A fire on the morning of July 1, 2024, in Watkins, Colorado, led firefighters to the body of 52-year-old Simone Renee Austin inside a home on North Bersshine Street. Neighbors had seen smoke about 10 a.m. and found no answer at the door; Arapahoe County homicide detectives opened an investigation after the interior fire was contained and described the circumstances as suspicious. The coroner had not released a cause of death pending further testing.

Simone had co-owned the house with her husband, Quincy Darnell Austin; the couple had been married about a year and reportedly had separated in the months before the fire, with Simone living there alone. Court records show Quincy was arrested in April on felony charges including second-degree assault by strangulation and domestic violence after Simone reported a physical altercation; on June 28 he pleaded guilty to a lesser misdemeanor assault charge and received probation and community service.

What did neighbors or anyone who knew Simone notice about the weeks leading up to July 1 that might help investigators?