\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.9news.com\/assets\/shared-images\/icons\/arrow-circle-down.svg\"){kind=icon}
<\/p>\nThe Erie Police Department responded to a deadly car crash. Investigators would later learn this wasn’t just a crash. <\/p>\n
ERIE, Colo. \u2014 The family of a 28-year-old Broomfield woman says the system failed to protect her after her ex-boyfriend, who was already facing kidnapping and assault charges involving her, is accused of intentionally crashing into her vehicle before attacking and killing her in Weld County.<\/p>\n
Haley Rippetoe was found dead outside her vehicle after Erie police responded to a crash on Weld County Road 7 around 1:15 a.m. on June 21. Prosecutors allege her ex-boyfriend, Justin De Nileon Jr., followed her after she left work, intentionally crashed into her car, then attacked and killed her. He faces murder charges.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\n This story continues below.
<\/p>\n
Investigators determined the injuries that killed Rippetoe were not consistent with a traffic crash. The affidavit says the driver’s seat belt appeared to have been cut with a sharp object, and investigators found additional cut marks, suggesting multiple attempts to sever it.<\/p>\n
Investigators also wrote that the driver’s side window had damage they believed was consistent with someone striking it in an attempt to gain access to the vehicle.<\/p>\n
According to the affidavit, crash investigators determined Haley Rippetoe’s SUV appeared to have been struck before it rolled over. Vehicle debris was found on the roadway before the rollover began, leading investigators to believe another collision occurred before the vehicle overturned.<\/p>\n
For the first time since her death, Rippetoe’s parents are speaking publicly about their daughter and the events leading up to her killing.<\/p>\n
“Everybody loved Haley. I loved Haley dearly. I mean, she was my first child. She was only 28,” her mom, Deborah Rippetoe, said.<\/p>\n
“She was going to school for mental health therapy, and she was literally three classes away,” she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ryan Rippetoe said he immediately believed his daughter’s death was connected to her ex-boyfriend.<\/p>\n
“I got a notification on the Apple app for the crash, and I immediately said, ‘This is Justin,'” he said.<\/p>\n
Court records show De Nileon had been arrested in May after being accused of kidnapping and assaulting Haley Rippetoe. That case was still moving through the court system when she was killed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ryan Rippetoe recalled receiving a phone call from his daughter during the alleged kidnapping.<\/p>\n
“She was on the other line and said, ‘I’ve been kidnapped. I’ve been kidnapped, Dad,'” he said.<\/p>\n
After escaping, Haley Rippetoe obtained a protection order against De Nileon. Her father said she understood its limitations.<\/p>\n
“‘A piece of paper isn’t going to stop somebody that kidnaps somebody with a kid,’ she said that,” Ryan Rippetoe recalled.<\/p>\n
The family believes more should have been done to protect Haley while the kidnapping case was pending.<\/p>\n
“The system failed us so miserably and failed her miserably,” Ryan Rippetoe said.<\/p>\n
Despite their grief, Haley Rippetoe’s parents hope sharing her story encourages victims of domestic violence to seek help.<\/p>\n
“Just because she’s passed doesn’t mean that she can’t still help somebody. I want her to help people still,” Ryan Rippetoe said.<\/p>\n