A Colorado mother has been charged in connection with the death of her 16-year-old daughter, who prosecutors say drank herself to death and had 173 empty alcohol bottles hidden in her bedroom, authorities announced.Gretchen Leanne Ryan, 55, is charged with second-degree murder, according to the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.Her daughter was identified in an obituary as Grace Elizabeth Ryan.The younger Ryan was found dead on March 9 at her Arvada home after authorities received reports of an unresponsive female.Preliminary autopsy findings revealed the teen had an abnormally fatty liver for someone her age, which medical professionals believed indicated prolonged periods of alcohol consumption.
Her cause of death was determined to be aspiration pneumonia related to chronic alcohol use.ALCOHOL DEATHS HAVE MORE THAN DOUBLED IN RECENT YEARS, ESPECIALLY AMONG WOMENGretchen Leanne Ryan is charged with the murder of her teen daughter, who authorities said drank herself to death and was found with 173 empty alcohol bottles hidden in her bedroom.(Getty Images; Jefferson County Sheriff's Office)The mother and daughter frequently drank extensively and smoked marijuana together, prosecutors said.
Beginning in September 2025, the pair discussed drinking and purchasing alcohol on an almost daily basis via text messages, according to authorities."The communications indicate Ryan arranged regular alcohol deliveries to the home and took steps to conceal the victim’s alcohol use from her father, who primarily resided in the basement of the home," the DA's office said in a news release.Ryan kept supplying her daughter with alcohol despite the teen's significant physical health concerns, according to text messages.The communications described episodes of blood vomiting, difficulty eating, difficulty walking and the use of diapers due to symptoms associated with excessive alcohol consumption.FLORIDA MOM ACCUSED OF ABANDONING DAUGHTER AT UNIVERSAL STUDIOS TO GO DRINKIN...