Ewing also faces murder charges in the Jan. 10, 1984, rape and murder of Patricia Louise Smith in Lakewood. The court bemoaned the existence of self-proclaimed experts without credentials trying to enter the case by accusing Patsy without scientific basis. [35][53][c], Lou Smit was a detective who came out of retirement in early 1997 to assist the Boulder County District Attorney's office with the case. The ransom note was unusually long. [75] In a 2003 defamation lawsuit related to the case (Wolf v. Ramsey), involving the Ramseys publicly identifying an early suspect in the case, Judge Julie E. Carnes wrote: Lou Smit, a detective in the case, assessed the evidence and concluded that an intruder had committed the crime. The hit came after Nevada prison officials started obtaining DNA from inmates and adding it to the FBIs national database, known as CODIS. The two would often get into trouble together, and Jesperson claimed he was often punished many times for things Martin had done and shifted the blame. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Keith Hunter Jesperson (born April 6, 1955) is a Canadian-American serial killer who murdered at least eight women in the United States during the early 1990s. Part of the bristle end of the paintbrush was found in a tub containing Patsy's art supplies, but the bottom third of it was never found despite extensive searching of the house by the police in subsequent days. [19] He pleaded guilty and was convicted of Bennett's murder on November 2, 1995, after formally confessing to police in September. When that did not create the attention he desired, he wrote letters to media outlets and police departments confessing to his murders, starting with a six-page letter to The Oregonian in which he revealed the details of his killings. [12] Inside the Vista House, Pavlinac stated she held a rope around Bennett's neck while Sosnovske raped her, eventually strangling her to death. Defense attorneys challenged the way police handled, stored, and tested evidence and attacked the failure to look for touch DNA on a number of items the killer is believed to have handled, including a butcher knife used in the attack. She too survived the attack, although she was first in a coma for some time. Bruce, his wife Debra and 7-year-old Melissa were found dead. This article in the Denver post describes how after he murdered the Bennetts he went on to enter the house of a man in Kingman, Arizona and attempted to bludgeon the man to death with a 20lb rock. In the documentary, DNA and forensic scientist expert Lawrence Kobilinsky stated that "an unidentified male committed this crime".
District Attorney John Kellner and Connie Bennett talk with reporters after Alex Christopher Ewing was found guilty of murdering her son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter in 1984. He went on to continually beat the mans wife as she attempted to shield her husband from the blows of an ax handle while simultaneously on the phone to 911. They sought $250 million in compensatory damages and $500 million in punitive damages. "We didn't have much hope then, but science and progress keeps marching on and ultimately we found this guy. Jesperson's father denied being an abusive parent; however, while investigating for his book on the killer, author Jack Olsen was able to confirm much of the claimed abuse with other family members. [64] JonBent's brother Burke Ramsey later said, "We didn't get spanked, nothing of the sort, nothing close, nothing near laying a finger on us, let alone killing your child. Patricia Louise Smith in an undated family photo. Ewing is scheduled to go on trial in Smiths murder in October in Jefferson County. [1][2] Her death was ruled a homicide. [29][30] In September 2018, podcast network HowStuffWorks began releasing a show called Happy Face[31] featuring interviews with Melissa about her childhood and her father.
Alex Ewing: The Colorado Hammer Killer | by DeLani R. Bartlette | Medium Six days before the deadly Bennett home invasion, on January 10, 1984, a 50-year-old grandmother of two, Patricia Smith, was sexually assaulted and killed in her Lakewood townhome sometime in the afternoon.
