Charlene Voight: She Moved to Colorado for Love. She Never Came Home.

Author

Benjamin Hayes

Publication Date

April 2, 2026

There are cases that stay with you long after you've read them, and Charlene Roxanne Voight's is one of them. She was not a woman without warning signs to heed or red flags to look back on in hindsight. She was someone who had already tried to leave, already told a court she was scared for her life, and already had reason to know who she was dealing with. And yet, by the summer of 2016, she found herself in a Littleton, Colorado apartment with a man whose history of violence toward her was well documented, and she was never seen alive again.

What makes Charlene's story so haunting is not just the brutality of what appears to have happened to her, but the years of inaction, legal maneuvering, and international flight that followed. Nearly a decade on, her body has never been found, and the man accused of killing her has not stood trial.

A Fresh Start That Wasn't

Charlene Roxanne Voight was 36 years old and, by all accounts, a bright and creative woman. She had recently graduated from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, with a degree in Landscape Architecture, a milestone that her family celebrated with her. Her sister Marilyn described her to Dateline NBC as "always happy," someone with a natural creativity and a genuine excitement about the next chapter of her life. After graduating, Charlene made the decision to move from Southern California to Colorado, specifically to Littleton, to be with her boyfriend, Jeffrey Scott Beier. She had been with him for some time, and the move was, in part, a chance to finally build a life together. As her sister said, she was excited about what Colorado had to offer: the beauty, the opportunities, the possibility of something new.

What Charlene's family may not have fully known at the time was just how well documented the danger surrounding Beier already was. In 2011, Beier had physically assaulted Charlene, and in 2013, he pleaded guilty to a felony charge in connection with that beating. As far back as 2012, Charlene had filed for a restraining order against him in Orange County Superior Court in California, telling the court that he had grabbed, slapped, choked, and dragged her around the house. Her words in that filing were chilling: "I am scared for my life," she wrote. "He may kill me next time he gets drunk." The court granted the restraining order. And yet, by mid-2016, Charlene was living with Beier in Colorado, having relocated across state lines to be with him.

This is one of the most difficult and important things to hold in mind when reading about Charlene's case: the complexity of intimate partner violence, and how it ensnares people not through weakness but through a painful combination of hope, fear, manipulation, and love. Charlene had tried to protect herself through legal channels. She had named her fear explicitly. And she had still ended up back in proximity to the man she feared.

The Last Night She Was Seen Alive

On the evening of June 30, 2016, Charlene and Beier had a group of friends over to their apartment. According to witness accounts that would later be detailed in a grand jury indictment, the gathering involved alcohol and cocaine. At some point during that evening, multiple witnesses saw Beier hit Charlene in the face and tell her to shut up. Later that same night, Beier allegedly led one of the female guests into the bedroom and violently raped her, something witnesses stated they heard through the walls. After that, the group left the apartment. That was the last time anyone outside of the apartment saw Charlene Voight alive.

Her family reported her missing on July 8, 2016, after not hearing from her for over a week. When Littleton Police Department officers arrived at the apartment to investigate, Beier told them that the last time he saw Charlene, they had a verbal argument. According to the indictment, officers noted that he appeared "anxious" and "nervous" during the search of the apartment, and that he "was not interested in answering questions." What investigators found inside the apartment was far more alarming than his demeanor. Charlene's blood was found in multiple areas throughout the apartment. A mattress was missing. A section of carpet had been cut out and removed. There was suspicious blood spatter on a headboard. Investigators brought in a scent dog, which alerted them to the smell of human decomposition around Beier's truck.

Her car, meanwhile, was found abandoned in a dirt lot on South Rio Grande Street. That lot, it turned out, had been purchased by Beier just days before Charlene was last seen.

A Trail of Evidence and an Empty Landfill

Four days after Charlene was reported missing, police arrested Beier, but not yet for anything to do with her disappearance. He was taken in on charges of first-degree sexual assault for what was alleged to have occurred with the female guest at the apartment on the night of June 30. At the time, prosecutors publicly stated that the two cases, the assault and the disappearance, were unrelated. That position would later shift dramatically, with officials acknowledging the cases were "intertwined."

In the weeks following Charlene's disappearance, investigators began tracing Beier's movements in the days immediately after she vanished. What they found painted a damning picture. Cell phone data and other evidence showed that he had withdrawn $7,000 in cash from his bank account, purchased lighter fluid from a Home Depot, driven out to an abandoned farm, and made a stop at the Tower Landfill in Commerce City, Colorado. Beier ran a dumpster business at the time, which gave him plausible access to disposal infrastructure, but it did not explain the cash withdrawal, the lighter fluid, or the specific sequence of movements.

Littleton Police launched a massive search of the Tower Landfill, one that would stretch over four months. They did not find Charlene's body. However, what they did find was deeply disturbing. Buried in the refuse were several items of Charlene's clothing, including garments that, according to the indictment, could be matched to photos of her wearing them. And there was something else: a small, decapitated dog, wrapped in one of Charlene's sweaters, believed to be her Chihuahua named Toby. The dog's head was never recovered. The animal cruelty charge eventually added to Beier's indictment reflects the finding.

