Example: Last year on this date, the archive's total was 49. This year, it's 77 -- so many that in order to include interactive maps, videos or photos from each, we had to break the list into two sections. See part two below, and click to access part one.
A couple of things to note at the outset. First of all, the big jump in the total isn't solely attributable to the Aurora theater shooting, in which twelve people died (including promising sports reporter Jessica Ghawi, seen above), or the massacre at Fero's Bar and Grill, where five people lost their lives. Subtract those numbers and the sum is still eleven higher than in year three.
Also worthy of note: The list starts at 79 because somewhere along the way, the count got confused; there's no 34 or 37. It's possible that something originally thought to have been a murder turned out to be something else and the posts in question were given new, headline-free numbers. But it's just as likely that we simply lost track amid the shocking number of killings -- another indication of how tough the past twelve months have been.
Here's part two of the list, complete with links to our original coverage.
Number 38: "Homicide investigation over dead man found on Jewell Avenue in Aurora (38)."
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Number 37: ?
Number 36: "Tisihia Allen charged with stabbing murder of Darius Norris in Aurora (36)."
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Number 35: "Matthew Gianopoulos ID'd as victim in Green Valley Ranch homicide (35)."
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Number 34: ?
Number 33: "German Medina, knife lover, still missing but charged with murder of Bertha Garcia (33)."
Number 32: "Zachary Sare murdered near home on 24th birthday (32)."Continue for more of our post "77 homicides in year four of Mile High Murder: See where they happened."