autopsy reportNEED TO KNOW
The cause of death is undetermined for Jax Gratton, a Denver hairstylist who was missing for almost two months
The news comes after her body was discovered in an alley in Lakewood, Colo. on June 6
Officials could not "determine whether she was pushed, fell or jumped from the window while alive, or was dropped from the window after death"Almost four months after hairstylist Jax Gratton was last seen alive, authorities have announced that her cause of death can't be determined, due to how severely decomposed her remains were by the time her body was found.
The frantic search for the 34-year-old woman began in April and ended with the discovery of her remains in a narrow space between two buildings in Lakewood, Colo., a suburb of her home city of Denver, on Friday, June 6.
"The effects of postmortem decomposition have made it impossible to prove or rule out multiple possible mechanisms of death, including complications of drug use, accidental blunt force injuries, assault by another, or some other scenario," authorities said in the autopsy report obtained by PEOPLE from the Jefferson County Coroner's Office.
"Given these uncertainties, the cause and manner of death are undetermined," officials concluded.
A spokesperson for the Lakewood Police Department says they cannot comment further due to their ongoing investigation.
Gratton was last seen on Tuesday, April 15, near the 4200 block of E. Iliff Avenue, the Denver Police Department said at the time.
Friends and family told ABC affiliate KMGH-TV that Gratton left her apartment at approximately 10 p.m. local time and told her roommate that she'd be out for about three hours — but she never came back.
In the autopsy report, officials said that the video footage showed her leaving her residence with a man "with whom she had a reported prior history of consensual sexual relations."
The man, who was not named in the report, told investigators that after picking up Gratton, they went to his second-story apartment in Lakewood, where another man joined them. That apartment, as officials noted in the autopsy report, was "in one of the buildings adjoining the narrow space" where she was eventually found dead.
At the apartment, they reported that Gratton had used gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) and was, at one point "lying on a futon, snoring."
She later vomited and the other two individuals "stated that they propped her up on her side," officials said in the report, which noted that "both men then reportedly left the apartment."
Earlier in the report, investigators wrote that "if GHB causes deep sedation, the risk of asphyxia by aspiration of gastric content is increased if the individual is lying face up."
Although aspiration may have caused or contributed to Gratton's death, authorities said that testing for GHB was not possible. Gratton, who had previously gone to rehab for drug use, did test positive for other substances, such as THC and methamphetamine, according to the report.
According to the report, the first man told investigators that when he returned to his apartment, Gratton was no longer there.
Her body was eventually found directly under the window of the apartment by the owner of the adjacent building, authorities noted.
"If her body fell from the second story window of the room where [she was] last reportedly seen alive, autopsy cannot determine whether she was pushed, fell or jumped from the window while alive, or was dropped from the window after death," officials wrote.
Fractures of two of Gratton's ribs would coincide with any of those scenarios. A joint separation and a fracture in her neck were also described by investigators.
Officials went on to note that her hands and arms "showed no evidence of defensive injuries" and that although strangulation couldn't be ruled out, authorities found "no clear evidence of pressure on the neck as a possible mechanism of death" and that her injuries could have been caused by a fall or decomposition.
Jax's mom, Cherilynne Gratton-Camis, 60, lives out of state and previously told PEOPLE that she grew concerned when she didn't receive a call from Jax on Easter.
At first, her mom believed that Jax's roommate, who had last seen her as she was exiting their apartment, had already filed a missing persons report. While the roommate did contact police, a report wasn't filed, so she rushed to get one submitted — and by Wednesday, April 24, over a week after she was last seen, Jax was officially reported as missing.
While Jax remained missing, concerned loved ones continued to post flyers throughout Denver and post on social media.
After more than 30 days without news about her daughter's whereabouts, Gratton-Camis previously told PEOPLE that she feared the worst had happened.
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On the evening of June 6, Jax's body was found on the 9600 block of W. Colfax Ave in Lakewood, the Lakewood Police Department announced in a statement on Facebook.
'This case is being treated as a suspicious death," authorities said at the time, "and we are working with our partners at the Denver Police Department on this case.'
Following the discovery, the local LGBTQ+ community rallied around the woman's family and remembered Jax, a trans woman, at a memorial three days after her death.
"Jax is looking down and she is proud of the community that she brought together," one of her friends told NBC affiliate KUSA. "Every walk of life has shown up for her and it's very beautiful. Whether you knew Jax or not, you can see how really loved and cared for she is."
For Jax's grieving family, the pain is unending, but so is the memory of the caring, bright woman.
'There are no words strong enough for the grief we are feeling,' Gratton-Camis wrote on Facebook when Jax's body was found. 'The light she carried, the love she gave so freely, and the joy she brought into our lives have been taken from this world far too soon.'
Read the original article on People