The adopted adult son of a Colorado man whose dead body was wrapped in a tarp and dumped at the Mirror Lake Recreation Area in Albany County, Wyoming, in early July has been charged with this father’s murder.
Jaymz Jordan Bitner, 19, is accused of second-degree murder, tampering with a deceased human body and solicitation to commit tampering with a deceased human body, the Gilpin County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.
He was charged Friday.
After allegedly shooting his father, 56-year-old James Bitner, at the family home in Black Hawk, Colorado, Jaymz Bitner is accused of transporting and dumping the body wrapped in blankets and a tarp on the shores of Mirror Lake in Albany County, 114 miles from Black Hawk, the Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office reports.
The discovery of Bitner’s body over the Fourth of July weekend shut down the popular Snowy Range picnic and fishing site near the base of Medicine Bow Peak for two days as law enforcement investigated the scene.
The man was originally declared a John Doe, but later identified through fingerprints as James Bitner.
He was found with a bullet hole in the back of his skull, according to affidavit for arrest filed in the 1st Judicial District Court in Gilpin County, Colorado.
$1 Million Bond
Jaymz Bitner is being held on a $1 million cash bond in the Gilpin County Detention Center in Black Hawk, Colorado.
The alleged crimes date back to Nov. 12, 2023, when Jaymz Bitner is accused of shooting and killing his father after he threatened to kick Jaymz out of the home.
That’s when he allegedly dumped the body in Wyoming, which went nearly eight months before being discovered, the sheriff’s office reports.
A witness and friend of James Bitner told police when questioned on July 24 that James had stopped at his home the night of Nov. 12 and the two had a “couple of beers and smoked some marijuana,” court documents state.
The two visited for a short while before James Bitner returned home.
The following day, Jaymz Bitner and another male subject identified as “Skyler” stopped by the friend’s home during which Jaymz Bitner allegedly said he shot and killed his father. He then asked the friend for help to “get rid of the body,” according to the affidavit.
The friend then reportedly told Jaymz Bitner that he needed to report the shooting to authorities to which the younger Bitner indicated he wouldn’t, court documents state.
After the friend denied assistance helping him, Jaymz Bitner and Skyler left.
The friend then went to the Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office to report a welfare check on Jaymz Bitner, telling them he wanted to remain anonymous because he was worried about his safety, court documents state.
At the time, he told a deputy that he’d last seen “Jim” two to three days prior and that he hadn’t been doing well.
The friend seemed agitated and nervous at the time, according to the report, and there’s no indication that he told the sheriff about Jaymz Bitner’s alleged confession.
The report notes that Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the Bitner home where James Bitner lived with his wife. They knocked on the door and walked about the exterior for about eight minutes with no response.
8 Months Later
James Bitner’s body was discovered July 5, 2024, wrapped in multiple layers of blankets and tarps, plastic and a white electric heated mattress cover tied in orange electrical cord, an orange ratchet strap, a pink rope and blue para cord, according to the affidavit.
His body was sent to the Larimer County Coroner’s Office in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he was identified by fingerprints through the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation crime lab.
James Bitner was traced to his home in Black Hawk, where police interviewed his wife, who said that her husband had left one day in early November, telling them he was leaving and would “start over with nothing,” court documents state.
She allegedly told detectives that her husband had left on foot, leaving several vehicles registered in his name, and that he took his silver and gold with him.
She further stated that it was not uncommon for James Bitner to be gone for two to three weeks at a time, but had no explanation for why she didn’t report him missing.
Meanwhile, the adopted son “revealed inconsistencies with his explanation of his father’s disappearance” and appeared to detectives to have a flat effect, according to the affidavit.
Detectives seized a 2005 Cadillac belonging to James and being driven by his son where two cadaver dogs indicated on the back bumper, cargo area and rear hatch.
A dark red bath towel similar to the one the older Bitner was wrapped in was also recovered in addition to two straps wrapped around James’ body.
Online pawn records for silver and gold coins recovered by Wyoming DCI in excess of $14,000 were also traced back to Jaymz Bitner, beginning Nov. 12, 2023.
Jaymz Bitner’s next court date is 9 a.m. Aug. 29 in Gilpin County District Court.
Jen Kocher can be reached at jen@cowboystatedaily.com.
