Before Freshman Disappeared and Died, Her Roommate Was One of the Last People to See Her. Now She Speaks 

One of the last people known to have seen 18-year-old University of Colorado Boulder freshman Megan Trussell alive — her roommate, Haili Strickland — is speaking publicly for the first time about the young woman whose death remains a source of dispute in Boulder, Colorado.

“She was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of person,” Strickland says of Trussell. “Her heart and the way that she cared about people was so far beyond anything that I’ve seen.”

Authorities say that late on Feb. 9, Trussell left the on-campus dorm she shared with Strickland after the two argued. Trussell vanished and was found dead six days later near a creek just outside the city, her body covered with snow. Her family contacted authorities after they couldn’t reach her.

Her death was later ruled a suicide due to amphetamines, reportedly Adderall.

Trussell’s parents have strongly rejected that conclusion. They argue investigators failed to thoroughly examine what they believe are signs of foul play, including Trussell’s physical injuries and what they describe as incomplete testing of certain materials collected near the scene. Authorities have not confirmed the family’s suspicions. The coroner’s office has said the injuries were not fatal and were consistent with a fall.

“All available leads were followed until both our office and the Coroner’s Office reached our final conclusions,” a Boulder County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson previously said.

No one has been charged in connection with Trussell’s death, and the family continues to push for further investigation.

Strickland, now 19, says she agreed to speak only to share memories of Trussell and to describe their final interaction.

“She absolutely adored her family,” Strickland says. “That was the first thing I knew about her. And I know she wouldn’t want them to hurt so badly. So that’s why I haven’t wanted to say anything, because I will take on whatever I need to for them [Trussell’s family] to grieve and be okay.”

A friendship that formed fast

Strickland says she understands why her name has been pulled into the case — and into relentless online speculation — because the last night Trussell was seen alive followed a disagreement between them.

According to sheriff’s office reports reviewed by the publication that originally ran this story, Trussell’s family believed the two didn’t get along and that Strickland created problems as a roommate, including letting a friend stay over too often.

Strickland disputes that characterization. There were conflicts, she says, but there was also a real friendship.

The two attended high school on the same campus in Denver, but Strickland says they didn’t truly meet until they were randomly paired as college roommates last fall. They started texting, then went to lunch — which turned into an hourslong hangout.

“At first, we thought that we were insanely similar,” Strickland says. “We got to know each other more. We definitely learned that there were differences.”

Trussell, a film student, loved classic movies, Strickland says — while Strickland admits she doesn’t have the same attention span. They also had different tastes in music, though Strickland says Trussell would occasionally surprise her.

Despite that, they clicked, she says — from politics to quoting clips from the now-defunct video app Vine.

“We would sit there and just quote Vines back and forth and it was so dumb, but it was hilarious to us,” Strickland says. “We had very similar humor.”

She describes Trussell as “genuinely kind,” recalling a moment when Trussell gave money to a homeless man on campus after they bought him food.

“She had absolutely no hesitation,” Strickland says. “She pulled out $40 in cash that she had in her wallet. She was like, ‘This is all I have. But here.’ “

Strickland says during their first semester they were nearly inseparable — studying together, watching movies, working out, and tagging along to each other’s activities.

“I remember the first weekend that she went back home, she wrote a little sticky note while I was sleeping and put it next to my head and she was like, ‘I’ll be back. Text me if you need me,’ ” Strickland says.

“Typical roommate arguments” — and a shift in the second semester

Like many roommates, Strickland says, they fought sometimes.

“It was usually something really stupid, and we would laugh about it the next day,” she says. “Or we’d have a sit-down conversation about it and come to an agreement.”

By the second semester, Strickland says, Trussell was making more friends and began dating someone (the original story did not identify him, and he has not been accused of wrongdoing). Strickland says Trussell seemed happier — but she also felt her roommate was showing signs of mental-health struggles.

Strickland says they talked about mental health and that she tried encouraging Trussell to find a different therapist or speak with a doctor about medication.

“It just never landed,” Strickland says.

Authorities have stated in reports that Trussell had no documented history of suicidal behavior and did not leave a note. Trussell’s parents say they don’t believe she would take her own life.

Case reports also indicate investigators learned from Trussell’s sister that she had been dealing with academic stress, her parents’ divorce, and what her sister described as possible teenage heartbreak. The sister told investigators they had discussed suicidal ideation, but “Megan wouldn’t do that and expressed that,” an official wrote, paraphrasing her.

In a prior interview, Trussell’s father, Joe Trussell, said the divorce was difficult but insisted she “never once turned on herself.”

“She handled it extremely well considering the circumstances,” he said. “She was a strong kid.”

The last night Strickland says she saw her roommate

Strickland says that on Feb. 9 she returned to the dorm briefly during a 15-minute work break to grab headphones. When she walked in, she says, she found Trussell and her boyfriend being intimate — and what followed was a heated argument between the roommates.

“We had had a whole conversation, and she said that she respected it and that she understood,” Strickland says. “I walked in on them, and I just felt betrayed.”

Strickland says she returned to work afterward.

“That was the last time I saw her,” she says.

According to case files reviewed by the publication that originally reported this story, Trussell and her boyfriend later argued, and he broke up with her and blocked her number.

Strickland says she initially believed Trussell had gone to her sister’s apartment to cool off, and she did not report her missing during the first two days.

“I didn’t want to think that there was another possibility,” Strickland says.

Then, she says, a resident assistant came to her door.

“It was that Wednesday morning and [resident assistant] came and knocked on my door and said, ‘Hey, have you seen your roommate?’ ” Strickland recalls. “At that moment… everything went dark.”

Strickland says people around her warned her to brace for the worst. Still, she says she hoped Trussell would return. She says she even texted her.

“Just please come back. I don’t care about anything else,” Strickland says. “I just want you to be okay.”

Learning Trussell was dead

On Feb. 15, Strickland says she found out Trussell’s body had been located the same way many others did: through the news.

“I got a text from a friend and they said, ‘I’m so sorry.’ I was like, ‘What do you mean you’re sorry?’ And I just looked up her name,” Strickland says. “Then there were a bunch of news articles saying that they found her body, and that was how I found out.”

Family disputes official conclusions; Strickland stands by suicide ruling

Trussell’s family has continued to criticize the official investigation, pointing to details such as how her purse and phone were discovered later and separately from her body, and what they describe as failures to fully investigate the recovery site.

Her parents believe she was attacked.

Her mother, Vanessa Diaz, has previously alleged that someone took Trussell’s purse and dragged her as she fought back — explaining the blunt-force injuries documented in the autopsy. She has argued the pills in Trussell’s system could have been used to stage the death as a suicide.

Trussell’s father has said he would accept a suicide ruling only if there were definitive proof, arguing “there is too much evidence” suggesting otherwise.

After this story was initially published, Diaz issued a statement criticizing Strickland for speaking publicly and disputing her credibility.

Strickland, however, says she believes Trussell died by suicide — even though police previously noted in a report that, according to an investigator, Strickland “never thought Trussell would harm herself.”

Strickland says Trussell had, in fact, spoken about suicide before.

“Every little thing… it hurts”

Strickland has since moved off campus, but she says reminders are everywhere.

“I go on campus and I see places that we’ve hung out, or I’ll see things that remind me of her, or I’ll hear a song that reminds me of her,” she says. “Every little thing, every day, it hurts a lot. And I miss her.”