JonBent Ramsey was born on August 6, 1990, in Atlanta, Georgia, the younger of two children of Patricia "Patsy" Ramsey (19562006)[10] and John Bennett Ramsey (born 1943). On night of January 16th, 1984 a gruesome discovery was made at a house on 16300 East Center Drive, Aurora, Colorado. Contact 9NEWS reporter Kevin Vaughan with tips about this or any story:kevin.vaughan@9news.comor 303-871-1862. Dixon also survived. In 2010, DNA officially tied The Bennett family murder and the murder of Patricia Smithtogether. Although he was not directly involved with the case, he said he was told not to voice opposition to the theory because he might lose his job. Ewing is scheduled to go on trial in that case in October something the jurors were not told. Alexander Ewings list of seemingly endless violent crimes are described throughout the many articles published about him since he has been identified as the man behind the murder of the Bennett family. She left her hometown and moved to Arizona, at one point spending half a year homeless, living under a bridge. [8][16] This led Phil Stanford, the journalist working the story for The Oregonian, to dub Jesperson "The Happy Face Killer". Media reports questioned how the police handled the investigation. Devin Booker sulked. JonBent Ramsey photographed by Randy Simons on June 5, 2021. $100,000 will be in $100 bills and the remaining $18,000 in $20 bills. [8] She also stated that before disposing of Bennett's body, Sosnovske cut a piece of fabric from her jeans to keep as a souvenir. There is no forensic evidence to show that this is a stranger murder. [105][106], On December 28, 2016, Burke Ramsey's lawyers filed an additional civil lawsuit that accused CBS, the production company Critical Content LLC, and seven experts and consultants of defamation of character. [26][27] The note and a practice draft were written with a pen and notepad from the Ramsey home. At age 35, standing 6feet 7inches (2.01m) and weighing approximately 255 pounds (116kg),[9] Jesperson began working toward the goal of joining the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), but an injury suffered while training ended this endeavor. A massive investigation began but produced no leads in solving the case. Jesperson claims that her name was Susanne. [35] Meanwhile, friends, victim advocates, and the Ramsey family's minister arrived at the home to show support. An Arapahoe County jury on Friday found Alex Ewing guilty of murder in the horrific 1984 killings of a 7-year-old girl and her parents in Aurora an emotional moment of justice nearly 40 years in the making. However, the DNA match has not been linked to a specific person. That same day, a man used a hammer to attackflight attendant Donna Dixon in the garage of her Aurora home, leaving her in a coma. [19][57] In 1999, the grand jury returned a true bill to charge the Ramseys with placing the child at risk in a way that led to her death and with obstructing an investigation of murder[why? [8], In November 2008, Jesperson's daughter, Melissa G. Moore, appeared on Dr. Phil to talk about her father. John's two surviving adult children (a son and a daughter) lived elsewhere. [63][53][i] Silverman said, "Once you have conceded the possibility of an intruder, I don't see how any Ramsey could ever be successfully prosecuted. [51] Boulder police initially focused almost exclusively upon John and Patsy,[51] but by October 1997 had over 1,600 people in their index of persons of interest for the case. If we catch you talking to a stray dog, she dies. [5], That desire manifested in two attempted murders. Today, she traces the injuries with her fingers. 9NEWS has not located a previous criminal record for Ewing in Colorado. His brothers did not help him, instead they nicknamed him "Igor" or "Ig", a name that stuck throughout his school years. A review by a child psychologist stated that it appeared that the Ramseys had "healthy, caring family relationships". That last Christmas was 1983. Critics have questioned this theory, because there was an intact cobweb in the basement window. A few days before his arrest, he wrote a letter to his brother in which he confessed to having killed eight people over the course of five years. "[2][1] There was no evidence of conventional rape, although sexual assault could not be ruled out. It follows the police investigation through years of cold-case frustration, forensic breakthroughs and the latest developments. Credit: Courtesy Bennett Family. [57], In October 2010, the Boulder police reopened the cold case. The perception is that they are closer than we thought." Now, she's telling her story, "It's a great day today," said Connie Bennett. Bonnie says her paternal side of the family (the Hopkins) are boring, though she might just be referring to them as such in comparison with her magical maternal side (the Bennetts) of the family. This led Jesperson to violently