20/20 Tonight

“Evil at the Door”: 20/20 Reports on Kenia Monge Homicide May 29 2026

by · May 29, 2026

ABC News’ 20/20 returns with an all-new two-hour true crime special, Evil at the Door, airing Friday, May 29, 2026, at 9/8c on ABC. The episode revisits the disappearance and murder of 19-year-old Kenia Monge, a Colorado teenager whose case haunted investigators and devastated her family for months before a violent attack on another woman helped expose the man responsible.

The case began in the early hours of April 1, 2011, when Kenia vanished after a night out in downtown Denver. What initially appeared to be a missing persons investigation soon evolved into one of Colorado’s most disturbing homicide cases. For months, her family searched for answers while detectives struggled to prove what they suspected. The investigation eventually uncovered a pattern of violence that connected Kenia’s disappearance to another brutal crime and led authorities to a man who had managed to evade accountability for years.

Through interviews with investigators, family members, and those directly connected to the case, Evil at the Door examines the evidence, mistakes, breakthroughs, and determination that ultimately brought justice to Kenia Monge and exposed a dangerous predator.

Kenia Monge’s Life and Her Move to Colorado

Kenia Yulissa Monge was born on January 26, 1992, in Honduras. Her early childhood was shaped by separation from her mother, Maria Lee, who immigrated to the United States in search of greater opportunities. While Maria worked to establish a life in Colorado, Kenia remained in Honduras with relatives.

Years later, Maria and her husband, Tony Lee, were finally able to bring Kenia to the United States. She arrived in Colorado in November 2004 and quickly adapted to her new surroundings. Family members described her as outgoing, energetic, and determined. She developed a close relationship with her stepfather and siblings and embraced the opportunities available to her in America.

Kenia attended Cherry Creek High School and graduated in 2010. She had aspirations of working in media and entertainment and secured an internship with Univision. Friends and relatives remembered her as ambitious and social, with a strong personality that made an impression on everyone she met. Like many young adults, she enjoyed spending time with friends and taking part in Denver’s nightlife scene.

At the time of her disappearance, Kenia was beginning adulthood and looking toward her future. Those who knew her believed she had countless opportunities ahead of her. Her sudden disappearance left her family struggling to understand how someone so vibrant could seemingly vanish without explanation.

The Night Kenia Disappeared

On March 31, 2011, Kenia went out with friends to the 24K Lounge in downtown Denver. During the evening, she became separated from her group after being asked to leave the nightclub because of her level of intoxication. In the confusion, she left behind her purse, cellphone, and keys, which remained with her friends.

When Kenia failed to return home, concern grew rapidly. Her boyfriend and family members quickly realized something was wrong because leaving without her personal belongings was out of character. By the following morning, efforts to locate her had already begun.

Her family contacted friends, searched areas she frequently visited, and attempted to reconstruct her final known movements. They also contacted law enforcement, hoping an immediate investigation would begin. Instead, they encountered delays that often occur in adult missing persons cases. For Kenia’s family, every hour without answers increased their fear that she had become the victim of a crime.

As days passed without contact, the disappearance became increasingly alarming. Investigators had few leads and no evidence indicating where Kenia had gone after leaving the nightclub. The lack of information left her family trapped between hope and fear while volunteers and detectives searched for clues across the Denver area.

A Suspicious Text Message Leads to Travis Forbes

One of the most important breakthroughs came from Kenia’s cellphone. While reviewing messages, her stepfather discovered a text from a man named Travis Forbes.

The message identified Forbes as the person who had given Kenia a ride that night. For Tony Lee, the text immediately raised questions. If Forbes had been one of the last people to see Kenia alive, he might hold critical information about her disappearance.

Tony contacted Forbes directly and demanded answers. The two eventually agreed to meet, with police present because of concerns that the encounter could become confrontational. During questioning, Forbes claimed he had seen Kenia outside the nightclub speaking with a homeless man and offered to help her get home.

According to his account, he drove her away from downtown Denver and stopped at a gas station. He told investigators that Kenia met another man there and left with him voluntarily. Forbes insisted he had no involvement in her disappearance. Despite his story, investigators quickly noticed inconsistencies. They also detected a strong odor of bleach coming from his van, a detail that immediately raised suspicion.

Although detectives viewed Forbes as a person of interest, they lacked sufficient evidence to charge him. The investigation continued while authorities attempted to verify his statements and determine whether his account was truthful.

Surveillance Footage and Growing Evidence

As investigators retraced Kenia’s final hours, surveillance cameras provided important evidence. Video footage from a nearby condominium captured Kenia inside a building lobby shortly before her disappearance. She appeared unsteady and intoxicated as she interacted with several individuals.

