Tag

cold case

Enrollment open for Fall 2023 Citizen’s Academy

The 18^th Judicial District Attorney’s Office is hosting a free, seven-week Citizen’s Academy for community members in Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln Counties.

WHO: Office of the 18^th Judicial District Attorney

WHEN: Every Thursday from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. from September 14 – October 26, 2023

WHERE: 6450 S. Revere Parkway

Centennial, CO 80111

DEADLINE TO APPLY: Friday, August 25, 2023

This in-person course offers residents a detailed overview of our criminal justice system. Our prosecutors will provide an in-depth look at what happens with a criminal case between the time of arrest and post-conviction. Attendees will also have the option to participate in a mock trial following the classroom portion of the course.

The following specialized units will be featured in our upcoming academy class:

– Domestic Violence Unit -Economic Crime Unit (ECU)

-Cold Case Unit -Investigations Team

-Special Victim’s Unit (SVU) -Juvenile Prosecution

-Organized Crime Unit (OCU) -Victim’s Compensation

“I’m proud to deliver a Citizen’s Academy that gives participants the opportunity to witness how our justice system works,” District Attorney John Kellner said. “Instead of watching a verdict on television, attendees will get a behind-the-scenes look into how we investigate and prosecute cases.”

Our Fall 2023 Citizen’s Academy application can be found here.

Light snacks and refreshments will be served during each session.

If you have questions about enrollment or course schedule, please contact James Sorrells, Director of Consumer Fraud Protection at 720-874-8547.

Arrest warrant issued in 2007 double-homicide cold case in Aurora

This week, an arrest warrant was issued for Alejandro Garcia-Loya, DOB 9-9-87, for a double-homicide case that occurred more than a decade ago in Aurora.

Garcia-Loya is charged with the following offenses:

First-Degree Murder After Deliberation (2 Counts)

On July 16, 2007, officers with the Aurora Police Department were dispatched to a welfare check call at an apartment in the 200 block of S. Jasper Circle. Family of Ignacio Zamudio-Estrada called police to share concerns that they had not heard from Ignacio in several days and that multiple phone calls went unanswered.

A responding officer arrived at the complex and opened an unlocked sliding back door. The officer immediately smelled an odor consistent with a decomposing body. Upon entry, officers found two deceased victims with severe trauma to their heads. Both were pronounced dead on-scene.

The victims were identified as:

Juan Ayala-Medina

Ignacio Zamudio-Estrada

Detectives with the Aurora Police Department searched the apartment and found a utility bill in the name of Alejandro Garcia-Loya, who was not related to either of the victims but resided in the apartment. Detectives also found a social security card with the name “Alejandro Garcia,” but discovered that social security card was fraudulent because the social security number on the card did not match the physical name.

Shortly after the murders, detectives sent several pieces of evidence from the apartment to CBI for examination. A spoon and a Mountain Dew can were collected from Alejandro’s room and later DNA tested. The results show the DNA collected from the items were from a single contributor. Fingerprints were also collected from Alejandro’s bedroom without any successful matches. In that same bedroom, a Walmart receipt was found showing a purchase of the Mountain Dew bottle and a youth baseball bat shortly before the crime took place. The youth baseball bat was not recovered.

Several years later, the Department of Homeland Security Latent Print Unit got a “hit” on the latent prints submitted in 2007. The fingerprints in the DHS system for Alejandro Garcia-Loya matched the five latent prints collected from the homicide scene.

On April 11, 2023, Aurora Police Detective Jason McDonald completed a review of this case and concluded the third roommate who fled to Mexico after killing Ignacio Zamudio-Estrada and Juan Ayala-Medina is Alejandro Garcia-Loya.

“The Aurora Police Department, along with the Major Crime Homicide Unit, is committed to finding justice for our victims and their families. Just because a case goes cold, does not mean it is forgotten,” said Major Crime Homicide Unit Sgt. Chris Cruser. “Our detectives are always looking for new leads, evidence and information to solve cases. This is just one example of their efforts and dedication.”

