11 13 25 FOX 31 Meteorologist Kylie Bearse on her fight for justice in stalking case

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now on Colorado's Morning News. A suspect arrested in September
for stalking a local TV meteorologist facing a felony charge.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
A couple of weeks ago, he actually followed me home
from work and that's when things really took a turn.

Speaker 1 (00:13):
That's Fox thirty one meteorologist Kylie Burst. She joined us
earlier on Colorado's Morning News after the seventy year old
suspect was taken into custody. It was shocked that prosecutors
originally only charged him with a misdemeanor, but now the
Denver DA's office has upgraded that charge to a felony.
Joining us again on the Kai Common Spirit Health hotline
is Kylie Burst. Kylie, appreciate your time as always and

(00:35):
really appreciate you being vulnerable here and sharing your story
both online and with us and with other outlets. What
was your initial reaction when you heard that this man
will now be charged with felony stalking.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
I think my initial reaction and I found out, you know,
after the court yesterday, was just relief because it does
carry a lot more weight, and you know, it's relief
for me in my case, but it's also I hope
some relief got going forward. You know, the Denver DA's office,
as well as other DA offices around the state take
stocking more seriously, and you know, do that initial investigation.

Speaker 1 (01:10):
Did they share any details of why they determined the
felony stocking charge was now warranted?

Speaker 2 (01:17):
You know, they did a deeper dive into the investigation,
and they didn't share anything specific with me as to
why they just said this particular prosecutor felt comfortable arguing.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
This case when you took this to your Instagram and
shared a little bit more details for people that were
unaware about the story. What type of just community feedback
support have you heard since going public with us?

Speaker 2 (01:38):
You know, it was very overwhelming because it was mostly supportive.
Ninety eight percent was very very supportive. There were some
who were you know, you kind of put yourself in
this position. You're on TV, you're looking for attention, So
there was a very small percentage that was bad. But
I'd say overwhelmingly, it was a lot of support. And
the thing that I don't want to say it surprised me,

(01:59):
but it kind of it sadly did hundreds and hundreds
of messages from women and some men too who had
experienced similar stocking situations and had trouble when it comes to,
you know, in a range from law enforcement all the
way up through the DAS through judges as well. So
it sounds like it's just it's a tough thing to
navigate across the country when it comes to getting justice

(02:21):
for people who are victims of stalking Kylie locally.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
Do you see this as a first step in helping
others get their felony stocking charges filed in the Denver
area or do you think your situation is different?

Speaker 2 (02:33):
I hope it is. That was why you know, I
was able to take that time and talk to the
Denver Post and talk to them about the situation because
I truly didn't think it would have much much weight
when it came to my case. I thought my case
was kind of done, but my goal was to make
it so that other women didn't have to go through
that and other people too. This does happened to men
as well, so I really hope so. And I think

(02:54):
that it started a conversation that I didn't expect to
grow as large as it did. I mean, my goodness,
it made it international news with people weighing in around
the world, so it was a big conversation, and I
hope that it's the beginning of an important one that
actually sees some change.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
Box thirty one meteorologist Kylie burs Kylie, we really appreciate
you staring, sharing your story, and we hope this is
a step forward to maybe some justice and a little
bit more comfortability for you.

Speaker 2 (03:18):
Thank you so much, I really appreciate it.