Mendelian Genetics | Mendelian Theory, Principles & Applications, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973: Composition & Important Sections, Indian Penal Code, 1860: Amendments, Composition & Provisions, Difference Between Autonomous vs Automate Process With Examples, Indian Evidence Act, 1872: Amendments & Important Sections. Vanessa, now 38 years old, received a call from the Aurora sheriffs department informing her that her parents killer had been identified as 57 year old Alexander Christopher Ewing. Investigators were able to piece together the details of the horrendous ordeal through study of the evidence and the crime scene. </p> They are more likely to begin work before sunup rather than stay much after sundown. ", She added: "I lost my sanity. These were quite commonplace, but as folks who havent read my book are learning, there were quite a few instances where he actually spoke with victims, potential victims, or even Law Enforcement. ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - It was 1984 when Connie Bennett found her family murdered in their Aurora home. District Attorney John Kellner said the murders had shocked the community, adding that he was glad to see justice for the victims after 37 long years. The Bennetts didnt show up for work on Monday. A hammer lay next to her. Its bloody, painful for the victim and brutal. This killer strikes with such violence that it is difficult to understand, see or know of a possible motive. A hammer. It seems that Debra was the next victim, and she may have even been approached and incapacitated in the middle of Bruces struggle with the killer. Arapahoe County District Judge Darren Vahle spoke directly to Ewing before announcing the sentence. The first sign of trouble came in the afternoon, when Patricia failed to pick them up. On the other side of the coin, while all of these calls are believed to be genuine, theres a chance that some of them might be coincidence or pranks. Your email address will not be published. A 61-year-old man learned this week he'll die behind prison bars after being sentenced to three consecutive life sentences for the 1984 murders of a Colorado couple and their 7-year-old daughter, PEOPLE confirms. The previous week, on the 10th of January,awoman in her fifties named Patricia Smith had also been murdered in her own home in a townhouse in Green Mountain, Lakewood, which is just a 25 minute drive from the Bennetts home in Aurora. The backyard of the home was the only one in the area without a fence, and it backed up to a dark and lonely portion of Alameda Avenue. 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. In fact, there was a string of unsolved crimes in the area that took place just days apart from each other. The bodies of John Paul Bennett, 13, Lacey Bennett, 11, their mother Terri Harris, 35, and Lacey's friend Connie Gent, 11, were discovered at the property near Sheffield, on Sunday morning.. When they arrived home, they found it very odd that Patricias car was still there and that the television appeared to be on in the upstairs bedroom. She was last seen at about 8:30 PM while on her way to meet friends. Donna underwent several operations. You can also see what seems to be escalation and a frenzy of activity at certain points. "A life sentence feels too light, but that is the most the justice system can offer. A hammer was used to kill Patricia Louise Smith, 50, in Lakewood Jan. 10, 1984. The Vampire Diaries Wiki Explore Main Page Discuss They saw her parents killer as a boogeyman who would attack and them and kill them if they went anywhere near little Vanessas home for parties or play dates. More details will be forthcoming in the case as more is learned about the alleged killer and an affidavit is circulated containing the evidence used to charge him with these crimes. While everyone is looking for a motive it was always looking right back at investigators. After investigating, the police found similarities between the attack at the Bennett home and nearby random attacks that happened days earlier along the Highline Canal and Alameda Avenue corridor. Bruce worked at the family-owned furniture store and was also taking classes to become an air traffic controller. Chris Harris has been a senior true crime reporter for PEOPLE since late 2015. Bruce Bennett tried to climb the staircase several times in an attempt to ward off the perpetrator and save his young family. Which is why a more beneficial profile from the onset is more important in fact, its critical. Although she had no memory of the attack, what happened that night in 1984. On August 7th, 2018, it was announced that there were significant new developments in the Smith/Bennett case, and that a news conference would be held at 10:00 AM on Friday, August 10th with more information. Amazingly, it was thought that spending so many hours naked on the garage floor in the freezing temperatures may have kept her from bleeding to death. Sadly, technology was not as advanced in the mid-eighties as it is today, and the case went cold, remaining that way for over 30 years. Again, info is given only about the phone calls where the offender spoke. The house of Safdar Ali, who is allegedly a close aide of Atiq Ahmad, was demolished by the administration. How did you know? The case got a jolt in 2009 when a retired FBI photographer used graphic images from the crime scenes during a class lecture. I dont believe this killers blood lust was sated after all these acts of violence leading up to these murders; unless he was somehow killed (or committed suicide) soon after, my guess is he ended up in jail for something unrelated or something that somehow wasnt linked, like a violent rape. She had no idea how she got there and she didnt feel any pain. Ax Handle Attacker Alex Ewing Named Suspect in Bennett Family Murders. The victims may not have ever known one another but the killer found them somehow, it was not random although it appears that way. Were happy to at least have a little bit of science behind us on this and it was worth exploring, even though the result was inconclusive. The childs skull was caved in on the right side of her forehead and a metal plate was inserted to reshape the skull, she suffered severe injuries to her head, jaw and neck. The investigators looked at everything from construction workers to drug addicts in the areas around the attacks because at the time a lot of construction was happening, they looked at the fact that the attacks happened around the holidays so maybe that was a trigger for this killer, even looked at the possibility that the killer was in some sort of drug fueled rage. They remain married to this day. 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Fourth Crime Scene The money was never claimed. She was also left with a shattered pelvis and fell into a coma. There is no innocent explanation for how you explain all of the evidence.. Donna pulled into the driveway, hit the remote to open the garage, and pulled her car in. A man accused of murdering a mother and three children has also been charged with raping one of the victims, who was 11. The colossal 1,772-acre South Carolina hunting farm where Maggie and Paul. 