GOLDEN, Colo. (Feb. 13, 2026) – Daniel Ryan Clark was sentenced this week to ten years in the Colorado Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to Tampering with a Deceased Human Body. The parties stipulated to the ten-year sentence. By statute, the offense carries a sentencing range of four to twelve years in prison.
On September 15, 2025, Arvada Police officers were dispatched to The Perch on 52nd apartment complex after a maintenance worker reported discovering human remains inside a plastic tote bin near a dumpster.
Detectives later identified the remains as twenty-nine-year-old Chelsea Beadles. Chelsea’s 111-pound body, partially unclothed and bearing numerous injuries, had been placed inside the plastic tote and covered with bedding.
Through cell phone and Facebook records, investigators determined that Beadles had been with Clark in the hours before her death. Additional evidence linked Clark to the plastic tote and the bedding found inside it.
On September 24, 2025, Clark was charged by the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office with two counts: Tampering with a Deceased Human Body (F3) and Tampering with Physical Evidence (F6).
Dr. Dawn Holmes, a forensic pathologist with the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office, classified the cause and manner of death as “undetermined,” noting there was no evidence of significant anatomic trauma, but that “in consideration of the unclear circumstances surrounding the decedent’s death, a traumatic death cannot be definitively excluded.”
Although investigators thoroughly examined the circumstances surrounding Chelsea’s death and worked diligently to determine how she died and whether anyone was criminally responsible, no additional charges were supported by the evidence.
At sentencing on Wednesday, Chelsea’s mother described her daughter as “a sweet soul” who trusted others and believed in the good in everyone. She spoke of the agony her family has endured and will continue to endure, never knowing what happened in Chelsea’s final hours, only that she was discarded “like trash.” She told the court, “No parent should have to collect their child’s body from the trash.”
Chief Deputy District Attorney Brenna Zortman acknowledged the “desperate plea” from Chelsea’s loved ones, who will forever live with unanswered questions. “I’m so sorry we can’t provide the family with more information about what happened. It’s not fair,” Zortman said.
While Clark agreed to serve a ten-year sentence, when he faced as little as four years had the case proceeded to trial, Zortman stated that it still “feels so abysmally low for what happened.”
Zortman also credited the maintenance worker who discovered Chelsea’s body and called police, noting that without that call, “she would’ve been gone” and may never have been found.
Clark addressed the court and admitted to disposing of Chelsea’s body, stating, “I’m owning up to the stuff I did,” while maintaining he did not kill Chelsea. “I didn’t harm her in any way, shape, or form.” Through his attorney, Clark claimed he doesn’t remember the timeframe of her death due to his drug use.
District Court Judge Megan Miloud imposed the stipulated ten-year sentence, followed by a mandatory term of three years’ parole.
Count two, Tampering with Physical Evidence, was dismissed by prosecutors as part of the plea agreement.
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