August 17, 2021 / 3:31 PM The house of Safdar Ali, who is allegedly a close aide of Atiq Ahmad, was demolished by the administration. Bruce Alan Bennett was twenty-seven years old. The prosecution compared the Bennett family murders to another murder where a woman, Patricia Smith of Lakewood, was also murdered with a hammer earlier that same month. For years the case was cold, until in 2018 a DNA profile from semen the killer left at the scene was matched to Ewing. Peck Funeral Home assisted the family . Its bloody, painful for the victim and brutal. 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. Law enforcement today is actually better than it was then. 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. Prosecutors said they will ask Gov. 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Since they could find no signs of forced entry, police felt that the killer entered through the unlocked door and attacked her. He fed the need. Ewing has been behind bars in Nevada since the summer of 1984 after he escaped there while being transported to Kingman, Arizona, from St. George, Utah, for a court appearance on attempted murder and burglary charges. Sometimes to get a more clear picture of the criminal, one must see him or her as a human being, see him or her as they truly are, feel what they feel, know what they know, feel the wants, needs and desires of that person. 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. The same night he escaped, he broke into yet another couples house and attacked the male of the home. In that homicide, DNA evidence was found matching Ewing. The Visalia Ransacker, a unique brand of offender who terrorized a very small area of California for a period of over two years, caught my attention a long time ago due to the cases possible association with the East Area Rapist. 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. This killeris more the type that would self medicate more than likely be a heavy drinker as opposed to taking medication. Investigators have been quoted as saying this was a random crime, vicious and random. That is very clear. De Ligonnes Family. The guy here fit the profile you provided over that of the fbi. It took 37 years, but on Tuesday, the families of Bruce and Debra Bennett saw justice served. The cases are commonly known as the 1984 Colorado Hammer Murders. As blood poured out of her body, he lifted her up from the bed, unknowingly leaving an imprint from his shirt on her blood-soaked pajamas. Im your biggest fan. 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. How did you know? Small Town Murder at Tabernacle in Atlanta Sep 8th, 2023 - presale code Only the youngest daughter survived, with life-threatening injuries. I would not limit the list to any type of profession or lack of any type of profession until suspects can be eliminated. Furthermore, the loving grandmother had been sexually assaulted. James, a young man not even twenty-five years old yet, had married his wife Kim in August of 1982. I dont believe that. HE had to get knife in addition to the hammer just to ward off Bruce who was trying to protect his family. If he had not done that, they may have been the unfortunately victims. 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. KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) _ Two men were arrested Friday in the killing of an elderly man and his wife, a crime whose brutality traumatized this small town and went unsolved for more than a year. The crime scene is the Bennett Family home where 3 out of 4 family members were murdered in January 1984. Colo. Man Sentenced for Killing Family in 1984 with Hammer - Peoplemag The Bennett Family Murders ~ Aurora, Colorado ~ January 16, 1984 The Bennett family was your average middle class family living the American dream. Murderer of Aurora's Bennett family sentenced to life in prison Patricia had only been living in Lakewood for about three and a half months, having moved there from Nebraska with her daughter, who was recently divorced. Your email address will not be published. DeAngelo was a police officer in nearby Exeter at the time, and has been confirmed by police to be tied to a string of over 100 burglaries, a murder, and an attempted murder that occurred in Visalia in 1974 and 1975. They both survived. The Deadly Night of Incident For Bennet Family On the night of January 16 th, 1984 a gruesome discovery was made at a house on 16300 East Center Drive, Aurora. AURORA | Police and prosecutors say they have solved the brutal 1984 hammer slayings of the Bennett family in Aurora, one of the citys most-shocking and tough-to-crack cold cases. You called it in a recent case again how did you know? For years the authorities and true crime sleuths never gave up trying to identify the sick individual responsible for the murders and assaults that happened that year. Investigators believed the killers attacks escalated from just beating someone with a hammer to actually murdering them. Before Donna Dixon was even found, another crime had taken place 26 miles to the west in the city of Lakewood. does anyone think they are actually looking though? There was no way, given the samples that we have, to determine whether the voices match or not. As one of the investigations were doing for the book,we hired an audio expert to do some work on the three recordings attributed to EAR: The dumb fuckers call, the Is Ray there? call, and the Gonna Kill You call. A coworker informed Bruces mother, Constance, about their absence. Apparently, although the authorities never followed up on this, there were a series of murders just like this across the country just off of I-70. The next thing Donna remembered was waking up naked in the garage. This generated a buzz of discussion, with victims and family wondering why this information wasnt released sooner, and online sleuths pouring over leads such as previous offenders named Richard, different water company uniforms looked at, and even eyes turned toward folks who were associated with a Canadian town/military base called Petawawa in Ontario. He'd been in the Navy, where he worked on high-tech sonar equipment at Pearl Harbor. Why did they have to get murdered? Bennett Family Then, just as the community was reeling from this attack, 50-year-old Patricia Smith became a murder victim at her Lakewood, Colorado, home on January 10, 1984. March 14, 2022 5:04pm Updated The Murdaugh family property where a mother and son were found dead lists for $3.9 million. The Bennetts didnt show up for work on Monday. For the first time, Stetson Bennett is publicly addressing his January arrest for public intoxication in Texas. Upon the capture of a suspect in the Golden State Killer case, Conner again turned to genealogical databases. In fact, there was a string of unsolved crimes in the area that took place just days apart from each other. 