Murder and Homicide

Ten unsolved Colorado murders: Read personal stories of the victims

The Families of Homicide Victims and Missing Persons website draws attention to unsolved murders, and we tried to do likewise in three posts last year -- in May, September and November. The ten crimes featured in this installment include two of the most famous unsolved crimes in Boulder history: the ... More >>

Columbine to Newtown: A tragic list of school shootings since 1999

The senseless massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, which took the lives of twenty children, including Olivia Engel, seen here, plus seven adults, instantly stirs terrible memories of the 1999 attack on Columbine High School. On the tenth anniversary of that tragedy, we assembled a horrific roster of sc ... More >>

Ricky Scott convicted of killing soldier Anthony Silva over $200 worth of marijuana?

Last summer, we told you about the arrest of Ricky Scott for the murder of Anthony Silva, a Fort Carson soldier; see our original coverage below. Now, Scott has been convicted of first-degree murder in the crime, which appears to have taken place after a fight over $200 worth of marijuana -- a tale ... More >>

Will juvenile lifers get a second chance?

See also: Johnathan Jordan letter clears co-defendant in murder -- but will anyone believe it?

Michael Burnette allegedly slit wife's throat after she threw a walker at him (48)

Last week, we told you about the arrest of Michael Burnette after a fatal stabbing in an East Leetsdale apartment. Now, in the wake of Burnette being formally charged with first-degree murder, we've got details via a probable cause statement on view below. According to one source, Burnette murdered ... More >>

Ira Logan, shooter, and Gerhard Ohmstede, dead man, ID'd in possible Make My Day case

Update: The Lakewood Police Department has identified the principals involved in a fatal shooting late Tuesday night. The dead man is Gerhard Alan Ohmstede, forty, while the person who killed him is Ira Miguel Logan, 28. However, Logan is no longer in custody, and he may not be charged with a crime ... More >>

Jimma Reat killed after 911 operator said to return to area near previous crime scene? (44)

Did a Denver 911 operator accidentally contribute to the slaying of twenty-something Jimma Reat? That appears to be a strong possibility. After all, a dispatcher told Reat and his companions to return to Denver to report damage to their vehicle -- and when they did, Reat was murdered in the latest ... More >>

Crisanto Tirso-Jiminez still at large after fatal stabbing of Elia Anastacio (34)

Today, we checked in with Denver Police Department spokesman Sonny Jackson regarding the whereabouts of Crisanto Tirso-Jiminez, 35, who's wanted in connection with the fatal stabbing of Elia Anastacio. According to Jackson, Tirso-Jiminez remains at large -- and he's thought to be hiding south of th ... More >>

Alejandro Perez verdict: A stunning rebuke of Carol Chambers' death-penalty chase?

Alejandro Perez​Last week's acquittal of Alejandro Perez in the murder of another inmate at the Limon Correctional Facility provides fresh ammo for critics of Eighteenth Judicial District Attorney Carol Chambers, whose determination to seek the death penalty for a prison gang homicide has resu ... More >>

Juan Gerardo Miranda-Hernandez: Death in Aurora apartment investigated as homicide (31)

Near the scene.​The Aurora Police Department is guarding details of a death on the 17300 block of East Adriatic Drive late last week. About all the APD has issued to date are basics about victim Juan Gerardo Miranda-Hernandez, 28, and the fact that the case is being investigated as a homicide. ... More >>

Robert L. Johnson: Bomb scare turns bizarre when body of 80-year-old found in trunk (30)

Larger photo below.​Update: The strange story of Robert L. Johnson keeps getting stranger. We knew that after showing up at the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office on a warrant, he prompted a bomb scare before ACSO representatives discovered a dead eighty-something man in the trunk of his Dodge s ... More >>

Joseph Trujillo gets twelve years in case of child who died alone while he was out drinking

Large photo below.​In January, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office announced that Joseph Trujillo faced a first-degree murder charge in the death of his five-month old, who died alone while he was out drinking. A week later, the charge against Trujillo was lessened to child abuse resulting i ... More >>

Rene Ogden killed twins Chase and Olivia, then committed suicide, says El Paso County coroner

Rene Ogden.​Earlier this week, Rene Ogden and twins Chase and Olivia were found dead in their Colorado Springs area home. In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, police declined to rule out any possible causes for their deaths even as reports surfaced that Rene had recently seemed depressed ... More >>

Douglas Taylor found guilty of Aurora arson that killed Jose De Jesus Martinez Espinoza in 2009

Larger photo below.​One of the earliest entries in our Mile High Murder archive involves a May 2009 arson-related murder in Aurora that led to the arrests of Douglas Taylor and Coy Dunn. The victim in the case was subsequently identified as Jose De Jesus Martinez Espinoza. More than a year la ... More >>

Logan McClelland: Bradley Blehm identified as Big O Tires employee allegedly shot by teen

Full-sized photo below.​Eighteen-year-old Logan McClelland has been charged with murder related to a shooting at a Big O Tire store in Monument -- the second high-profile slaying in the community of late, following revelations about Monique Lynch, who allegedly brutalized Genesis Sims, nine, a ... More >>

Robert Wallace shooting: Make My Day law meets Gran Torino

Robert Wallace on 9News.​The Robert Wallace case has all the trademarks of a justice-gone-awry tale. When Wallace, an 81-year-old Wheat Ridge resident, saw two men trying to steal his trailer this past February, he opened fire, hitting one of the men in the head. But the person busted in the s ... More >>

A cunning American boy becomes a Mexican cartel soldier and East L.A. executioner

