DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — An arrest has been made in connection with the murder of a Littleton woman whose body was dumped on the side of Interstate 25 late last month.
Mihail Petrov, 37, was arrested late Friday morning in Denver and is being held at the Douglas County Detentions Center for accessory to a crime/murder in the first-degree, tampering with physical evidence and concealing death. His bond has been set at $500,000.
Douglas County Sheriff's investigators told Denver7's Jaclyn Allen there are other suspects involved in this homicide investigation, and they are still looking for them.
Petrov's rap sheet is quite extensive with crimes listed as far back as the year 2004.
Court documents show he has been arrested for theft, illegal weapons possession, possession of drug paraphernalia, criminal impersonation and attempted burglary.
"I hope he gets what he deserves for what he did to Shelby," said Nathan Rognlie, a high school friend of Weatherly's who said he was also under investigation in the case. "Detectives from Douglas County came down to my job and asked me for a DNA sample, which I was happy to give them, more so to clear me from the case than to implicate me in it."
While he is now in recovery, he said he used to run with the man now behind bars and said he is dangerous.
"He always had a piece on him. He was always down to do whatever, whatever it took to get more dope or money," said Rognlie, who believes, based on the arrest, he has a good idea who else may be involved in Weatherly's death. "I would say that she probably got fronted a lot of drugs and probably owed a lot of money and they probably saw her as a nothing and as somebody that they could easily get rid of."
"Usually, people kind of run in packs, and when stuff like this happens you know they watch each other's backs," said Rognlie. "It's usually a group thing to decide to do this to somebody. You need several people to get it done."
The arrest comes a week after the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office asked anyone with a dashboard or GoPro camera to look at their video, if they believed they were in the area at the time Shelby Weatherly’s body was dumped on the side of the highway.
Authorities were looking for video taken on southbound I-25 between Castle Rock and Monument around mile marker 166 between dusk last Friday, Sept. 29, and 10 a.m. on Saturday, September 30.
The 24-year-old woman was found dead two days after she had a court appearance for a felony drug charge, for which she was arrested on September 9, according to court documents obtained by Denver7.
Court records also show Weatherly pleaded guilty to trespassing and petty theft charges out of Denver last year.
Callers to dispatch had reported some injuries on Weatherly’s body, but the sheriff’s office has not confirmed the manner in which the body was found.
Petrov's first court appearance will be on Monday, October 16 at 8:30 a.m.
Anyone who has any information about Petrov or can provide any information that will help authorities with this investigation, please call the DCSO Tipline at (303)660-7579. Denver Metro Crime Stoppers is offering a $2000 reward. Tips can be reported to Crime Stoppers anonymously by calling 720-913-STOP.
