Man gets 10 years for dumping woman’s body in arvada apartment complex

GOLDEN, Colo. – A Jefferson County judge sentenced 34-year-old Daniel Ryan Clark to ten years in the Colorado Department of Corrections this week after he pleaded guilty to tampering with a deceased human body in the disturbing case involving the death of 29-year-old Chelsea Beadles.

Clark’s sentence was the result of a stipulated plea deal between the parties, falling within the statutory range of four to twelve years. Prosecutors acknowledged the punishment felt “abysmally low” for what happened, but said the evidence did not support additional charges related to Beadles’ death.

The case began on September 15, 2025, when a maintenance worker at The Perch on 52nd apartment complex in Arvada discovered human remains inside a plastic tote near a dumpster. Police later identified the victim as Beadles, whose partially unclothed body weighed just 111 pounds and bore numerous injuries.

Investigation traces victim’s final hours

Detectives used cellphone and Facebook records to determine that Beadles had been with Clark in the hours before her death. Additional evidence connected Clark to the tote and the bedding used to conceal her body. He was arrested nine days later and charged with tampering with a deceased human body and tampering with physical evidence.

A forensic examination by Dr. Dawn Holmes of the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office determined Beadles’ cause and manner of death as “undetermined,” noting no clear signs of fatal trauma but acknowledging that a “traumatic death cannot be definitively excluded.”

Daniel Clark pleaded guilty to tampering with a deceased human body
Chelsea Beadles’ remains were found in a plastic tote near a dumpster
Judge imposed a ten-year prison term followed by three years of parole

Family pleads for justice, closure

At sentencing Wednesday, Beadles’ mother tearfully described her daughter as “a sweet soul” who believed in the goodness of others. “No parent should have to collect their child’s body from the trash,” she told the court.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Brenna Zortman said prosecutors shared the family’s pain and frustration, noting that while Clark accepted responsibility for disposing of the body, the evidence did not support homicide charges. “I’m so sorry we can’t provide the family with more information about what happened,” Zortman said.

Clark addressed the court, admitting he dumped Beadles’ body but insisting he did not kill her, claiming heavy drug use clouded his memory of the events.

District Court Judge Megan Miloud imposed the ten-year sentence along with three years of mandatory parole. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dismissed a second charge of tampering with physical evidence.

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