Drug tests return clean for Aspen kidnapping suspect

On Monday morning, an Aspen kidnapping suspect’s drug and alcohol tests came back normal after several earlier tests were found to be diluted.

Suspect Vanessa Leighton also completed a hair-follicle test, an additional condition of her pretrial services agreement requiring sobriety, which similarly showed no substances in her system.

Leighton had several diluted drug tests earlier in the case, meaning the tests might not have detected the presence of a drug even if present, prompting the court to increase monitoring and require the hair-follicle test for verification. 

Earlier this month, at another court appearance, Defense Attorney Cameron Mackenzie said that Leighton had been consuming large amounts of water working as a ranch hand while out on bond, prompting the diluted tests. 

Mackenzie told the court that Leighton has complied with all testing requirements on Nov. 17.

“With the generous help of her employer, she obtained that hair-follicle test, which shows she was clean of all substances for the 90 days preceding the test,” Mackenzie said.

Earlier this summer, in July, authorities alleged that Nathan Keen and co-defendant Leighton kidnapped Keen’s ex-girlfriend. According to the affidavit, the pair allegedly held the victim against her will up Independence Pass, where they physically abused her before forcibly driving her across multiple locations in Colorado.

Leighton and Keen were both released on bond in October, after their bonds were lowered several times following arrest. Leighton bonded out on Oct. 7.

Mackenzie emphasized that the case is ongoing and likely to continue into the winter.

“Our request for this case is set over because there’s a large amount of discovery for me to review, and I’m sure it’s the same for the district attorney’s office,” he said.

Leighton and co-defendant Keen are due back in court on Dec. 15 at 10 a.m.