At this point in time, the defendant has not yet been apprehended. Anyone with information about his whereabouts can call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.

“As time passes, cases can become tougher to solve,” Deputy District Attorney Grant Grosgebauer said. “No matter how much time passes, our Cold Case Unit is solely focused on holding offenders accountable and ensuring victims get justice.”

Arrest warrant issued in 2006 cold case homicide in Aurora

A felony arrest warrant was issued Oct. 10 for Salvador Hernandez-Morales, 45, in connection to the 2006 murder of Francisca Perea-Dominguez.

On July 1, 2006, concerned friends went to Perea-Dominguez’ apartment to check on her and found the front door unlocked. Upon entry, they discovered Perea-Dominguez on the floor in her bedroom. The preliminary investigation revealed she had been stabbed once in the stomach and sexually assaulted.

Perea-Dominguez’ roommate, Salvador Hernandez-Morales was a person of interest in the homicide case. Investigators discovered he had not shown up to work after the murder and likely left the United States.

Although investigators have not been able to locate Hernandez-Morales for an interview, crime scene evidence, including DNA, was collected and preserved. The case had gone cold until recently, when additional DNA testing was performed. A toothbrush found in Perea-Dominguez’ bathroom was sent off for analysis. DNA from that toothbrush ultimately matched DNA found in a semen sample collected from the victim.

“This is a case that was solved due to the hard work, dedication and persistence of the Cold Case Unit at the Aurora Police Department along with help from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI),” Senior Chief Deputy DA Chris Wilcox said.

Below is a list of charges against Hernandez-Morales:

-1^st Degree Murder after Deliberation

-1^st Degree Murder

-Sexual Assault

“This is an example of the commitment and tenacity of this organization to go after people who commit horrific crimes no matter how long it takes,” Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said. “We look forward to the day we can hold this suspect accountable.”

Hernandez-Morales is believed to be living in Mexico. If you have any information regarding this case or his whereabouts, you can contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.

“We expect that this defendant is going to have to be extradited,” Wilcox said. “Over the next several months, we’re going to be working on that process.”

You can view our join-press conference with APD announcing the arrest warrant for Hernandez-Morales by visiting our official Facebook page: Facebook.com/coda18

“This defendant has evaded justice for too long,” District Attorney John Kellner said. “DNA analysis is making it harder for suspects who simply cannot outsmart science and technology. We look forward to the day when we can say justice has been served for the victim and her family.”

At this time, the felony arrest warrant remains active for Hernandez-Morales. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

Murderer of Aurora’s Bennett family sentenced to life in prison

It took 37 years, but on Tuesday, the families of Bruce and Debra Bennett saw justice served.

Alex Christopher Ewing

Arapahoe County District Judge Darren Vahle sentenced Alex Christopher Ewing, 61, for killing the couple and their 7-year-old daughter in 1984. Vahle imposed life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years for each of the three murders, to be served consecutive to Ewing’s prison term in Nevada and to each other.

“I have seen all kinds of evil and wickedness … nothing compares to the level of depravity that your actions show in this case,” Vahle told Ewing. “There is no punishment that is too harsh for you … and I will do everything in my power to make sure you never draw a free breath ever again.”

Bruce was 27 years old and Debra was 26 in 1984. They had recently purchased a new home in Aurora for their young family, consisting of Melissa and a younger sister who was 3 years old.

On the night of Jan. 15, a stranger broke into their home and viciously assaulted and attacked the family. Only the youngest daughter survived, with life-threatening injuries.

For years the case was cold, until in 2018 a DNA profile from semen the killer left at the scene was matched to Ewing. He was brought to Colorado to face trial for the deaths of the Bennett family.

Ewing “massacred a family but left a key to his identity,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Garrik Storgaard told the jury. “There is no innocent explanation for how you explain all of the evidence.”

The jury agreed, and on Aug. 6, 2021, they found Ewing guilty of murder in the three deaths.