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. An autopsy found that Debra died from blunt force trauma. I didnt hear it mentioned in the press conference, but forensic genealogist incidentally identified the correct surname of the alleged killer: Ewing. This information was released in an episode of On the Case with Paula Zahn earlier this year. Expand the list of suspects because on this case it was always bigger than investigators thought it was and the killer was always the least obvious or least likely to stand out. Hecontinued to attack the child causing severe injuries, but the 3 year old held on to life and was alive the next morning when she was discovered by her grandmother. SOMERVILLE Sandra G. Bennett, 76, died March 2, 2023. Recently, he was exploring forensic genealogy techniques. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Ewing is arrested and incarcerated. HE had to get knife in addition to the hammer just to ward off Bruce who was trying to protect his family. It was a blitz attack for no reason, said Marvin Brandt, who investigated the case as a homicide detective between 1984 and when he retired from the Aurora Police Department in 2002. Darkness had just fallen. I lost the person who I was supposed to be.. Determine the level of organization/disorganization of each crime scene. Only the youngest daughter survived, with life-threatening injuries. He was currently working at a family-owned furniture store, but was taking classes at the local college and would soon be working as an air traffic controller. EAR brought his own ligatures to almost every attack he didnt rely exclusively on what was found at the scene. The father, Xavier Dupont de Ligonnes, immediately became the prime suspect, as he abruptly disappeared after the . There wasnt anything notable stolen from the scene, and the attack had all the hallmarks of a random crime. He faced six . All four of them were attacked inside the home that night, only Vanessa survived. She made her way to the bedroom and went to bed. 2019 Sentinel Colorado. Lauers Chevy Nova was later discovered heading AWAY from the beach. The family was discovered by Constance Bennett who has since raised little Vanessa. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Alexander Christopher Ewing, who is serving a prison sentence in Nevada for beating a couple there with an axe handle, has been charged with killing Bruce and Debra Bennett and their 7-year-old daughter, as well as trying to kill their 3-year-old daughter, as well as a charge for sexual assault. The rapes are secondary crimes. Late on Jan. 9 or early on Jan 10, a flight attendant was beaten, possibly with a hammer, and sexually assaulted after she pulled into the garage of her home in Aurora. He also appealed to other district attorneys and lawmakers who might be watching (singling out Montana briefly) to change their DNA collection laws and practices and to begin participating in CODIS. Channel 2 sports director Zach Klein is at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, where. The 1982 call is important, because the offender hadnt killed for over a year, and it was thought that he mightve been incarcerated. Perhaps one of the most famous murders in La Jolla history, the story of Daniel and Linda Broderick's death in 1989 shocked the seaside community and reverberated throughout San Diego. They need renewed media attention. Your email address will not be published. No fingerprints or any other usable evidence could be found at the scene. Before he was sentenced, Ewing declined the chance to speak to the victim's family members, who were present in the courtroom including Vanessa Bennett, who is now 41. The Bennett family murders is a case that goes back more than three decades. Juliana Kenney, 75, her husband Clayton Kenney, 83, and Mrs. Kenney's 44- year-old daughter, Adrienne Arnot, were beaten and stabbed to . Shed left the garage door open and most likely left the door unlocked as she went upstairs, removed her wig, and turned the television on. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. He picked all of his victims for a reason, something about them attracted him to them, they all had one common denominator that drew him to those specific individuals. Bruce was 27 years old and Debra was 26 in 1984. The 3-year-old sister, Vanessa, was the only survivor. At approximately 2:00 AM on January 4th, 1984, an intruder came through an unlocked garage door. The killer was never brought to justice. The police found footprints in the snow that led up to and away from other homes in the same area and on the same street, leading them to believe that the offender was simply looking for an easy opportunity to lash out. They were Holly Chromey, 49, and her children, Katie Zapzalka, 18, and Jared Zapzalka, 16. Police are still looking for information on the cases connected to Ewing and are asking the public for help. The next thing Donna remembered was waking up naked in the garage. He fed the need. The jury found Ewing guilty on Aug. 6 of killing three members of the Bennett family with a hammer. Remember me? JonBenet was 6 years old when she was reported missing on Dec. 26, 1996, after her family reported finding a ransom note inside their home in the 700 block of 15th Street. 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. No other motive like robbery could be found as the only items missing were the knife used to cut Bruce and Debras purse, yet the contents of the purse were strewn in the front yard. Prosecutors brought their case against Alex Christopher Ewing to a close using a detailed walkthrough of genetic evidence to show that his DNA was found inside the home where three members of an Aurora family were murdered in January 1984. As she turned to leave the car, she felt a tremendous blow on the left side of her head. She slumped over onto the passenger seat. He reminded the public that John Doe warrants had been filed based on the DNA profile of the killer back in 2002, and mentioned that the John Doe charges have been updated to Alex Christopher Ewings name. Its my hope that this can help folks gain a better understanding of how prolific this offender was, and that insights can be gained as to perhaps why he was active at the times that he was, and why he mightve laid low during some of the quieter times. This phone call occurred 25 years after the attack. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. His use of ligatures were fairly distinct and helped tie a lot of the crimes together. Evidence that an aristocrat has gone missing--and was possibly murdered--near Sandringham House sets Queen Elizabeth II on the path to discover unsavory family secrets and much more in this new installment of the series the New York Times Book Review calls "sheer entertainment." Queen Elizabeth II is looking forward to a traditional Christmas gathering with her family in . Connie's son Bruce, his wife Debra and 7-year-old Melissa were found dead..

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