LAFAYETTE - Teen murder suspect Bryan Grove threatened his mother's life when he was 14, police reports show.

His girlfriend, Tess Damm, suspected of conspiracy in her mother's death, threatened to kill a teacher when she was 10, the reports say.

The incident reports show that both teens had extensive contact with police.

Lafayette police officers frequently saw Tess' mother intoxicated, or heard her slur her words over the phone. They often returned Tess to her mother when the teen violated curfew. Once, they told Linda Damm they were going to write a neglect report to the Department of Social Services.

Grove, 17, has been charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Linda Damm, 52, of 705 W. Brome Place in Lafayette.

Tess Damm, 15, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

Two other teens also have been arrested - Jared Smith, 16, for allegedly being an accomplice and helping to move the body from the house; and Jared Guy, 18, for allegedly helping Grove bury the body, then dig it back up.

Tess' first contact with the police was at age 10 when a caller to the Colorado School Violence and Safety Hotline said the girl and two others threatened to kill their teacher. Tess and the other girls said they were upset because the teacher was "very strict," but that they weren't serious about their threats. The girls got a warning.

When Tess was 14, her mother called police at 11 p.m. one February night and said Tess had run away. Tracked down two hours later at a friend's house, Tess said she didn't want to go home because her mother was intoxicated.

Tess' uncle, Robert Damm, confirmed that that was the reason Tess didn't want to go home. He picked up Tess and took her to his house.

Three months later, in May, Linda Damm called police to say Tess had left home 28 hours before.

A week later, police stopped Tess at 2:45 in the morning, walking with a friend. The friend's mother went to pick her daughter up, but Tess' mother said she had the flu and couldn't do so.

Police took Tess home and found Linda intoxicated. They let Tess stay with her mother.

On the Fourth of July, police found Tess in a car at 4:45 a.m., with an 18-year-old she'd met on MySpace.com a couple days before.

When police took her home, her mother told them she wasn't aware that Lafayette had a curfew for teens.

Less than two weeks later, Tess was one of a few teens in a car issued citations for underage drinking. One of the teens had to be rushed to a hospital for alcohol poisoning.

When police took Tess home, Linda Damm refused a Breathalyzer, and police said they'd contact the Department of Social Services.

The incident reports reveal that when Grove was 14, his mother, Sharon, told police that he had threatened her, saying that if he had a gun, he would shoot her. He allegedly made the threat because his mother had told him he couldn't use the computer because his grades had slipped.

One report cited Grove for stealing his parents' car and driving with friends to New Mexico. Last June, Grove was given a summons for shoplifting, and in August he was arrested for first-degree criminal trespass for trying to break into cars in Lafayette.

Teenagers in trouble

BRYAN GROVE, 17

• Current charge: First-degree murder

Past troubles:

• Age 14: Stole parents' car, rode with friends to Albuquerque. Threatened to kill his mother if he had a gun.

• Age 17: Shoplifting, first-degree criminal trespass.

TESS DAMM, 15

• Current charge: Conspiracy to commit first-degree murder

Past troubles:

• Age 10: She and two friends threatened to kill their teacher.

• Age 14: Stopped for being out past curfew; mother didn't pick her up, claiming she had the flu. Police later found that mother was intoxicated.

• Age 15: Given citation for underage drinking; when officers took her home, they noticed that her mother, Linda, was intoxicated.

scanlon@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-442-8729

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