CO Adolph Coors III, 9 Feb 1960; Former Asst. DA recalls case; 14 Sep 2019

[imstilla.grandma]

Richard Hanes was an expectant father, recent law school grad and new face in the Colorado Springs office of District Attorney Leo Rector in September 1960, when his work day intersected with one of America’s most notorious unsolved cases.

District Attorney Leo Rector of Colorado Springs was in charge of the 4th Judicial District, which then comprised El Paso, Teller and Douglas counties, when the skull of missing brewing heir Adolph Coors III was discovered in September 1960.
Courtesy of Pikes Peak Library District
Seven months before, on Feb. 9, the 44-year-old heir to the Coors Brewing empire, Adolph Coors III, had disappeared on his way to work, leaving behind an abandoned, bloodstained car on a country road near his home in Morrison. Investigators pieced together clues and leads, including a typewritten ransom note and sightings of a suspicious bright yellow car, and soon had a prime suspect. The face of California prison escapee Joseph Corbett Jr. went up on FBI Wanted posters nationwide.

But over the spring and summer months, as Corbett’s trail grew cold, it became clear the crime committed most likely was murder and the case — which sparked the largest manhunt since the Lindbergh baby kidnapping — desperately needed a break.

That break came around lunchtime on Sept. 15, when the phone rang at the Springs’ office of Colorado’s Fourth Judicial District, which was made up of El Paso, Teller and Douglas counties.

Human remains had been found in a backwoods dump site near Sedalia, about 25 miles south of Denver and not far from where hikers had discovered discarded clothing, with a key ring bearing the brewing scion’s initials, earlier that week.
Former assistant DA recalls notorious 1960 murder case of Coors Brewing heir Adolph Coors III

 

[Betty P]

Richard Hanes was an expectant father, recent law school grad and new face in the Colorado Springs office of District Attorney Leo Rector in September 1960, when his work day intersected with one of America’s most notorious unsolved cases.
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District Attorney Leo Rector of Colorado Springs was in charge of the 4th Judicial District, which then comprised El Paso, Teller and Douglas counties, when the skull of missing brewing heir Adolph Coors III was discovered in September 1960.
Courtesy of Pikes Peak Library District
Seven months before, on Feb. 9, the 44-year-old heir to the Coors Brewing empire, Adolph Coors III, had disappeared on his way to work, leaving behind an abandoned, bloodstained car on a country road near his home in Morrison. Investigators pieced together clues and leads, including a typewritten ransom note and sightings of a suspicious bright yellow car, and soon had a prime suspect. The face of California prison escapee Joseph Corbett Jr. went up on FBI Wanted posters nationwide.

But over the spring and summer months, as Corbett’s trail grew cold, it became clear the crime committed most likely was murder and the case — which sparked the largest manhunt since the Lindbergh baby kidnapping — desperately needed a break.

That break came around lunchtime on Sept. 15, when the phone rang at the Springs’ office of Colorado’s Fourth Judicial District, which was made up of El Paso, Teller and Douglas counties.

Human remains had been found in a backwoods dump site near Sedalia, about 25 miles south of Denver and not far from where hikers had discovered discarded clothing, with a key ring bearing the brewing scion’s initials, earlier that week.
Former assistant DA recalls notorious 1960 murder case of Coors Brewing heir Adolph Coors III

A long ago friend (since deceased) served on this jury. They were sequestered throughout the trial. There wasn't much doubt among members about his guilt, IIRC, but they still deliberated carefully.

A good article with photos from that time

The Death of an Heir: Adolph Coors III and the Murder That Rocked an American Brewing Dynasty

 

[LadyL]

fascinating

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The remains were badly decomposed and had been scavenged by animals, but Rector and his team saw a jacket, with what looked to be bullet holes. They also saw a skull.

“Leo looked over the scene and thought, probably, this is Coors,” Hanes said.

The skull was placed in a box, which was handed over to Hanes.

“Leo said to me, ‘You take the skull down to the dentist in Castle Rock” where records were kept that could confirm the victim’s identity, said Hanes, who recalls carrying the box through the doctor’s patient-filled reception room that day.

“There was no other way to get in there than just walk by the people in the waiting room,” he said. “But I was the only one who knew what was in that box.”
https://www.outtherecolorado.com/the-murder-of-coors-brewing-heir-adolph-coors-iii/