Overland Park native killed in Denver bar slayings remembered, mourned by friends

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - A group of Overland Park best friends is now one less, after 29-year-old Ross Richter was killed during a robbery in a Colorado bar this week.

Richter, who was born and raised in Overland Park, Kan., is a 2001 graduate of Shawnee Mission West High School and an alumnus of Kansas State University.

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He was found dead found inside the charred remnants of Fero's Bar & Grill in Denver early Wednesday morning. But to his close friends, what happened that night is just a small paragraph in a chapter book of stories.

"He'd be there anytime you need him no matter what," said Richter's childhood friend Austin Kirschenbaum.

"His life is a lot more newsworthy than his tragic death," added Kirschenbaum's younger brother, Dane.

Kurt Weber said he met Richter on their first day of kindergarten. A few years ago, Richter was one of his groomsmen.

"There are very few memories that don't involve Ross and our crew of buddies that always hung out together," Weber said. "If there was an adventure or misadventure or anything going on, we all pretty much clung to each other."

Colorado police have arrested three men for the killings.