GUILTY CO - Bruce, 27, Debra, 26, & Melissa Bennett, 7, murdered, Aurora, 16 Jan 1984 *inmate arrest 2019*

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LR1 said:
I'm thinking local as in having spent a substantial amount of time in the area. Not necessarily born and raised there but not a transient type either.

Would you happen to know the street names where the Dixon and Jim H crimes happened? From what I gather they're in the general area of the Bennett home, somewhere along Alameda and the highline canal area. Google earths old imagery only goes back to 93 but looking at that there was an open area directly behind the Bennetts and to the east. The subdivision itself looks tightly packed and I suspect it was like that in the early 80's but cant I can't be sure. I'm trying to determine or at least make a guess as to the perp being on foot or otherwise in these Aurora cases.
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Sorry for the delay - No I don't know the streets those happened on - I will try and find them via microfiche at the library if they are still available, and report back as soon as I'm able!
 
http://www.9news.com/news/crime/colorado-cold-cases-the-bennett-family-murders/400296946

Detectives were hoping someone would know who this person is or remember seeing someone that night but since the composite has been released, every tip has come up empty.

“We’ve probably had, I don’t know, 40 or 50 calls on that,” Conner said. “We’ve eliminated suspects through obtaining their DNA.”

He says this case is like chasing a ghost.

“As least that’s what I refer to it as. My personal opinion is based upon the evidence and a whole bunch of things that come into play that the guy is probably deceased,” Conner said.
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UGH, I mean if he's dead, at least that means he can't hurt anyone else, but not ever knowing who he is/was kinda sucks. Especially for the families, and who knows how many other people he hurt... I choose to keep hope alive that he will someday be caught. I REALLY think having this story profiled on a national TV program, or hell Investigation Discovery has it's own NETWORK STATION now, surely it could be profiled on there!?!?! Having it broadcast nation wide would spark some sort of memory I feel. I honestly don't know why it's never been on one of those type of "Unsolved Mysteries" shows EVER!?!?! At the time it was the biggest mass murder in Colorado...

Anyway - thank you for the post, OkieGranny!
 
https://www.cpr.org/news/story/more...ld-case-detective-looks-for-big-break-in-case
[h=1]Thirty-Plus Years After Notorious Murders, Aurora Cold Case Detective Looks For A Big Break[/h]
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By Anthony Cotton Aug 24, 2017
attachment.php

Aurora police issued a composite of what the suspect in a 1984 homicide case may have looked like then and now
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The grisly murder of an Aurora family in 1984 was part of the inspiration for a recently released novel by Matthew Sullivan. In researching the book, Sullivan reached out to Detective Steve Conner of the Aurora Police Department. Conner, a 37-year veteran of the department, is the only officer working cold cases like the one Sullivan based his story on.
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Wondering if this unhinged guy was looking around for " deserving " victims and enraged/jealous at the sights and sounds of a happy family, birthday gathering - crept into the house unnoticed and hid?
Same scenario, but instead of hiding, returned later to say he was picking up something somebody left behind at the party.
speculation, imo.
 
Aurora cold case investigators seek genealogy DNA link to solve notorious hammer murdersSimilar efforts broke Golden State Killer case
https://www.thedenverchannel.com/ne...gy-dna-link-to-solve-notorious-hammer-murders

"AURORA, Colo. -- Weeks after cold case investigators used DNA sent to popular genealogy websites to catch the notorious suspected Golden State Killer in California, a detective in Aurora is hoping for the same kind of break to find the killer behind a string of violent hammer attacks that have been unsolved for more than 30 years.

Detective Steve Conner confirms he is in the process of attempting a similar method*used by the Golden State Killer investigators to use genealogy DNA databases to locate family members of the hammer-wielding murderer who terrorized the Denver metro for a 10-day period in 1984."
 
"The killer left semen behind at two of the three crime scenes and Aurora cold case investigator Steve Conner believes that DNA profile will ultimately lead police to the murderer’s identity.*

“I think there's probably a 75 percent chance I will solve it personally. But there's a 100 percent chance it will be solved eventually,” Detective Conner said."

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/ne...gy-dna-link-to-solve-notorious-hammer-murders
 
"Last year Conner commissioned a sketch created by DNA profilers to show what the killer may have looked like. He also worked with a forensic genealogist who determined a possible last name for the murderer: Ewing. But those clues have not led to any breaks in the case.

The name is not tied to a specific family tree, Conner told Contact7 investigative reporter Jace Larson.

Now, Detective Conner has worked with two experts from different companies who have access to public genealogy DNA databases in hopes of finding the killer’s relatives and following a trail to the killer’s doorstep."


Aurora cold case investigators seek genealogy DNA link to solve notorious hammer murders
Similar efforts broke Golden State Killer case
https://www.thedenverchannel.com/ne...gy-dna-link-to-solve-notorious-hammer-murders
 
Denver post now chiming in, it sounds like they have him.
Investigation into 1984 serial murders with hammer in Aurora and Lakewood reaches critical stage, police say

On Tuesday morning, The Denver Post received a tip that a DNA match had recently been made between the suspect in the Lakewood and Aurora killings and a prison inmate in Nevada, eligible for parole in 2021.

The alleged suspect in the case has been convicted of previous crimes, including attempted murder, use of a deadly weapon, burglary and aggravated escape.

A joint news conference about the case involving Aurora and Lakewood police and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation is planned for Friday.
 
LR1 said:
Denver post now chiming in, it sounds like they have him.
Investigation into 1984 serial murders with hammer in Aurora and Lakewood reaches critical stage, police say

On Tuesday morning, The Denver Post received a tip that a DNA match had recently been made between the suspect in the Lakewood and Aurora killings and a prison inmate in Nevada, eligible for parole in 2021.

The alleged suspect in the case has been convicted of previous crimes, including attempted murder, use of a deadly weapon, burglary and aggravated escape.

A joint news conference about the case involving Aurora and Lakewood police and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation is planned for Friday.
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So Colorado doesn't take DNA of people convicted of violent crimes? Or was that how they caught him?
 
wary said:
So Colorado doesn't take DNA of people convicted of violent crimes? Or was that how they caught him?
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Good question I was wondering about that myself. I suspect they do require their violent offenders to give it up like most other states. I've read where CO is one of about a dozen states that uses the familial testing so they're progressive in that sense. We don't know when he was convicted but it must have been some time ago with those charges. I reckon they've been trying the genealogy method for some time so I think it could go either way. Might have been recently added to the database and this was a cold hit. One statement urged caution with anything that doesn't come from LE but with the scheduled presser surely something positive has happened.
 
LR1 said:
Good question I was wondering about that myself. I suspect they do require their violent offenders to give it up like most other states. I've read where CO is one of about a dozen states that uses the familial testing so they're progressive in that sense. We don't know when he was convicted but it must have been some time ago with those charges. I reckon they've been trying the genealogy method for some time so I think it could go either way. Might have been recently added to the database and this was a cold hit. One statement urged caution with anything that doesn't come from LE but with the scheduled presser surely something positive has happened.
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This is the Golden Age of cold-case solving! Second Golden Age--the first one came with the first DNA identifications.
 
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