ARVADA, Colo. (KDVR) — A man who was not charged in a deadly hit-and-run that killed a bus driver in Jefferson County was separately arrested and faces charges of alleged animal abuse, giving hope to a family who believes the new evidence can help them seek justice.
Following the death of Jefferson County school bus driver David Brlej, FOX31’s Nicole Fierro spoke exclusively to Brlej’s wife, Debbie, three months after learning charges won’t be filed in her husband’s death.
Debbie said she has now learned shocking new developments.
“It was a Thursday morning, and I got a call, and I looked at my phone, and it said the city of Arvada,” Debbie said. “I was like, what’s going on here?”
Debbie said she recently received a call from the detective on her husband’s death investigation about new evidence in the case. The new evidence surrounded the man accused of striking and killing Brlej and then leaving the scene following a road-rage situation with the school bus driver, according to the Arvada Police Department.
“He was bragging about getting away with murder, that he killed somebody and got away with it,” Debbie told FOX31. “And that, that hurts more than anything because my husband was 6’5″ and he’s driving a small car. And how do you say you hit a curb when you know that you hit somebody that tall and just leave the scene of a crime? This is what we’ve been hoping for. This is what we’ve wanted to see happen. But we didn’t think we’d see it in our lifetime.”
Debbie certainly never imagined getting the next call about a week later.
“From the police advocate letting me know that there was a story that was about to break and they didn’t want me blindsided,” Debbie said. “So I asked what it was about, and they said it was about this person and animal cruelty.”
FOX31 reported the arrest of Tyler Willbanks, 29, after Arvada police conducted an investigation into several pet injuries and deaths over recent years. Police said that several dogs and cats had died or suffered multiple serious injuries.
Alleged incidents include cats’ legs being amputated, a puppy coming to veterinarians in a comatose state with a fractured vertebra and the death of other puppies.
The alleged incidents spanned from September 2018, well before Brlej’s death, to July of this year, which is almost a year after the hit-and-run death.
“It’s just it’s wrong,” Debbie said. “The story about the animals was disturbing and sick, but the way that I look at it now, and I’m going to be completely honest with you, this is the makings of a serial killer. That’s how I feel. I hate what he did, but I’m glad he was caught because I don’t want anybody else going through what I’ve gone through. This has been extremely horrible.”
No official charges have been filed yet in the hit-and-run case. Police are asking anyone with information or evidence that could help the Brlejs seek justice to call 720-898-7171.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
