Who was Travis Forbes and what did he do? Harrowing details of Kenia Monge's murder on Dateline, explored

Travis Forbes is a man from Denver convicted of the murder of 19-year-old Kenia Monge in 2011 was covered in the show Dateline. Monge was last seen leaving a nightclub, where she had been with Forbes, who admitted to having seen her that night.

He finally confessed to strangling and beating her in one of his hotel rooms, hiding her in a freezer for a few days, and burying her in a shallow grave near Keenesburg, Colorado.

Months later, he attacked Lydia Tillman and was convicted of attempted murder of her. His confessions sealed the life sentence of imprisonment without parole. The case of Monge appears in Dateline and is dedicated to illustrating the strength and unyielding demands for justice.

Travis Forbes: Deceptive persona in Dateline

He was a 31-year-old Denver entrepreneur who advertised a gluten-free granola company. From all appearances, he was a simple small businessman. However, beneath the surface ran an individual who may be more troubled than anyone realized. Forbes met Kenia Monge when she had just left a downtown Denver nightclub on March 31, 2011, without a phone or purse.

Forbes later claimed he found her wandering about the streets and offered her a ride, casting himself in the Good Samaritan role. Forbes' story fell apart almost immediately under investigation. As judgments were made about his past, there were discrepancies in his accounts of that night.

Despite all suspicions, there was no physical evidence against him to pin him down for the crime. However, Forbes was still being watched since investigations were to take place against the suspect.

The murder of Kenia Monge

Forbes later confessed to killing Kenia Monge, his account of committing the crime painted a very grotesque picture. He confessed to banging Monge when she became unconscious inside his van. Then when she regained consciousness and started grappling with him, Forbes strangled her to death.

It was worse. Instead of burying her, he would drag her to his bakery and freeze the corpse in storage before disposing of the body in a shallow grave not far from Keenesburg, about 40 miles from the Denver site.

Monge's disappearance devastated her family. Bright, ambitious, and with a promising future, they described her as such. Probably the loudest among these voices who decried the harsh fate that befell the family and sought justice was her father, Tony Lee, who worked with law enforcement agencies and even met Forbes under the guise of seeking information about his daughter.

This interaction would later prove instrumental in keeping the investigation alive. Just then, in July 2011, a spectacular twist in the case was witnessed when Forbes was arrested and charged with the attempted murder of Lydia Tillman, a Fort Collins woman who narrowly escaped his vicious attack on her.

After assaulting her and setting her apartment on fire, Tillman had leaped from a second-story window to escape. Her survival and courage became pivotal in sending Forbes to jail.

Justice for Kenia Monge

Ultimately, Forbes was forced to plead guilty to his first-degree murder in Monge when all the evidence was stacked against him and a second victim was willing to testify. He was sentenced to life without parole and later was sentenced to 48 additional years for the attempted murder of the victim Lydia Tillman. His confessions offered closure to the family of Monge but revealed how monstrous his crimes were.

The Dateline episode points to the bulldogged determination of the investigators and the grit of survivors such as Tillman. And learned the most important lesson regarding vigilance and trusting one's stomach on instinct before danger presents itself.

Kenia Monge's murder stands as a grim reminder that evil can hide behind a facade of normalcy. The horrific acts that Travis Forbes did have put a permanent dent in the lives of his victims and their families. However, his capture and conviction stand as a celebration of the perseverance of law enforcement as well as the courage of those who fought for justice.