Lakewood teen's mysterious death rocks colorado community

On a sweltering August afternoon in 2016, Mark Pedersen, a 60-year-old medical marijuana caregiver, rushed into the Lakewood home he shared with 15-year-old Jack, who suffered from cerebral palsy and dystonia.

Jack's lifeless body lay in his bed, sparking a police investigation that would tear pedersen's life apart.

For two years, Pedersen had provided cannabis oil to ease Jack's chronic pain, a practice he had honed over decades caring for dozens of clients. But when firefighters burst into the house, Pedersen knew something was terribly wrong.

He told Jack's nurse that the teenager was dead, a revelation that would haunt him for the rest of his life. As police swarmed the property, Pedersen was left outside for four hours, shivering without a coat, unable to grieve or comprehend the tragedy that had befallen them.

When he finally returned to the house, it had been ransacked, his equipment and supplies stolen, and his room left in disarray. The authorities' handling of the situation would only add to the anguish, leaving Pedersen with more questions than answers about Jack's final days.