The community of Berthoud, Colorado, is reeling after the heartbreaking death of 49-year-old Jennifer James — a single mother of four, known throughout town for her strength, kindness, and the remarkable courage she displayed throughout her life. After beating cancer not once, but four different times, many saw her as a symbol of hope and resilience. She was a woman who faced impossible battles and kept getting up, again and again.
But on the night of April 28, 2025, shortly before 11:20 p.m., tragedy struck in the one place she should have felt most protected: her own home.
According to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, a stray bullet entered her house and struck her in the arm and chest. Despite being gravely injured, Jennifer somehow found the strength to call 911 — a final act of bravery. By the time emergency crews arrived, she had already succumbed to her injuries. Two of her children were reportedly inside the home at the time of the shooting, making the incident even more devastating.
In the days that followed, family friend Juliána King created a GoFundMe page to help support Jennifer’s four children. In her heartfelt message, she described Jennifer as “the epitome of sunshine,” adding that even as she was fighting cancer once again, she remained one of the warmest and most compassionate people anyone could meet. “She was bravely battling cancer yet again at the time that she was taken from us,” King wrote. “Anyone who knew her thought of her as the nicest person they had known.”
Just three days after the tragedy, on May 1, police arrested 20-year-old Ebenezer Worku in connection with the shooting. According to an affidavit obtained by KDVR, Worku told investigators that he suffers from what he referred to as “homicidal schizophrenia.” He claimed the firearm discharged while he was attempting to clean it inside his vehicle, which he had inexplicably stopped in the middle of the street where Jennifer lived.
Investigators say he admitted to firing two rounds out of the car window, insisting he had no idea anyone had been struck. After fleeing with his headlights turned off, he later learned that someone had been killed. Detectives described him as extremely distraught once he realized the consequences of his actions. “I did it, and I’m getting punished for it… put me in jail,” he reportedly said.
Worku was arrested and charged with first-degree murder under the classification of “extreme indifference.” A judge set his bond at $1.25 million, cash-only.
For Jennifer’s children, the loss is immense and impossible to measure. Her eldest daughter, Ashley, opened up about the pain in an interview with KDVR:
“It just makes me mad that such a senseless act of violence occurred, and you never think that’s going to happen to you,” she said. “She was the most selfless mom that anyone could ask for. She devoted her whole life to us kids, so I’ll be forever grateful for everything she did for us.”
Ashley later shared a longer statement with 9News, reflecting on her mother’s decades-long fight against cancer and the unimaginable cruelty of losing her in this way.
“My mom was a single mom of four of us kids. She was a four-time breast cancer survivor. It feels like a cruel joke that she was taken from us in such a senseless and violent way, when she did nothing but fight for her life since she was 29 years old. She never once complained about her treatments in those 20 years. She was the most selfless mom and did everything for us kids. Her resiliency is something I have always admired and hope to carry on in her memory.”
Jennifer James spent twenty years battling illnesses that should have stopped her many times over — yet she refused to break. She volunteered, helped others, devoted herself entirely to her children, and lived every day with quiet bravery.
Her life wasn’t taken by the cancer she fought so fiercely, but by a moment of reckless violence that she never could have anticipated.
Berthoud has lost more than a neighbor — it has lost a woman who embodied perseverance, generosity, and a rare kind of strength. Her story has left a deep wound in the community and an even deeper one in the hearts of her four children.
May her loved ones find comfort in the memory of her courage. And may her legacy continue to inspire every person who knew her or hears her story.