Shraman Mitra
When authorities in Fort Collins, Colorado, were informed about a gravely injured girl inside Cottonwood Glen Park, they rushed to the area to find Amber Smith naked and bound in red duct tape, screaming for help. Although she was still alive, the police soon discovered that Amber had been raped, beaten, and strangled before being abandoned on the concrete path to die. Dateline’s ‘Left For Dead’ chronicles the gruesome crime and follows the ensuing investigation that led straight to Stefan Moon. If you are intrigued by the details surrounding the crime and want to find out where Stefan Moon is at present, we have you covered!
Who Is Stefan Moon?
A resident of Fort Collins, Colorado, Stefan Moon, resided with his housemate, Bryce Bailey, at the time of the attack. Besides, people who know Stefan mentioned that he was considered to be a loner and kept to himself most of the time. Nevertheless, others in the community viewed him as a regular citizen, and there was nothing to indicate a violent or criminal streak.
On August 31, 2013, Officer Dane Stratton received several calls about an injured woman crying for help inside Fort Collins’ Cottonwood Glen Park. Once the officer reached the area, he was able to hear the woman’s screams and followed them until he found someone sitting on the concrete path. On approaching the figure, Officer Stratton was shocked to find a completely naked woman, bound in red duct tape and left on the ground to die. While the woman’s hands and feet were restrained, pieces of duct tape were also stuck to her eyes, and a closer investigation revealed bruises all over her body. Thankfully, she was still alive by the time Officer Stratton reached her, and although she managed to identify herself as Amber Smith, she claimed she had no recollection of the assault other than the fact that it occurred inside a nearby house. Authorities immediately transported Amber to a nearby hospital, and detailed medical tests revealed that she was beaten, raped, and strangled before being left in the park.
Unfortunately, with no leads or witnesses, progress on the case was pretty challenging, and even Amber was unable to give a proper description of her attacker to the police. Although authorities sat for several interviews and tried their best to come up with a suspect list, they were unable to do so. In the meantime, the show mentioned that Amber had given up on the hope of bringing her attacker to justice and instead focused on a pleasant life with her son. She even moved into a co-living space and began sharing a house with Bryce Bailey and Stefan Moon. Surprisingly, by 2016, Stefan had started developing a close friendship with Amber and was also quite understanding of her past. In fact, the survivor even shared the traumatic incident with Stefan, and he was willing to give her a warm hug. Yet, a sudden breakthrough in 2017 shocked Amber to her core.
Stefan Moon Remains Incarcerated
In 2017, Stefan Moon was caught trying to pawn off his friend’s bicycle after stealing it. Since the offense was a felony, he was arrested and required to submit his DNA into the system. Shockingly, when officers tested his DNA against the foreign sample found on the red duct tape, it turned out to be a perfect match, providing the cops with their most significant breakthrough. Thus, without further delay, detectives arrested Stefan and charged him for his involvement in the attack. Naturally, the suspect insisted on his innocence, and when Amber confronted him with the evidence, he claimed they had consensual sex at his house. Stefan even went on to state that on the night of August 31, 2013, he was responding to a Craigslist ad for free sex at the park where he came across Amber. Although he talked about carrying Amber back to his house, he accused his roommate, Bryce Bailey, of assaulting and raping her and mentioned that he believed Bryce was the one who left Amber naked and bound inside the park.
Naturally, it did not take long for the police to clear Bryce of all suspicion, and detectives even discovered that Stefan had a peculiar fetish for violent rape porn. On top of it, officers tried their best to look for the alleged Craigslist ad but found nothing in Amber’s name. Eventually, when produced in court, Stefan pled not guilty, but the jury believed otherwise and convicted him of two counts of sexual assault as well as a count each of second-degree kidnapping and first-degree assault. As a result, he was sentenced to a total of 128 years to life in prison in 2019. To this date, Stefan remains ineligible for parole and is spending his days behind bars at the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility in Cañon City, Colorado.
Read More: Where Is Amber Smith Now?