During sentencing Aug. 17, members of the Bennett and Large families submitted impact statements and came to the courtroom. A handful spoke in court, including the surviving daughter.

“I didn’t just lose my parents and my sister,” she said. “I lost the person who I was supposed to be.”

District Attorney John Kellner filed the murder charges against Ewing when he headed up the Cold Case Unit in the office. He stayed on the prosecution team with Storgaard and Senior Deputy District Attorney Megan Brewer.

“This case impacted not just the victims, but it also terrorized an entire community,” he said. “A life sentence feels too light, but that is the most the justice system can offer. Thankfully, this community, these families and everyone impacted by the horrific crimes now knows this defendant will never hurt anyone ever again.”

Murderer sentenced in 40-year-old Douglas County cold case

It took 40 years, but those who knew Helene Pruszynski say they feel a measure of justice now that her murderer has been sentenced to prison.

James Curtis Clanton

On July 1, Douglas County District Court Judge Theresa Slade sentenced James Curtis Clanton, 63, to life in prison. Due to laws governing life sentences when this crime was committed, the defendant is eligible for parole after serving 20 years of his sentence.

More than 80 people participated in the Webex sentencing hearing.

Clanton pleaded guilty to murdering Pruszynski on Jan. 16, 1980, when she was an intern at a radio station in Denver. Her body was found in a vacant Douglas County field in what is now Highlands Ranch. She was 21 years old.

“Helene was the baby of my family,” her sister told the court during the hearing. “She was the sunshine of our family. … I cannot find the words to express our anguish – every fiber of our family unit was destroyed, and we would never be the same.”

Friends from Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School and Wheaton College in Pruszynski’s home state of Massachusetts also spoke of how their lives were touched by Helene and her murder.

“When you were in the company of Helene, you knew that the world was good,” one told the court. “That was taken away from all of us with this man’s despicable acts.”

Chief Deputy District Attorney Chris Wilcox acknowledged that Clanton had quickly confessed when confronted by investigators, but that didn’t lessen the severity of the crime, he told the judge.

Clanton “kept telling her he would let her go,” Wilcox said in his sentencing argument. But “he stabbed her 9 separate times. He had a chance for this to be less horrible than it was, but he kept making it worse.”

It took 40 years of persistence by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and advances in technology to identity a suspect in Prusynski’s murder.

Investigators with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office utilized forensic genealogy and tracked Clanton, who had legally changed his name in the decades since the murder, to Lake Butler, Fla. They worked closely with the members of the Union County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and other law enforcement partners, including the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Cold Case Unit of Chief Deputy District Attorney John Kellner and Wilcox. The partners worked hand-in-hand to bring Clanton to Colorado in December 2019 to face the charges he had evaded for decades.

Clanton pleaded guilty Feb, 21, 2020, to one count of first-degree murder after deliberation. This is a Class 1 felony that carries a sentence of life imprisonment in the Department of Corrections.

Judge Slade presided over the sentencing hearing.

“This was a very long-lived case but short-lived in the courts,” she said. “It took 40 years to get to this place. You have had the benefit of a life, a family – things you took away from Helene.”

Grand jury indicts man for murder in 2016 Littleton case

The Arapahoe County Grand Jury has indicted Jeffrey Scott Beier for the murder of Charlene Voight, among other charges.

Beier, 46, is in custody in Russia.

“This is the reason I recruited John Kellner to lead the Cold Case Unit I stood up when I was first elected,” said District Attorney George Brauchler. “These cases present special challenges, but they are no less important to families, law enforcement and this office. Nobody should be able to walk away from murder. I will do everything in my power to bring a perpetrator to justice. I am pleased that in the death of Charlene Voight, there is now a process in place to accomplish that.”

On July 8, 2016, Voight’s family reported to Littleton Police that she was missing. Voight, who was 36 at the time of her death, was last seen by witnesses the night of June 30, 2016.

