CO CO - Unsolved Homicide, Darcie Anderson, 24, Her strangled body was found stuffed in the trunk of her car left in an alley 1900 Blk South Cherokee St.

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Truly_Mysterious

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Darcie Kay Anderson (Heacock), a.k.a. Darcy Anderson

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Case Details: Victim Details:
Agency Case #: 1986-197988Height: 5' 8"
Case Type: HomicideWeight: 130 lbs
Case Status: UnsolvedDate of Birth: 06/29/1962
Incident Date: 12/22/1986Date of Death: 12/22/1986
City: DenverAge: 24
County: DenverGender: Female
State: ColoradoRace: Caucasian
Agency: Denver Police DepartmentEyes: Blue
Judicial District: 2nd Judicial DistrictHair: Blond/Strawberry
Occupation: Baker, Receptionist

About this Case:

On December 17th, when single mother Darcie failed to show up to her early morning Bakery Job, her boss then went to her home to investigate. She found Darcie's young son Tony alone and unharmed in his house. He had put on socks and jeans. He told the woman who found him that his mommy never left him. Darcie was then reported as missing. She was last seen at her home in Castle Rock, Colorado.

24-year-old Darcie worked two jobs. She would wake up early every morning, six days a week, from 2 am to 5 am at the Castle Rock Country Bakery where she decorated cakes and made doughnuts and from 8 am to 5 pm as a receptionist at a Glendale Real Estate Company.

On December 22nd, Darcie's body was found by Darrell Criddelbaugh, then a delivery man for General Welding Repair Service at 1965 South Bannock Street. He noticed a yellow 1970 Oldsmobile parked in a muddy alley near the business and contacted the police. The car seemed to match the description of one owned by a woman who had been missing from Castle Rock for several days. The police then ran the license plate, the number EJA-680 matched that of Darcie Anderson. Police drove to the scene located within a muddy alley between the 1900 Block of South Cherokee Street and South Bannock Street next to West Jewell Avenue, Denver. They opened the trunk and they found Anderson’s body stuffed inside. Her body draped over a toy she had purchased for her son three days before Christmas in 1986. She was wearing a black jogging suit but no shoes. Her right arm was lying over a box containing a Sesame Street Big Bird Globe. Police found spots of blood inside and out of the car. The windows of the car were frosted over, an indication that it had been sitting there for some time.
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Autopsy:

The autopsy report revealed that Darcie had been strangled to death. Bruises indicated that she had been beaten, but no indication was found at the time that she had been sexually assaulted.
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Victims Background:

Darcie's Dad, Max Heacock Said "She liked sewing. She enjoyed making things with her hands. He still has some of her embroidery that he treasures. Darcie also loved the outdoors, especially horseback riding."
She married Michael Anderson and they lived in Castle Rock. They had a son, Tony, with whom Darcie was very involved. The couple was divorced in 1983.
Darcie worked at a Bakery, so she arose early each morning to go to work. Her father, Max Heacock, has said her former boyfriends had tempers. She had dated a man from Wyoming but had broken up with him because he was jealous and exhibited a bad temper. More recently, Darcie dated a state trooper assigned to the Governor’s mansion. She told her dad he also had a temper, but she could handle it.
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Police Reports:

Detectives ruled out two boyfriends and her ex-husband Michael Anderson as suspects.

On the morning she disappeared she left her purse in her house. Police had speculated that she was abducted in her garage. She may have been warming her car up. She would put her son in a sleeping bag and carry him into the bakery where he would sleep while she worked.

An article, written in 1988, two years after the murder, quoted a former Denver sergeant as saying that detectives had strong evidence that Anderson was kidnapped by a man who intended to hold her for a $80,000 ransom, which the suspect was to seek from her father.

A witness had come forward and said he was planning to kidnap Anderson and her son a week before Christmas in 1986, believing that the grandfather would want to see his daughter and grandson home by Christmas.

But prosecutors determined there was not enough evidence at the time to file charges. The suspect had an alibi. But the detective thought it was just too much of a coincidence.

No arrests were ever made.
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Press coverage at the time:

The case, which was widely reported, triggered an outpouring of concern by people who donated gifts to the child including a Teddy Bear that the boy named after his mother.

Several newspaper articles appeared in The Denver Post while people searched for Darcie and her car. People were searching for her body in private planes. More than 300 women attended a karate self-defence seminar in Castle Rock.


LINKS: Colorado.gov Cold Case File , Denvergov.org Cold Case PDF , Unresolvedhomicides.org , Cohere.rssing.com Article , Ancestry.com , Billiongraves.com
 
Last edited:
Do we know what all was sent in for DNA testing if anything?
I made an inquiry with Audrey Simkins with Colorado Department of Public Safety regarding if DNA had been tested against other databases. Did not get an answer on that specifically. I asked if there was a particular agent or detective that may be working this cold case in hopes of this being followed up on or maybe pushed to the front of the line. This is my first time trying to investigate something like this. Does anyone have any pointers or resources?
Thanks in advance!
 

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