Arapahoe County, Colorado, currently has a population of over 666,000 residents, making it the third largest county by population in Colorado. The first victim was found in 2001, and bodies have turned up in empty lots, vacant buildings, dark alleys and even garbage containers ever since then, with only a short period of peace between 2014 and early 2017. Though this means that an unknown serial killer might still be on the loose somewhere out there, there might be some light at the end of the tunnel. She worked at the Good Earth store at 18th & Pearl in Boulder and was learning about herbs. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Unfortunately, it turned out that the women had been murdered strangled, possibly sometime between 2003 and 2005, so the trail was colder than anyone would have wanted. And they're afraid of retaliation, of being labeled in their communities as a "snitch." During the investigation, the Philadelphia police did actually find a potential suspect:A middle-aged man claiming to be a minister. Cold Case Homicide Stats - Project: Cold Case Most, if not all, of the unsolved murders in Colorado can be found organized by the Colorado Bureau of Investigations (CBI) cold case website. He was 20 years old. On Sunday, May 19, 1996, Julianne "Julie" Williams, 24, and Lollie Winans, 26, set out with their golden retriever, Taj, to hike through the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Henry Plummer & His Treasure Wikimedia Commons Anna tried desperately to save him, but it was too late. "One of the dudes told Diego, 'Start running, because this is the day that you die,'" Anna said. Aidan McAleenan, St Columba's pastor looking at the roughly two dozen crosses already posted in the yard. Denver's independent source of In Los Angeles, Barbara Pritchett-Hughes mourns her own loss. According to a 179-page confidential report by a local senior coroner's officer, modern research techniques suggest that two supposedly unconnected murder-suicide cases might be considerably more terrifying than such cases already are, due to the possibility that they might not be quite that unconnected after all. Unfortunately, while their sizable task force was able to comb through every existing lead and go through hundreds of suspects, and despite some lines of investigation with lots of potential, the killer was never found. A few examples of cases where Denver murders DNA was used to solve or bring new detailed information to light include the 1980 murder of Helene Pruszynski, the 1979 murder of Evelyn Kay Davis, the 1963 murder of Margaret Peggy Beck, and the 1970 murder of Betty Lee Jones, among countless others in the rest of Colorado. The ten crimes featured in this installment include two of the most famous unsolved crimes in Boulder history: the deaths of Sid Wells and Dorothy Howard, who was buried as "Jane Doe" and not. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations Uniform Crime Report (UCR) from 2019, the violent crime rate in Colorado is roughly 381 per 100,000 inhabitants. Additionally, the Federal Bureau of Investigation issues a Uniform Crime Report annually which shows the crimes, crime rates, and locations of crimes in every state, county, and city, including across the state of Colorado. I'm just glad he ran the other way instead of following his dad. Police said they were called to East 23rd Avenue and Clarkson Street. Meanwhile, Thomas Hargrove of the MurderAccountability Project thinks that as of 2019, the U.S. alone had something like 2,100 unidentified serial killers running around. Perhaps one of the most perplexed cases of all is that of Roger Dean, a Littleton man who was forced via gunpoint by a masked gunman to tie up his wife. Reporter. As the Atlantic tells us, the hunt for the Monster was a long one, and tens of thousands of men were viewed as potential suspects. Netflix's rebooted version of Unsolved Mysteries is already on the path of, ahem, solving one of its more vexing cases. The "Data File" underlying each display is available for download in .CSV format below. "The coroner had already taken his body," she said. As David Lohr of Huffington Postand Jona Ison of the area's own Chillicothe Gazettetell us, over the course of 2014 and 2015, no less than six women disappeared around there. 4 Mysterious Cold Cases to Know in 2021: Unsolved Murders - Esquire Three persons were arrested but released for lack of evidence. In a world that tends to frown on murdering your fellow man, serial killers are often considered the worst of the worst. Miss Becker had worked as a packager at the Pearl Street Market. In 2020, that data showed, the department's murder clearance rate was about 44% 16% less than the national average. Early that morning JonBent's . But he wants answer. Reader: Westside Took a Gamble on the Park Hill Golf Courseand Lost, Denver Residents Could Earn $1,000 Masturbating as Part of Orgasm Advisory Job, Number Thirty Eight Expanding to Littleton, Hopes to Avoid Noise Problems Like Those in Denver, Lauren Boebert's Son Allowed to Appear in Court Virtually Despite Bench Warrant for Prior No-Show, Superfans, Mascot Mania and All-Stars: Nuggets and Suns Get Ready to Rumble, Cops Investigating "JUST KILLED A WOMAN" Photo Allegedly Shared by Rock-Throwing Suspect, Unprecedented Rise in Property Values Sparks Fears of Higher Taxes and Dissent Among County Assessors. The bodies also