attack Martin until his father pulled him away. The Bennett Family (Latin: Benedictus; English: Benedict; translates as "blessed" or "one who is blessed") is one of the main families in The Vampire Diaries and a matriarchal bloodline of powerful witches. The DA's office sought to take control of the investigation. ], based on the probable cause standard applied in such grand jury proceedings. [54][64], Burke, who was nine years old at the time of JonBent's death, was interviewed by investigators at least three times. Strangulation was Jesperson's preferred method of murdering, the same method he often used to kill animals as a child. Vanessa Bennett was shocked to receive the phone call identifying the man who murdered her entire family and attempted to murder her in 1984and admits it hasnt quite sunk in. Ultimately, he decided to send the panel of six women and six men home for the evening, instructing them to rest and return Friday morning to continue their deliberations. He covers everything from stolen art and towing to mobile homes and quirky stories that defy category. Bennett family murders: Full coverage of suspect's trial, 'At an impasse': Jury deciding fate of suspect in 1984 killing of Bennett family heads home for the day, She was the sole survivor of one of Colorado's most brutal crimes. The ransom note appears to echo film dialog. Bruce worked at a family-owned furniture store and was trained as an air traffic controller. [7] He had watched and laughed as the kittens clawed each other to escape, then he killed them. "[17], Another graffito of a similar nature was found in a rest stop in Umatilla, Oregon; however, they were dismissed of having evidentiary value, and not introduced in Pavlinac's trial. [16] She testified in court: "I started a lie, and it snowballed on me.
Alex Ewing guilty in 1984 "Hammer Killer" murders of Aurora family Early persons of interest included neighbor Bill McReynolds, who played Santa Claus; Chris Wolf, a local reporter whose then-girlfriend reported him as a suspect; family housekeeper Linda Hoffmann-Pugh; and a man named Michael Helgoth, who died in an apparent suicide shortly after JonBent's death. He committed the heinous act by sexually abusing her and stabbing her 17 times. [18] In his confession, Jesperson recounted how he had picked up Bennett at a bar in Portland on the evening of January 21, 1990. ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4)- It was 1984 when Connie Bennett found her family murdered in their Aurora home.Connie's son Bruce, his wife Debra and 7-year-old Melissa were found dead. [18] On November 27, 1995, Lipscomb exonerated both,[16] with Sosnovske's conviction being set aside due to Pavlinac's violation of his civil rights. They have lived in the town and maintained their secrecy of their magical talents for over one hundred years. [19] Three days later, more than four months after the body of their daughter was found, they submitted for the first time to separate formal interviews at the Boulder County Justice Center. [11], In the summer of 1997approximately six months after JonBent's deaththe Ramseys moved to a new home in Atlanta after a summer at their vacation retreat in Charlevoix, Michigan. ", This page was last edited on 28 April 2023, at 18:04. No precautions were taken to prevent contamination of evidence in the rest of the house. In October 2013, unsealed court documents revealed that a 1999 grand jury had recommended filing charges against the Ramseys for permitting the child to be in a threatening situation. The police found her posed with her arms crossed over her chest, as if she was in a coffin. [10] Pavlinac's story was also at odds with several eyewitness accounts which placed Bennett at a bar approximately 25 miles (40km) from where Pavlinac claimed Sosnovske met Bennett. As Ewing stood trial for the Bennett murders this month, a . 28 year old Bruce Bennett had jumped into action when the attacker entered the family home and a struggle broke out between the two as Bennett attempted to protect his family. The police and the prosecutors followed leads for intruders partly due to the unidentified boot mark left in the basement room where JonBent's body was found.[35]. [15], Although Jesperson at one point claimed to have had as many as 160 victims,[16] only the eight women killed in Washington, Oregon, California, Florida, Nebraska, and Wyoming have been confirmed. Hundreds of DNA tests were performed to find a match to the DNA recovered during her autopsy. Prosecutors argued there is no innocent explanation for the presence of Ewings DNA on carpeting where Melissa Bennetts body was found and on a comforter covering her. They served almost 6 years before both were exonerated after serial killer Keith Jesperson confessed to Bennett's murder. "[16] Despite this, Lipscomb chastised Pavlinac during the exoneration hearing for her abuse of the judicial system.