Police: Death of woman found in Sheldon Lake 'suspicious'

Update 1/8/18:Fort Collins City Park homicide suspect pleads guilty to murder

Police are investigating the death of a woman found in Sheldon Lake at Fort Collins' City Park as suspicious.

SATURDAY UPDATE:Lots of questions, few answers as City Park lake death investigation continues

The Larimer County coroner on Friday identified the woman as 23-year-old Heather "Helena" Hoffmann, a woman friends described as someone working hard to be a good mother to her 4-year-old daughter Mary after a rocky past.

The Fort Collins woman's body was found Wednesday evening in Sheldon Lake. The cause and manner of her death are still pending and will be released at a later date, the coroner's office said Friday.

Hoffmann was last seen at 1 a.m. Wednesday leaving work at the McDonald's at 1250 W. Elizabeth St., about a mile south of the park. 

Police say she often walked home to her residence near the intersection of Laporte Avenue and Shields Street.

A bystander at City Park called 911 at 6:10 p.m. Wednesday to report seeing Hoffmann's body in the lake. Emergency responders arrived within 10 minutes. They removed the body from the water and finished investigating the scene for the night by 9:45 p.m., according to a Fort Collins Police Services release.

Police said Hoffmann was found wearing a black polo shirt with a McDonald's logo, black pants, black boots and a black purse.

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"She was always so careful, and that's why this is such a great shock to me that this happened," said Brittany Wilson, 25, of Loveland. Wilson has known Hoffmann since the young mother was 19. "I don't believe she would have stopped for a stranger."

Wilson said she wanted Hoffmann, who she said preferred to be called Helena, to be remembered as the loyal, loving mother and friend she strove to be. 

Though Wilson said Hoffmann had a "rough past," she said the young woman was "doing well and good and amazing" before her death. Court records show Hoffmann does not have a criminal history in Colorado. 

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"That wasn't who she was anymore," Wilson said. "She really was becoming the mother she was meant to be. It's just so sad that God took her now."

Zach Denton, who is the father of Hoffmann's daughter, described her as a "good mom" in an interview with the Coloradoan.

Denton said he and Hoffmann, who he met in 2011, were on friendly terms. 

"She's a charismatic, very friendly, very nice person all together," he said. "She loved our daughter. ... It just doesn't make sense that this happened."

Another friend, Rebekah Parkinson, said Hoffmann was "a good mother who changed her life for her daughter."

Parkinson told the Coloradoan Hoffmann previously "had people in her life who weren't the most savory," but that she had turned away from that life.

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"She loved her baby so much," she said. "She wanted to get her life back in order so she could be with her daughter."

Residents near City Park may continue to see heightened police activity near Sheldon Lake as the investigation continues. 

Whatever that investigation reveals, Hoffmann's friends hope she is remembered as the vibrant young woman they knew and loved — a mom who "treated every day like it was Halloween," loved music, art and dancing and offered unconditional love to her friends and family.

"The world has suffered a great loss by losing her," Wilson said. "She knew such compassion. She was a good person — a little rough around the edges to new people, but definitely someone you wanted in your life."

Anyone with information about this case should contact Det. Tessa Jakobsson at tjakobsson@fcgov.com or call 970-221-6575 or Crime Stoppers of Larimer County at www.stopcriminals.org or 970-221-686. Callers can remain anonymous and may receive a cash reward.

More:Details about body in City Park lake remain under wraps