The investigation identified Beier as a suspect. He was in a relationship with Voight and she was living with him at the time of her disappearance. The grand jury issued its indictment Aug. 9. 2019. The body of Charlene Voight has not been located.

“I am proud to be able to tell the family of Miss Voight that the men and women of my department worked for four years to see this day,” said Littleton Police Chief Doug Stephens. “My heart goes out to them, knowing that they are mourning the loss of their sister and daughter. I hope this arrest is a step that will help them move toward healing.”

Beier is charged with one count of first-degree murder after deliberation; one count of first-degree felony murder; one count of sexual assault; two counts of attempt to influence a public servant; two counts of tampering with evidence; one count of aggravated animal cruelty; and one count of third-degree assault.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Beier faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole under Colorado law.

It is unclear when Beier will be returned to Colorado to face the charges against him; no court dates will be scheduled until he is physically present in the Arapahoe County Detention Center.

Criminal charges are merely a formal accusation that an individual has committed a crime. A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Inmate death ends prosecution in Rebecca Bartee murder case

The death Saturday of Robert Williams, 71, ends the prosecution of the man investigators believe murdered Rebecca Bartee, a 41-year-old employee of the District Attorney’s Office of the 18th Judicial District.

Robert Williams

“A murdered prosecutor. An untimely, but ultimately brave witness. A DNA match. The only thing missing is justice,” said District Attorney George Brauchler. “From the moment we identified Williams’ DNA in the tub of our murdered colleague, our office and ACSO investigators set about to hold him accountable for his inexplicable, cold-blooded murder and attempt to cover it up. We sought justice for Rebecca Bartee. The Bartee family and our community were denied that justice.

“No murderer should escape responsibility for evil conduct. This community and our office can rest assured that the murder of their public servant Deputy DA Rebecca Bartee has been solved. Whatever justice Williams didn’t receive here, he surely will receive now.”

On June 7, 1999, District Attorney employees contacted the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office when Bartee did not report for work.

An investigator responded to her home in the Copper Terrace Apartments on South Dayton Street, where he found her dead in her bathtub. The coroner classified her death as a homicide, caused by drowning and possibly strangulation.

Bartee’s apartment did not show signs of forced entry or robbery. There were no rugs or towels on the racks in the bathroom – they were found wet in the washing machine.

Technicians collected evidence, including fingerprints and hairs. Detective interviewed neighbors and family. People were ruled out as suspects; no one was identified. The case grew cold.

In February 2017 a local news reporter contacted the Sheriff’s Office to say he had been approached by a man who said he had information about an old murder.

Investigators contacted the man, who said he believed his acquaintance, Robert Williams, had strangled a young woman at the Copper Terrace Apartments years before.

The man related that he had seen Williams accosting the woman in the hall of the apartments one day. The man intervened, and the woman left. Williams also had problems with other women in the complex, the man said. Williams made unwelcome advances and looked in people’s windows.

The man knew that Williams had served time in prison in California.

The day the woman’s body was found, the man told investigators, Williams acted strangely.
Investigators reported that the man told them “I am not going to do die not letting that girl’s family know what happened.”

Investigators were able to corroborate much of what the man had told them, including that Williams was convicted in Los Angeles of the 1983 strangulation murder of his estranged girlfriend.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation had been able to extract a DNA profile from one of the hairs found in Bartee’s bathtub, and that evidence was reexamined in light of new information pointing to Williams. Ultimately, CBI analysts determined that the DNA on the hair found in Bartee’s bathtub matched Williams.

Williams was arrested Aug. 29, 2017. He appeared in Arapahoe District Court on Aug. 31, 2017, and was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Rebecca Bartee.

“It is tragic that after 18 years of waiting for an arrest in this case, the family and friends of Ms. Bartee will not have the opportunity to see the man charged with her murder stand trial and be held accountable for this brutal crime,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney Chris Wilcox, who prosecuted the case with Chief Deputy District Attorney John Kellner. Both attorneys work in the District Attorney’s Cold Case Unit.