In September 2016, just as investigators were trying to build their murder case, the sexual assault charges stemming from the night of June 30 were quietly dropped. Prosecutors cited the "interest of justice," explaining that pursuing the assault case would have required them to hand over evidence and witnesses who were central to the investigation into Charlene's death. Specifically, the woman Beier allegedly raped that night was one of the last people to see Charlene alive, making her a critical witness in any future murder proceeding.

That same month, Charlene's parents and siblings filed for a restraining order against Beier. They told the court they were afraid for their lives and believed he intended to harm them.

He Fled to Russia

In November 2016, while Littleton Police were still sifting through the landfill looking for any sign of Charlene, Jeffrey Scott Beier boarded a plane to Moscow. He settled in Russia, met a woman the same month he arrived, married her the following year, and had a child with her. When investigators received a tip that he had left the country, a new and frustrating chapter of the case began.

Beier's behavior in Russia was consistent with the pattern investigators had documented throughout his life. In July 2019, his Russian wife called police in Littleton, Colorado, of all places, to report that Beier had been repeatedly beating her and had brought another woman into their home to live with them. She had filed for divorce.

That same month, in August 2019, the Arapahoe County Grand Jury returned a murder indictment against Beier. The charges included one count of first-degree murder with deliberation, one count of felony first-degree murder, one count of sexual assault, one count of third-degree assault, two counts of attempting to influence a public servant, two counts of aggravated animal cruelty, and two counts of tampering with evidence. The indictment had been quietly handed down in August 2019, but authorities did not make it public until June 1, 2020, when it was announced that Beier had been taken into custody in Russia on unrelated charges.

The announcement brought a measure of relief to Charlene's family and to the officers who had spent years working the case. Littleton Police Chief Doug Stephens said at the time: "I am proud to be able to tell the family of Miss Voight that the men and women of my department worked for four years to see this day. My heart goes out to them, knowing that they are mourning the loss of their sister and daughter. I hope this arrest is a step that will help them move toward healing."

District Attorney George Brauchler was equally resolute: "Nobody should be able to walk away from murder. I will do everything in my power to bring a perpetrator to justice."

The Wall Between Justice and Russia

The arrest in Russia, however, quickly revealed itself to be less of a resolution and more of a new obstacle. Beier was taken into Russian custody on unrelated charges in 2020, and then released. By late 2020, he was reportedly seeking Russian citizenship, claiming to Russian media that he was a victim of political persecution by American authorities and that he had been framed for murder. Under Russia's constitution, the country does not extradite its own citizens, meaning that if Beier were granted a Russian passport, he could effectively remain beyond the reach of American justice indefinitely.

As of the time of writing, Beier has not been returned to the United States. Littleton Police have confirmed they are continuing to work with partner agencies to pursue extradition, but no court dates can be scheduled until Beier is physically present at the Arapahoe County Detention Center. In July 2025, the Littleton Police Department marked nine years since Charlene's disappearance by renewing its public appeal for information, asking anyone with knowledge of the case to come forward. The department noted that Charlene's remains have still never been found, and that Beier has continued to evade prosecution.

A Pattern That Predates Charlene

One of the most significant and disturbing elements of this case is Beier's documented history of violence toward women, a history that stretches far beyond his relationship with Charlene. According to the grand jury indictment, between 2011 and 2016 he assaulted and strangled Charlene on multiple occasions, threatened to kill her, broke her phones, and followed her to locations where she was trying to hide from him. He repeatedly violated the protection orders she obtained against him.

But even before Charlene, there was a prior conviction. In 2007, Beier pleaded guilty to threatening to kill his then-wife and served jail time as a result. He was a man with a documented, escalating pattern of intimate partner violence spanning nearly two decades, across multiple relationships, across multiple states, and ultimately across international borders.

Still Missing. Still Waiting.

Charlene Roxanne Voight was 36 years old. She had just finished her degree. She had moved to a beautiful state for what she hoped was a new beginning. Her sister described a woman full of excitement for what lay ahead. That version of her life was taken away on or around the night of June 30, 2016, and the people responsible for delivering justice have been stymied at every turn by a man who, rather than face accountability, got on a plane to Moscow.

Her body has never been found. Her family has never had the chance to bury her. The man accused of killing her has not seen the inside of a courtroom for this crime.

If you have any information related to Charlene Voight's disappearance, the Littleton Police Department asks that you contact Detective Christina Goodman at 303-795-3896, or reach out to Denver Metro Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Tipsters may remain anonymous and could be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.

Sources

Benjamin Hayes

Benjamin Hayes is a blogger with a passion for true crime and unresolved mysteries. In his free time, Benjamin is an avid hiker and photographer. He finds solace and inspiration in nature, often trekking through the scenic trails of the Appalachian Mountains.