2025CR158

Victim: Zaria Hardee, 19, unhoused

Defendant: Jimmy Leroy "Little Bear" West, 52 at time of arrest, unhoused

Criminal Charges: First-degree murder and sex trafficking

Key Witness: Nickolas Shepherd, 24 at time of incident, unhoused

Key Witness: Karrine "Kari" or "KiKi" Willis, 33 at time of incident, unhoused

Key Witness: Sgt. Scott Byars, Boulder County Sheriff's Office

Case Overview

Jimmy West was arrested in Boulder in January 2025 on charges of first-degree murder in connection with the death of 19-year-old Zaria Hardee, whose decomposing body was discovered on a bicycle trailer in July 2024. He was also charged with sex trafficking after Zaria's boyfriend, Nickolas Shepherd, admitted to selling Hardee to West on the day she was murdered.

July 2024: Zaria Hardee, a young woman experiencing homelessness, goes missing.

July 14, 2024: A bike trailer, sealed with blankets and tarp-like material, is discovered near the 1800 block of Goss Street in Boulder by concerned neighbors. Inside, authorities found Zaria’s badly decomposed body.

Investigation: Law enforcement learned Zaria had visited Jimmy’s spot (a clandestine encampment located nearby) a few days prior. West claimed the trailer and blankets were stolen, but surveillance footage contradicted this, showing him riding the bike after Zaria’s disappearance. Investigators also uncover rope, tape, and tent material at Jimmy’s camp consistent with items that were used to bind and conceal Zaria's body.

January 2025: After several weeks of investigation and interviews, police issue an arrest warrant for Jimmy West. He is arrested near Boulder’s Civic Park by members of the Homeless Outreach Team, after being recognized from wanted posters.

Jimmy West is currently on trial in Boulder County.

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Brooke Stephenson of the Boulder Reporting Lab is our main source of real-time non profit reporting on this Boulder County homicide case. We've provided direct links to some those articles below. We have no affiliation with the publication or its organization, but we appreciate their hard work and independent coverage of the case!

July 17, 2025

Jury trial in Zaria Hardee murder case set to begin December 5, 2025 in Boulder

January 31, 2025

Officials say 19-year-old Zaria was sex trafficked before she was ultimately murdered 

January 30, 2025

Boulder police arrest suspect in the murder of 19-year old Zaria Hardee