Alan Sudduth learned young that you never snitch -- but now, only the truth can set him free

Dakota Fresh, No. 86: Woman shot last week dies, Marcos Antonio DeLeon charged with murder

Marco Antonio DeLeon's charges have been upgraded.​Last week, we told you about a search for Marco Antonio DeLeon, identified by the Aurora Police Department as a person of interest in the shooting of a woman subsequently identified as Dakota Fresh, nineteen. Unfortunately, Fresh died of her ... More >>

Roderick Elias charged with 1980 murder of Kristen Kay Swanson: Another cold case heats up

Roderick Elias and the DNA on Kristen Kay Swanson were a match.​Another day, another cold case belatedly moved forward by DNA. Yesterday, we told you about Kevin LeWayne McKinney, who's been charged in the 1998 murder of Diane Caldwell. Today, it's Roderick Elias, formally accused of murderin ... More >>

Diane Caldwell killing: Kevin LeWayne McKinney charged with woman's 1998 murder thanks to DNA evidence

Kevin LeWayne McKinney was being held on unrelated charges.​While the Aurora Police Department still has plenty of work to do regarding a double shooting yesterday at the Sommerset Gardens Apartments, the APD appears to have finally cleared a previously unsolved crime from its books. Diane Ca ... More >>

In the hunt for Darrent Williams's killer, the cops went on the offensive early

Douglass Singleton, Mile High Murder No. 66: Victim in medical-marijuana-related robbery was allegedly killed by Peter Bellar

Peter Bellar has been charged with killing Douglass Singleton.​Early on January 5, a man now identified as Douglass Singleton, 59, was gunned down on the 2600 block of North Leyden Street in what Denver Police continue to insist (despite doubts from many observers) was a medical-marijuana-rela ... More >>

Kendrick Anthony Williams, Mile High Murder No. 61: Riley Godfrey, Marquesa Johnson and Darrius Turner charged in motel slaying

View Larger Map More holiday-season cheerlessness: a December 29 murder at the Riviera Motel, 9100 East Colfax Avenue -- an area captured in the graphic above (if you have problems seeing the image, click "View Larger Map"). The victim in the shooting was identified as Kendrick Anthony Williams, 25 ... More >>

Mile High Murder, No. 32: Death of Bonnie Bergin in house fire being investigated as homicide

Bonnie Bergin.​Last week, Bonnie Bergin's body was found amid flames that destroyed a house she was renting on West 20th Avenue in Lakewood -- and now, the Lakewood Police Department has formally determined that she was murdered. At this point, the LPD isn't releasing her cause of death, which ... More >>

Mile High Murder, No. 17: Joseph Lee Jiles identified as victim in June 17 shooting on Xanadu Street

Velma Lee Gilbert. Last week, Velma Lee Gilbert was arrested in connection with a homicide on the 1300 block of Xanadu Street, an area captured in a graphic embedded after the jump (if you have problems seeing the image, click "View Larger Map"). Now, the Aurora Police Department has identified the ... More >>

Mile High Murder, No. 5: Suspect released in murder of security guard at El Chapparal night club

View Larger Map On Wednesday, the Denver Police Department announced the arrest of David Cano-Rivera in relation to the murder of security guard Alfredo Gonzalez-Ramos at the El Chapparal night club, 2727 W. 6th Avenue, an area captured in the graphic above (if you have problems seeing the image, c ... More >>

Wake-Up Call: Justice for Sister Dorothy?

Dorothy Stang died many thousands of miles from Denver, murdered in the Amazon rain forest, but her story resonates here in Colorado. Her brother, David, lives in Palmer Lake, and has spent years trying to find justice for his sister, a 73-year-old nun who had spent decades working with the poor s ... More >>

Profiles in Snitching

In for Life

The Pendulum Foundation keeps track of juveniles serving life.

Shades of Black

Defense attorneys fight to save their clients by comparing them to current residents of death row.

Follow That Story

The Client

Follow That Story

Left for Dead, Jailed for Good

Follow That Story

Remembering Polly

Hard Time

The oldest lifer in Colorado prisons is dying to be anywhere but here.

Best book on the murder of JonBenét Ramsey

JonBenét: Inside the Ramsey Murder Investigation

Murder by Death

What happens when you didn't mean it?

Silent Night

For Lieurance and Shirley Sullivan, the lights went out last Christmas, when Polly died.

Judgment Day

As judges ponder the fates of Brandy DuVall's murderers, they must measure different shades of black.

The Final Judgment

Two years ago this week, Brandy DuVall was killed by members of the Deuce-Seven gang. For the past month, the courts have been deciding whether her murderers live or die.

Dealing With the Devil

Brandy DuVall went through hell before she died. She left no angels as witnesses.

The Waiting Game

Robert Riggan's fate was to have been decided this week. Now he's back in line.

The Killing Floor

In Colorado's highest-security prison, two inmates beat Michael Garcia to death while a crowd of corrections officers watched. Why didn't anyone stop it?

Stabbed In the Heart

When Laura Martinez was killed while helping a friend, her family's dreams died, too.

A Very Brady Plea

A confessed killer snaps up a plea bargain in the wastewater murder case.

Putting the Boulder Police on Report

Second-Degree Burn (Part I)

Cher Elder's family knew all about Thomas Luther. The jury didn't.

FACING THE MONSTER

KING ME

Psychic Reaction

She beleives in extraterrestrials and ESP, but some cops feel Kelly Roberts's mind is a terrible thing to waste.