Burglar on probation arrested in killing of 87-year-old woman

A 21-year-old burglar was arrested Friday afternoon on suspicion of killing an 87-year-old former church deacon and burning her body at a west Colorado Springs trailhead.

Marcus Smith, on probation for second-degree burglary, was jailed Friday on suspicion of first-degree murder after what neighbors fear could have been a deadly break-in.

Colorado Springs police suspect he killed Kathryn “Kit” Grazioli, a local businesswoman, and left her body burning at the Lower Captain Jack’s Trailhead, south of Tunnel 1 near Lower Gold Camp Road.

Her death saddened business associates and fellow church-goers, who described her as “generous” and “thoughtful.” Unlike many women her age, she stayed on top of changes in technology, said Jim Woods, whom she met on Facebook. She offered him frequent updates about the latest gadgets, such as picture phones.

“Most people that age are settling in; she wasn’t settling in,” Woods said. “She lived her life as if the best days were still ahead of her.”

The grisly story began to reveal itself Wednesday around 2:15 a.m., when Colorado Springs firefighters were called to put out a blaze at the trailhead. When firefighters extinguished the blaze, they found a badly burned body. 

Around 12:30 p.m. that day, homicide detectives began searching her house in the 1100 block of Samuel Point, tucked away in a gated community southeast of Colo. Highway 115 and Cheyenne Meadows Road.

Investigators dusted the house for fingerprints well into the night, and a firefighter joined detectives around 7:30 p.m. to board up a window on the townhome’s west side.

Police did not say how they suspect Grazioli was killed in announcing Friday that the body found at the trailhead two days earlier is hers. They did not say how her identity was verified.

One neighbor, though, fears that whoever harmed Grazioli may have tried to break into her house first.

The neighbor said police dusted her bedroom window for fingerprints after officers found window screens missing from the windows of two homes — one from her own home, and one from Grazioli’s house.

Fortunately, the neighbor said, her window was locked, and didn’t budge once the screen was removed. The window glass was left dotted with fingerprints, she said.

Phil Baldwin, president of the homeowners association at the 120-unit complex, said the neighborhood has been left to wonder, for now, whether Grazioli knew her attacker or, more disturbing yet, was chosen at random.

“We don’t know if he wandered in here, picked out a house and just killed a woman,” he said.

Others in the gated community said they could not get much information from police, who were actively investigating the case. Carolyn Bassett said no one told her Wednesday whether she should be concerned about the potential for break-ins, or even if foul play was suspected.

“It’s very tight-lipped, and from a community perspective, we want to know more,” Bassett said.

A Google+ account bearing Grazioli’s name says she used to live in Florida but followed her husband — who was in the military — to Colorado 22 years ago. She has three sons and five grandchildren, according to the account information.

Until a year ago, she served as a deacon of Faith Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs, said Rev. Tom Trinidad.

Grazioli also described herself on Google+ as an “entrepreneur” and “network marketer,” working for ACN, a direct marketer of telecommunications services.

“She was constantly making herself available to people who were unemployed or underemployed in our congregation,” Trinidad said. “She was always looking out to help people.”

Smith’s arrest is the latest in a growing criminal record, according to court documents.

Smith was sentenced in October to five years of probation after he pleaded guilty to a second-degree burglary in El Paso County, court documents show. Charges of selling stolen property to a pawn broker and theft between $1,000 and $20,000 were dismissed in his plea deal.

He was scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 12 on a misdemeanor assault charge, which court records indicate occurred Oct. 31. The records contain no details of the alleged incident.

Police say Smith was walking a half-mile from Grazioli’s home in the 1300 block of Suncrest Way when Colorado Springs police SWAT members surrounded him at 12:15 p.m. Friday. He is being held without bond at the El Paso County jail. Police say they are looking for no other suspects.

Grazioli’s death has been ruled a homicide, the 26th this year in Colorado Springs. The city had 24 homicides in all of 2010.

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Contact Jakob Rodgers: 476-1654 

Twitter: @jakobrodgers 

Facebook: Jakob Rodgers

Reporter Lance Benzel contributed to this report