have traces of the infamous date drug GHB, which could have been used to incapacitate the victims before kidnapping them. Justice hasn't been served," Legaspi says. The skeletal remains were discovered in 2009, and as theAlbuquerque Journal tells us, the police swiftly put together a 40-strong task force to investigate the case. The department remains under federal oversight and has for two decades. It began, "I hope you are having lots of fun in trying to catch me." . Recently, DNA technology has led to hundreds, if not thousands, of decades-old cold cases being solved and has brought forth new ways to not only compare DNA, but also conserve it so none goes to waste. Alkhenala Al-Fatah - March 9, 2020; 1200 block of Barnaby Terrace, SE. Regardless, the many different law enforcement and investigating agencies in Colorado will never stop attempting to solve all of Colorados true crimes, using any and every resource they have available to them. The murders of teen sweethearts Lloyd Duane Bogle and Patricia Kalitzke had gone unsolved for more than 60 years. In 1968, Leroy Drieth was leaving his girlfriend's home in Mead when his car slammed into a tree, killing him instantly. ", "Lying and manipulating a witness are serious violations of the public trust and a threat to the integrity of the judicial system," Price says. Five years in homicide left the Denver detective burned out, the dozens of killings each year draining his desire for police work. "And then is just gets grows and grows" all year. Without those exceptionally cleared cases like Diego's, CPD's 2021 murder clearance rate was just 24%, CBS News' analysis shows. Despite the red flags Atwell's increasingly odd behavior raised, the case remains unsolved, and the Colonial Parkway MurdersFacebook page reported his death on December 2018. Though the killings were originally investigated as individual homicides, their ruthlessness and the great number was enough to stand out from the usual violence in the city. It's hard to say whether all of these deaths were the product of one deranged mind, due to the fact that the high-profile case attracted several copycat poisoners. The Most Dangerous Active Serial Killers In 2020 - Grunge At that point, only a single detective was investigating the case full-time. Uncovered is where the most passionate true crime enthusiasts can learn from and teach others. "Just because it . Colorado, home on December 26, 1996. In front yard of Oakland's Saint Columba Catholic Church along bustling San Pablo Ave, a garden of simple, wooden, white crosses with the names and ages of the dead grows with every killing. You can add these mystery novels to your list. I could use more homicide detectives, but if the state is backed up, the court is backed up, we will still have the same problem by developing these cases that we're already doing.". Some examples of the most gruesome murders which you can find on their list of unsolved murders include the 1998 abduction and murder of Brittany Locklear, the 2000 murder of Keke Jefferson-Moore, the 2001 murder of Michelle Howard, the 1992 murder of Tammy Zywicki, the 1994 murder of Melissa Witt, the 2017 murder of Brandi Seals, and the 1985 Oakland detectives released security camera footage and the license plate number of the suspected get-away car. "You don't get to ruin someone's life forever and be OK with it because you're high on drugs. The Washington Post collected data on almost 55,000 criminal homicides over the past decade in 55 of the largest American cities. and help keep the future of Westword, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our, Families of Homicide Victims and Missing Persons, Andre Jackson Found Guilty in Brutal Cold Case Rape and Murder. This is perhaps one of the most known unsolved murders in American history. The Colorado Springs Police Department Homicide Cold Case Unit is currently responsible for approximately 90 unsolved homicide cases dating back to 1949. 3 | Little Lord Fauntleroy IV. According to Project: Cold Case, from 1965 to 2019 there were around 9,277 murders in Colorado. Due to the large and growing size and population of Denver, Colorado, murders are seemingly more common there than in a lot of other cities in Colorado. Sadly, it seems there may never be an end to the number of Colorado homicide and true crime stories in Colorado as crimes, specifically murders, seem to rise every year in the state of Colorado. Since then, roughly 6,346 of those homicides were solved, sadly leaving around 2,931 unsolved murders in Colorado. A "coin flip": Nearly half of U.S. murders go unsolved as cases rise In a statement to NPR, Tran's attorney Andrew M. Ganz called the charges "baseless" and lashed out a District Attorney Pamela Price for treating "murderers like heroes. More than 200,000 unsolved cases have gone cold since 1980, and murder clearance rates continue to drop. He was described as a white male in his late 30s or early 40s. Additionally, other unsolved murders Colorado included in the long list of cold cases are the many east Colorado unsolved murders. Request services, report issues, improve your community. "This individual will not stop killing until someone or something stops him," the report allegedly says. Colorado Cold Case: Unsolved 1985 Valentine's Day killings haunt former lead detective . "It's definitely frustrating. The true crime investigative series features