The rectangle of packed dirt at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Wheat Ridge is bare except for a small green metal marker with this inscription:

"Noah Thomas Crookham. Born 4/2 7/06. Died 1 0/12/08. Burial date 1 0/17/2008. Section 34. Block 7. Lot 16. Grave 6."

Noah was the unintended victim of what court records suggest was a love triangle that came to a head on Oct. 12 in the Congress Park area of Denver.

Today, the man accused of shooting and killing Noah, 40-year-old Earl Ryan, is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing in Denver County Court.

Ryan had been romantically involved with Noah's mother, Angela Crookham.

That morning, he flew into a rage and allegedly opened fire on Angela's estranged husband, Tom Crookham, as he fled with his 2-year-old son Noah in his arms, according to a police affidavit. A bullet pierced Tom Crookham's hand and lodged in the boy's chest, killing him almost instantly.

Five days after the shooting, Tom and Angela Crookham buried their blond-haired, blue-eyed son after a tearful service that drew hundreds of mourners.

"We will remember Noah as a sweet, loving, adventurous little man, who found joy under every rock he overturned, every puddle he splashed in and every sandcastle he built. Noah was always happy," relatives wrote in a published death notice.

A week or two after the shooting, Angela Crookham, 27, moved out of her quaint brick home on Madison Street.

Tom Crookham, his hands still in a bandage, helped pack his wife's belongings into a moving truck, said Lola Mora, a nanny who works across the street.

"They moved immediately," she said.

Tom Crookham, 31, also quickly moved out of his apartment on Kentucky Avenue in southeast Denver. It's unclear where they are living.

Court records show that the couple separated in October 2007. Angela moved into the Madison Street home. Ryan, who knew her when they both lived in Cincinnati, followed her here, and in June moved into the basement of the house. Ryan's friends have said he was in love with Angela and wanted to marry her.

But she and Tom later reconciled and Angela asked Ryan to move out. He didn't.

On Oct. 12, Angela, her husband and son went to church and returned to her house. Ryan became angry that Tom was there.

"This is it," Ryan said to her, according to police records.

He got into a heated argument with Tom Crookham and then went downstairs and got a gun, the affidavit says.

He chased Angela and Tom, who was holding Noah, outside the house and fired several shots, police said. Then he returned to the house and barricaded himself, telling police "I did not mean to shoot anyone. I am sorry."

He was taken into custody soon afterward.

Tom Crookham did not return phone calls and his mother in Ohio declined to comment when reached by phone. Numerous other relatives also didn't return calls.

kimm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2361