173 empty bottles were found in her bedroom…...

173 empty bottles were found in her bedroom… — Mother charged after 16-year-old daughter reportedly drank herself to de-ath, prosecutors reveal disturbing details

Authorities say the 16-year-old repeatedly told her mother she feared she was dying in the months before her death.

Grace Ryan.Credit : Aspen Mortuaries

A Colorado mother has been charged with murder after prosecutors allege she supplied alcohol to her teenage daughter for months before the 16-year-old died from complications related to chronic alcohol use.

Gretchen Leanne Ryan was charged with one count of second-degree murder in connection with her daughter’s March 2026 death, according to the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

The charge follows a months-long investigation that began on March 9, when Arvada Fire and Arvada Police responded to a home in the 6400 block of West 85th Avenue after receiving a report of an unresponsive juvenile female. The teen was pronounced dead at the scene, per authorities.

As investigators worked to determine what led to the girl’s death, they examined cell phones and other electronic devices belonging to both Ryan and her daughter.

Records recovered during the investigation allegedly revealed frequent discussions about obtaining and consuming alcohol beginning in September 2025. Ryan is accused of arranging regular alcohol deliveries to the home, consuming alcohol and marijuana with her daughter, and concealing the teen’s drinking from her father, who primarily resided in the basement of the residence, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.

The affidavit alleges that communications between mother and daughter documented a dramatic decline in the teen’s health in the weeks leading up to her death. Messages cited by investigators referenced vomiting blood, difficulty eating, trouble walking, sleeping in the bathroom, and the use of diapers due to symptoms associated with excessive alcohol consumption.

In one exchange included in the affidavit, the teen told her mother she was in “so much pain” and repeatedly asked for alcohol while describing severe physical symptoms.

In messages cited in the affidavit, the teen allegedly told her mother she was “gonna die” and asked Ryan to call 911. Investigators allege that despite those requests, Ryan did not seek emergency medical care for her daughter.

Following her arrest, Ryan allegedly made several incriminating statements while speaking with investigators. She repeatedly told detectives, “I killed her,” before later saying she felt responsible for her daughter’s death, according to the affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.

Authorities say the final exchange between mother and daughter occurred the night before the teen’s death. The girl’s last outgoing message was allegedly sent at 10:07 p.m. on March 8 from an iPad later found near her body in the bathroom.

Subsequent messages from Ryan received no response, and emergency responders were not called until approximately 8:15 a.m. the following morning, according to investigators.

As the investigation continued, detectives searched the teen’s bedroom and recovered 173 empty alcohol bottles hidden beneath her bed and inside her closet, according to the district attorney’s office’s press release. Investigators also allege that the teen had withdrawn from public school in April 2025 and enrolled in online classes.

At the time of her death, she had completed only one online semester of ninth-grade coursework and had not participated in activities outside the home for several months, according to the district attorney’s office.

Medical findings cited by prosecutors allegedly indicated she had an abnormally fatty liver for someone her age, a condition that doctors believe “could indicate extensive and prolonged alcohol consumption,” per the DA’s press release.

An autopsy later determined that she died from aspiration pneumonia related to chronic alcohol consumption, a condition in which material enters the lungs and causes a severe infection. The death was classified as natural, with the pathologist noting that long-term alcohol use can increase the risk of aspiration pneumonia by impairing several of the body’s protective reflexes and immune functions.

Ryan was booked into the Jefferson County Jail, where she is being held on a $500,000 cash-only bond, according to jail records viewed by PEOPLE.

SOURCE: https://people.com/colorado-mother-charged-with-murder-after-teen-daughters-alcohol-related-death-11991705