a team that travels to small towns to dig into unsolved homicide cases, many of which have gone years without answers or . "It reached close to 50% at that time nationwide, which was the lowest ever recorded by the FBI. She enjoyed being with her grandchildren and liked to cook, especially for the holidays, and entertaining. The victims have largely been women with a history of sex work or addiction, and there have been alotof them in fact, the Chicago Police Department and theFBIare investigating no less than 51 unsolved murders, in an attempt to find out whether they might be the work of at least one serial killer. However, it just might be the stalking ground of one of the most infamous undiscovered serial killers out there. Though one more murder happened while he was already incarcerated, he still became the public face of the Slasher at the time, and spent the rest of his days in prison for a crime experts believe he did not commit. "We saw a sharp drop in the national clearance rate in 2020," says Prof. Philip Cook, a public policy researcher and professor emeritus at Duke University and the University of Chicago Urban Labs who has been studying clearance rates for decades. Kiah was right next to his dad when the gunman attacked. Even more chillingly, the trio think that the "Smiley Face Killers" might be involved in as many as 335 deaths. Author email; Mar 9, 2020 Mar 9, 2020 Updated Mar . Cold Case | Colorado Bureau of Investigation For around two decades, Chicago has seen a series of eerily similar strangulation murders. Back in 1985 just days after the murders, Sgt. By Ryan Biller. His friends recalled seeing him sleeping in a bed the following morning while they left for physical training. No one's even been able to establish a motive, and the killer only took a small amount of money from the stores' cash registers. Other law enforcement agencies in Colorado, including both local and statewide, have their own databases or lists of unsolved homicides that they are currently investigating. By August 2008, the killer was suspected of murdering at least 13 and possibly as many as 16 people. In 2020, it was 78%, and so far this year it's only 71%. Since then, few clues have been released. To be fair, the authorities haven't used the term "serial killer" quite yet, except in carefully structured sentences that begin with something like, "No one has said there's a " However, the media has been happy to drum up the serial killer angle, and asMichael E. Miller of the Washington Postreported in 2015, the locals certainly seem to think that's what they're dealing with. The answer to how Barker ended up in the post's sewage treatment center has eluded a revolving door of Army investigators since the grisly discovery on Feb. 21, 2006. For example, evidence shown in a homicide trial can range from blood, saliva, semen, skin cells, or other DNA evidence, to cell phone pings, to gunpowder residue, and most often includes Arapahoe County murders crime scene photos, to show the jury the area surrounding the crime as well as show the potential brutality of the crime or any other items of evidence found near the scene. Thank you! That has made it harder for police to receive tips or obtain help from witnesses, said Danielle Outlaw, the commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department. Cold Cases | City of Colorado Springs Between 2016 and 2020, the average clearance rate for Black homicide victims in Los Angeles was just 45%, according to CBS News' analysis of data submitted by the LAPD to the FBI. It can be assumed that law enforcement, like in many other states, may not be able to dedicate as much time as they would like to solving cold cases when murders occur as often as they do. While there have been at least two potential suspects, as of 2016 there had been zero arrests. Out of these, he spent 14 years in a prison. According to Project: Cold Case, there are around 2,931 unsolved murders in Colorado dating from 1980 to 2019. It's even harder to believe that there are actually plenty of people like that out there:According to the Atlantic, the FBI believes that under one percent of all unsolved murders are the work of serial killers. Some of them haven't been seen since, while others have turned up dead at various spots. Barbara said she initially thought DeAndre's murder would be solved just as quickly as Devon's. "It is undermining whatever trust there is in the police. There have been no known murders by the same perpetrator since the events of 1992. In August 2020, the Sunday Times (via the Telegraph)reported that the otherwise unassuming Cheshire, UK might be the secret hunting ground of a serial killer. While the rate at which murders are solved or "cleared" has been declining for decades, it has now dropped to slightly below 50% in 2020 - a new historic low. Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify the use of the "Al Capone strategy.". There's little question that it was the same killer every time, seeing as he used the same rifle in all cases, and seemed to exclusively target brunette women though one of the victims actually turned out to be a guy with a long hair. Medical examiners found cocaine in his system, Grey said, but were unable to determine the cause and manner of death. Put in the person's name or part of their name to narrow down the search and press the "Submit Search" button. The decision outraged the veteran's mother, who called it "horrible" and another sign that agents reneged on a promise to figure out what happened to her son. The most famous of Colorado serial killers is Scott Lee Kimball, who was a criminal turned FBI informant turned serial killer. In 2020, the Los Angeles Police Department reported a clearance rate of about 55% slightly better than the national average. All available resources continue to be utilized as we work to resolve this case. This information will help solidify a criminal filing and future prosecution of the individual(s) responsible for Mr. De La Cruz's death. What baffles police and bystanders alike are the events leading up to the murder: a $30,000 withdrawal by Dean put into a secret account, evidence planted to throw the cops and strange sightings of Dean just hours before his murder. It was January of 1980 when 21-year-old Helene Pruszynski was kidnapped, raped and murdered in Douglas County, Colorado. We share the frustration Mr. De La Cruz's family is experiencing as this case remains unresolved and we are actively working to identify and apprehend the offender(s) responsible for his death. Georgia crime cases featured on true-crime podcasts - ajc Barker was last seen being led from the barracks "to a dark colored vehicle." In late 2011, the Army raised its reward from $10,000 to $15,000 -- upping the incentive for tips while issuing a promise. "It's still emotional every day coming in here, you know?" "I could use more police officers. April 26, 2013 Chris Hacker is an investigative data journalist at CBS News. As Biography tells us, the Zodiac Killer murdered at least five people in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1968 and 1969, taunting the press and the police with boastful letters, phone calls, and strange codes. These include the 1997 murder of Byron Martin Bacus, the 1998 murder of Salvador Rivera Munoz, the 1993 murder of William Trimback, the 2003 murder of Kristen Titello, and the 2010 murder of Randall Wilson, among others. What is Lopez doing on this list if we already know who he was and he's already been caught? Once word got out that Plummer was the leader of the so-called "Road Agent Gang," he was hanged--before he could tell anyone the whereabouts of his stolen treasure. Additionally, the Federal Bureau of Investigation shares a Uniform Crime Report every year which shares, in detail, the crimes, crime rates, and locations of crimes in every state, county, and city, in addition to a report for crime in Colorado. She says the last time she spoke with a Denver Police detective, he told her, "Bernadette, I'm just going to tell you that they're just high on drugs, and their story just keeps changing.". Data collection. These 8 Weird Places In Colorado Are As Strange As It Gets, Spend The Night In This Incredible Colorado Home For An Unforgettable Adventure, Enjoy The Freshest Oysters And Scallops At This One-Of-A-Kind Seafood Restaurant In Colorado, Grab Some Homecooked Food And Rent A Kayak At This Awesome Spot In Colorado, The Gates of Hell, Campus Cults, And Other Disturbing Secrets About Colorado, Here Is The Most Insane, Unforgettable Colorado Bank Robbery, The Deadly History Of This Colorado Site Is Terrifying But True, This Creepy Tale Of Vampires In Colorado Is Sure To Give You Nightmares. There's a possibility that he also committed other murders before these famous ones. As such, some people who are extremely familiar with the case, such as crime journalist Mario Spezi, believed in 2006 that the true Monster of Florence (or perhaps monsters) was still out there and, seeing as he still hasn't been caught, might still be. Major Case/Unsolved Homicides - 2020. You know, because he could have got caught in the line of fire," Legaspi says. Most of the data on these pages were drawn from the Colorado . The challenge of closing murder cases is reflected in national statistics, but is especially acute in some locations, the CBS News review found. Police exceptionally cleared his murder case due to that lack of evidence exactly four years after he was killed, on April 1, 2021. Below are some of the cold cases shared on various Colorado law enforcement websites. But that mistrust is also bred by the department's chronic dysfunction. While much has changed, that belief has not. Crime Statistics | Division on Criminal Justice - Office - Colorado 10 cold case murders that remain unsolved in Colorado If you ask Thomas Hargrove, the chairman of the MurderAccountability Project nonprofit, at least some of them most likely are. Three months later, no one has been arrested for the murder of Kenland Thompson, Jr. "I gave them names," Williams said, describing how she told police she would help them investigate the case herself. She lived in Boulder but had been staying with a friend. His estranged wife reported him missing six days later. As theGuardianand the Sydney Morning Herald tell us, this ruthless villainstarted their reign of terror over the Carapicuiba area ofSo Paulo, Brazil in July 2007. The Colombian serial killer and diagnosed sociopath wandered around Peru and Ecuador, targeting young girls. Detective Tran faces felony charges of perjury and bribery. He died in the hospital two days later. Joe Kenda told reporters he believed the case would be solved "relatively soon.". So far this year, there have been 89 murder cases, and 26 of them still open.