Mom charged after 16-year-old daughter drinks herself to death — with 173 empties found in her room

A mother has been charged with murder after her 16-year-old daughter drank herself to death — with 173 empty bottles found hidden in the tragic teen’s bedroom, according to authorities.

Gretchen Leanne Ryan was charged with second-degree murder after her daughter, identified in an obituary as Grace Elizabeth Ryan, was found dead at their home in Arvada, Col. in March from pneumonia caused by chronic alcohol abuse, according to the local district attorney’s office.

Twisted text messages showed that the mom had for months been secretly supplying her underage daughter with copious amounts of alcohol — even though she knew she had been vomiting blood, having difficulty eating and walking and even using adult diapers because of her alarming binge drinking.

Mom and daughter drank excessively together, and also smoked pot — while trying to keep it hidden from Grace’s father, who mainly lived in the basement, the DA said.

In the days leading up to Grace’s death, the teen told her mom she felt in “so much pain” like she was “gonna die,” according to the complaint.

She begged to be taken to a hospital — but Ryan did not seek any medical help, according to an exchange in an arrest affidavit obtained by The Post.

The night before she died, Grace told Ryan she was feeling sick. Her body was found in the bathroom the next morning. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

When police entered the home, which smelled like urine, the mom was wearing nothing but a T-shirt and an adult diaper, the warrant noted.

She also slurred her words as she repeatedly told detectives, “I killed her,” according to the affidavit.

Police searched Grace’s bedroom and uncovered 173 alcohol bottles of various sizes hidden underneath her bed and in her closet, the warrant said.

Grace had left public school and enrolled in online classes in April 2025, according to police. She had only completed one online semester of freshman-year coursework and had not been involved in any activities outside her home for several months.

An autopsy revealed Grace had a fatty liver — unusual for someone so young — that doctors attributed to “extensive and prolonged alcohol consumption.”

Her official cause of death was aspiration pneumonia — a lung infection caused by foreign substances — related to chronic alcohol abuse.

Ryan was arrested on June 3 after a lengthy investigation and is being held at the Jefferson County Jail on a $500,000 cash-only bond.