Lucille Ruibal Obituary – Death: Famous Photographer and Boyfriend Died in Denver Murder-Suicide
Lucille Ruibal Death News: A woman shot to death Saturday in an apparent murder-suicide was a revered figure in Colorado’s Latino community for her decades of work to improve the lives of others.
The Adams County Coroner’s Office has not made public the names of the two people who died in Northglenn, but her family identified the woman as Lucille Ruibal, a self-proclaimed “proud Chicana” known for her involvement in multiple projects.
Ruibal’s son, True Apodaca-Cobell, said his mother and her longtime boyfriend were in the midst of a breakup. Ruibal’s boyfriend shot her, then took his own life, according to Northglenn police—an incident that sent shockwaves through those who knew her.
“She was just this incredibly vibrant person,” said Jim Garcia, with whom she helped launch what is now Tepeyac Community Health Center. “She was a professional photographer. She just enjoyed life.
“She really was the type of person who would do whatever it took to improve people’s lives. And so, she’s going to be deeply missed by our community.”
Her son called her a “force of nature.”
“The last couple of days, I realized, like, she was mama bear to everybody,” Apodaca-Cobell said. “Not just, you know, not just me and her kids – but the entire family, her adopted family, her colleagues. And my mom is – has been – like the mama bear for the community for as long as I can remember.”
On the floor of the Colorado Senate, Sen. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, a Democrat who represents Adams and Arapahoe counties, rose and called Ruibal “a tremendous woman” and called for a moment of silence “in memory of this woman who contributed much to the community in art and medicine and in ways that will last beyond her years here on earth.”
The senate observed a moment of silence, and the capital’s chimes were rung.
Northglenn police spokesman Jim Burlison said officers were called just before 9 p.m. Saturday to the home Ruibal owned in the 11700 block of Delaware Court. When they arrived, they found both her and her boyfriend dead.