The footage helped detectives eliminate some potential suspects and verify portions of the timeline. It also showed the arrival of Forbes’ vehicle in the area, reinforcing his connection to Kenia’s final known movements.

Meanwhile, investigators examined Forbes’ activities after Kenia vanished. Surveillance cameras at a bakery he rented revealed troubling behavior. Footage showed him transporting a large cooler sealed with duct tape into the building while wearing long gloves. He later carried cleaning supplies and bleach into the facility before shutting off surveillance cameras for a period of time. Investigators also learned that he had burned items in a drum behind the bakery.

Although the evidence appeared suspicious, forensic testing failed to produce a direct link to Kenia. Detectives remained convinced that Forbes was involved, but they still lacked the proof necessary to bring homicide charges. The case remained stalled while Kenia’s family continued searching for answers.

A Second Attack Changes the Investigation

Several months after Kenia disappeared, another violent crime transformed the investigation.

On July 4, 2011, Fort Collins resident Lydia Tillman was attacked after returning home from a fireworks celebration. Prosecutors later said a man followed her into her apartment, sexually assaulted her, beat her, strangled her, poured bleach on her body, and set her apartment on fire before leaving her for dead.

Despite catastrophic injuries, Lydia survived. She escaped through a second-story window and reached emergency responders before suffering a stroke. She spent weeks in a coma and faced a long recovery. Her survival would ultimately become the key to solving Kenia’s case.

Investigators recognized similarities between Lydia’s attack and suspicious details surrounding Kenia’s disappearance. Both cases involved bleach, violence against women, and behavior consistent with a calculated attempt to destroy evidence. When DNA recovered from Lydia’s fingernails was analyzed, it matched Travis Forbes.

The DNA evidence gave authorities what they had been missing for months. Forbes was arrested, and investigators intensified efforts to uncover the truth about Kenia’s disappearance.

The Discovery of Kenia’s Remains

Confronted with overwhelming evidence in Lydia Tillman’s case, Forbes eventually began cooperating with investigators.

During negotiations with prosecutors, he agreed to reveal what had happened to Kenia. According to authorities, Forbes admitted that after picking her up, he sexually assaulted her when she lost consciousness in his vehicle. When she regained consciousness and fought back, he strangled her. Prosecutors said the murder occurred inside his van during the early morning hours after she left the nightclub.

Forbes then led investigators to a remote area in Weld County near Interstate 76, where Kenia’s remains had been buried in a shallow grave beneath a cottonwood tree. The discovery occurred on September 7, 2011, more than five months after she disappeared.

The recovery brought an end to months of uncertainty for Kenia’s family. While the discovery confirmed their worst fears, it also provided answers they had desperately sought since the day she vanished. Authorities ruled her death a homicide, although the precise cause of death could not be determined because of the condition of the remains.

The Guilty Plea and Sentencing of Travis Forbes

On September 26, 2011, Travis Forbes pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in Kenia Monge’s death. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors agreed not to pursue the death penalty. He immediately received the mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

During court proceedings, Forbes apologized and described himself as a monster. Members of Kenia’s family addressed him directly, speaking about the pain caused by her murder and the lasting impact of her loss. The emotional hearing marked the conclusion of one chapter in a case that had consumed investigators and relatives for months.

The legal proceedings did not end there. Forbes also pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder and related charges connected to the attack on Lydia Tillman. He received an additional 48-year prison sentence that would be served consecutively to his life sentence. Prosecutors stated that the consecutive sentence was intended to ensure he would never be released.

Today, Forbes remains incarcerated in Colorado, serving life without parole for the murder of Kenia Monge along with additional decades for his crimes against Lydia Tillman.

The Lasting Impact on Kenia’s Family and Community

Kenia’s murder left lasting scars on her family. For months, they searched neighborhoods, distributed flyers, followed leads, and refused to stop looking for her. Their persistence helped keep attention focused on the case during periods when investigators had few answers.

The case also raised questions about how missing adult investigations are handled and whether earlier intervention could have accelerated the search for Kenia. Family members spent years speaking publicly about her life and advocating for greater awareness surrounding missing persons cases.

Lydia Tillman’s survival also became an important part of the story. Her willingness to fight during the attack preserved crucial evidence that eventually connected Forbes to both crimes. Investigators have credited her survival and the DNA recovered from her case with providing the breakthrough that finally exposed Kenia’s killer.

More than a decade later, Kenia Monge’s case remains one of Colorado’s most haunting criminal investigations. Evil at the Door revisits the tragedy while highlighting the determination of investigators, the resilience of survivors, and the unwavering commitment of a family that never stopped searching for the truth.

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Ryan Gill

Ryan is a passionate follower of true crime television programs, reporting on and providing in-depth investigations on mysteries in the criminal world.

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