Cold Cases in Colorado

ColdCaseIndex documents 18 cold cases in Colorado, spanning 1984–2024. 5 of these cases remain fully unsolved. Each case page includes documented details, status, and information on how to submit a tip.

18 Documented Cases
5 Still Unsolved
1984–2024 Year Range
3 Case Types

By Type

16 Homicides 1 Multiple Homicide 1 Abduction

By Status

7 Solved 5 Unsolved 4 Conviction 1 Partially Solved 1 Arrest Made

All Colorado Cases

Unsolved 2024

JonBenét Ramsey (DNA testing)

In 2024, Colorado authorities approved advanced DNA testing in the JonBenét Ramsey case using new forensic technology. The testing of touch DNA evidence could potentially identify the unknown male profile.

Boulder Homicide Age 6
Unsolved 2021

Barry Morphew (arrest detail)

Barry Morphew was arrested for the murder of his wife Suzanne in 2021. He also illegally cast her ballot for Trump. Murder charges were dropped in 2022 but he was convicted of the ballot fraud.

Poncha Springs Homicide Age 53
Solved 2020

Gannon Stauch

Eleven-year-old Gannon Stauch was murdered by his stepmother Letecia Stauch in Colorado Springs. She transported his body to Florida. She was found guilty but not guilty by reason of insanity.

Colorado Springs Homicide Age 11
Solved 2020

Gannon Stauch (Letecia trial)

Letecia Stauch murdered her 11-year-old stepson Gannon in Colorado Springs and transported his body to Florida. She was found guilty but not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a state institution.

Colorado Springs Homicide Age 11
Arrest Made 2020

Suzanne Morphew

Suzanne Morphew disappeared on Mother's Day in Chaffee County, Colorado. Her husband Barry Morphew was arrested in 2021 and charged with murder. Charges were dismissed in 2022 due to prosecutorial misconduct. Barry was r

Chaffee County Homicide Age 49
Solved 2020

Suzanne Morphew (Barry trial)

Barry Morphew was initially charged with the murder of his wife Suzanne, but charges were dropped in 2022 due to lost evidence. Suzanne's remains were found in 2023 and new charges were filed.

Salida Homicide Age 49
Solved 2018

Kelsey Berreth

Pilot and flight instructor Kelsey Berreth was murdered on Thanksgiving Day by her fiancé Patrick Frazee in Woodland Park, Colorado. He burned her body. Frazee was sentenced to life.

Woodland Park Homicide Age 29
Conviction 2018

Shanann Watts & Family

Shanann Watts and her two young daughters Bella and Celeste were murdered by her husband Chris Watts in Frederick, Colorado. He also killed their unborn son. Chris Watts confessed and pleaded guilty to avoid the death pe

Frederick Multiple Homicide Age 34
Solved 2018

Shanann, Bella & Celeste Watts

Chris Watts murdered his pregnant wife Shanann and their daughters Bella (4) and Celeste (3) in Frederick, Colorado. He disposed of their bodies at his work site. He was sentenced to life.

Frederick Homicide
Conviction 2013

Kelsie Schelling

Kelsie Schelling, a 21-year-old woman who was eight weeks pregnant, vanished in 2013 after driving from Denver to Pueblo, Colorado, to meet her boyfriend, Donthe Lucas. Her body was never found, but Lucas was convicted o

Pueblo Homicide Age 21
Solved 2012

Dylan Redwine

Thirteen-year-old Dylan Redwine disappeared during a court-ordered visit with his father Mark in Bayfield, Colorado. Mark Redwine was convicted of his murder in 2021.

Bayfield Homicide Age 13
Solved 2012

Dylan Redwine (Mark Redwine trial)

Thirteen-year-old Dylan Redwine was murdered during a court-ordered visit with his father Mark near Durango, Colorado. Mark was convicted in 2021 after Dylan's remains were found.

Durango Homicide Age 13
Conviction 2012

Jessica Ridgeway

Ten-year-old Jessica Ridgeway was abducted while walking to school in Westminster, Colorado. Her remains were found in pieces over several days. Austin Sigg, a 17-year-old, confessed to her murder and was sentenced to li

Westminster Homicide Age 10
Unsolved 2004

Oakey 'Al' Kite

Aurora, Colorado engineer Oakey Kite was tortured and murdered in his home by someone posing as a prospective tenant. DNA from the scene has never been matched. The killer used a fake identity and may be a serial offende

Aurora Homicide Age 53
Unsolved 1996

JonBenét Ramsey

Six-year-old beauty pageant winner found dead in the basement of her family's home on the morning after Christmas. A ransom note demanding $118,000 was found, but JonBenét had never left the house. She had been struck on

Boulder Homicide Age 6
Partially Solved 1987

Peggy Hettrick

Peggy Hettrick was found mutilated in a field in Fort Collins. Tim Masters was wrongfully convicted in 1999 and served nine years before his conviction was vacated in 2008 using new DNA and forensic evidence. The actual

Fort Collins Homicide Age 37
Unsolved 1986

Christopher Enoch Abeyta

Seven-month-old Christopher Abeyta was taken from his crib in his family's Colorado Springs home overnight in July 1986. Despite an open garage-door-opener clue, a suspected former girlfriend of his father, and decades o

Colorado Springs Abduction Age 0
Conviction 1984

Jonelle Matthews

Jonelle Matthews, a 12-year-old girl, vanished from her Greeley, Colorado home in December 1984 after a Christmas choir concert. Her remains were found in 2019, and former neighbor Steve Pankey was convicted of felony mu

Greeley Homicide Age 12