DENVER — The man accused of killing a 22-year-old woman in a gruesome attack last Friday night in Greeley sat inside the nutrition store where the woman worked for about an hour before he attacked her after the only other person inside the store left, according to an arrest affidavit.
Marcos Vallejos, 24, was arrested for investigation of first-degree murder and sexual assault involving a deadly weapon in the death of 22-year-old Angie Vega last Friday at NoCo Nutrition in Greeley.
Vallejos was arrested around 11 p.m. a few blocks from a gas station where Vega’s body was found inside her vehicle near 71st Avenue and 20th Street – about a mile from the store at which she worked.
An affidavit for Vallejos’s arrest said surveillance video from NoCo Nutrition showed he entered the store around 5:36 p.m., talked briefly with Vega at the counter, then sat at a table shuffling papers and drawing on them for the next hour.
The last other customer in the store left around 6:13 p.m., and Vallejos watched him drive away. He went to the bathroom around 6:25 p.m. and came out about 11 minutes later, at 6:36 p.m.
At that time, according to the affidavit, he followed Vega behind the counter and hit her with a hatchet more than 20 times, then went outside and moved her vehicle to the front of the store.
Over the next several minutes, according to the affidavit, Vallejos moved papers and his backpack around the store, then sexually assaulted Vega. The affidavit contains precise details of the attacks and assaults on her, but Denver7 is declining to publish them out of respect for the victim and her family.
Vallejos grabbed a cover off a couch in the store, wrapped it around Vega, then dragged her to the vehicle outside, according to the affidavit. He then went back into the store, got his backpack, and drove the car away from the store at 6:47 p.m. Vega had been set to close the store at 7 p.m.
When Vega did not return home by 7:35 p.m., her mother called someone from the store, who looked at the surveillance system and saw a mess, according to the affidavit. Someone else had also reported a break-in and that there was blood on the floor.
Another person went to the business and found the hatchet and blood. Officers arrived and found Vega’s glasses in the parking lot, a blood trail and more signs indicating Vega had been brutally attacked. Police were allowed to review and archive the video showing the attack, according to the affidavit.
Just after 10:30 p.m., a person saw Vega’s car parked near the Kum & Go gas station and a body in the backseat. Officers who responded found Vega’s body in the back seat of the car along with the couch cover and Vallejos’s backpack. She was pronounced dead at 10:59 p.m., according to the affidavit.
Vega had multiple severe wounds to her hand, head, throat and face, according to the affidavit.
Shortly after discovering Vega’s body, they found Vallejos walking a few blocks away. He had blood on him and was carrying Vega’s car keys, the affidavit says.
The document says that he told officers something similar to, “Yeah, I’m your guy,” and then “made nonsensical statements to the officers” and was taken to the police station.
There, according to the affidavit, Vallejos “made statements about Jesus Christ, ‘Sophia,’ Mexicans, Mormons, magnets and politics.” The affidavit says he also claimed he had no rights and did not understand them.
“In the minutes that followed, he made spontaneous and unsolicited statements about killing someone,” the affidavit goes on to say. “Later, when he was processed for evidence, the defendant referred to his right arm as being the one that kills people.”
A memorial formed for Vega, who was identified as the victim by her family, outside the store over the weekend.
“She loved bringing people together. She was always smiling. She loved dancing, music. Anywhere she went, she loved food,” Vega’s mother, Virginia Barragan, told Denver7. “She always wanted to try something new or do something new, cook up recipes. Just look up a recipe and she would go for it, and it was yummy.”
A verified GoFundMefor Vega's family has been set up.
Court records show Vallejos was charged in November 2021 with trespassing and criminal mischief and failed to appear at multiple court hearings. He is scheduled to be formally charged in the murder case on Wednesday.
Police have asked anyone with more information on the case to contact Greeley Police Detective Onderlinde at 970-350-9676.