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. He is awaiting extradition to Colorado, police and prosecutors announced Friday. Two Arrested In Triple Murder That Terrorized Town | AP News The crimes appeared to be sexually motivated, judging by the assaults that occurred on Debra and Melissa. Police later linked the murder of the Bennett family with another rape and murder that happened just less than a week before. Only 3-year-old Vanessa, at. The rapes are secondary crimes. Lightening the speech with a quasi-political jab at Al Gores inventing the internet, he went on to describe cooperation from Clark County Nevada and Mojave County Arizona, which were other jurisdictions whod had Ewing pass through their systems. Caller: Do you want fuck? Vanessa was saved, though she went on the live with permanent physiological affects from the assault. Rather than wait until 2019 when the book will be published, we thought wed at least share the results with you. Required fields are marked *. Jason Bennett described his heartbreak following the deaths of son John and daughter Lacey in Killamarsh. He assured the public that theyll move with all appropriate speed.. While everyone is looking for a motive it was always looking right back at investigators. While meeting with the families in regards to this case reopened many old wounds and horrific memories, the Aurora Police Department, Lakewood Police Department, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the 18th Judicial District, and the 1st Judicial District is committed to seeing that justice is served in this case. Most importantly take the need to judge them and all of your own emotions and personal beliefs out of the picture. All four of them were attacked inside the home that night, only Vanessa survived. On the night of Jan. 15, 1984, the Bennett family left their garage door open. A handful spoke in court, including the surviving daughter. 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. Her parents, Bruce and Deborah Bennett, were also killed. "The Crown prosecutor who is prosecuting my case in September seems like a dog with a . Read on to learn about the devastation and challenges faced in this crime series, the investigative leads that were undertaken, and the tremendous news that closure is within reach. Tabernacle. For an overview of the case, you can review my extensive post from yesterday which covered many of the details. Connie's son Bruce, his wife Debra and 7-year-old Melissa were found dead.. Bennett family murders: Verdict reached in hammer murder trial | 9news.com The family had been celebrating Melissas birthday that night. Would you like to contribute as an editor or a writer on our site? Juliana Kenney, 75, her husband Clayton Kenney, 83, and Mrs. Kenney's 44- year-old daughter, Adrienne Arnot, were beaten and stabbed to . MPR: Two men charged in Long Prairie, Minneapolis murders October 21st, 1982 He also shattered the face of Bruce Bennetts 3-year-old daughter, Vanessa. This mans only motive was to inflict as much pain as possible and kill his victims. Alexander Christopher Ewing is already behind bars, serving 40 years for two counts of attempted murder in the state of Nevada. She was quickly and carefully taken to the hospital in an ambulance. She had no idea how she got there and she didnt feel any pain. They immediately knew something was wrong. About six weeks later, hunters came upon their bodies in a remote location in the woods near a logging road. Currently all 50 states have to collect DNA for certain types of Felony crimes and submit it to CODIS. The couple, especially Ron, wanted to show that their love was truly for better or for worse and that it would survive any challenge. Jason Bennett, who is understood to be the father of two of the. The case got a jolt in 2009 when a retired FBI photographer used graphic images from the crime scenes during a class lecture. The Colonial Parkway is a scenic highway in Virginia that runs through historic areas like Yorktown, Williamsburg, and Jamestown. A murder probe has opened after four people were found dead at the address yesterday, with . Ewing was not identified as a suspect until a DNA hit in July 2018 linked him to semen left at the crime scene. He shouted her name, but she could only groan in response. I also believe he continued to kill peeps because he is so violent he couldnt have just stopped. A brief question and answer session involved the police asking any residents or witnesses to come forward with anything they might know in relation to these crimes so that the prosecution can continue to build its case. My best friend lived around the corner from the Bennetts, and that previous night (or night of) after dinner when she was cleaning the kitchen, she saw a man staring at her through the window. bennett family murders address - vivaseuamor.fun He tossed it onto the seat of the car and began pulling her from the vehicle. Chris Harris has been a senior true crime reporter for PEOPLE since late 2015. January 16, 1984: Bennett family is attacked in their Aurora, Colorado home with 3 out of the 4 family members murdered by an intruder wielding a hammer. The 1982 call is important, because the offender hadnt killed for over a year, and it was thought that he mightve been incarcerated. Damien Bendall, 31, is now alleged to have raped and murdered Lacey Bennett . With time, multiple surgeries and the support her extended family, Vanessa began to recover from her physical injuries, but living a normal life after losing both her parents to a murderer who had yet to be captured and convicted made childhood difficult. Unsolved: The Bennett family murders | wqad.com Ewing has been locked up since. She was happy to be home for a while, and eagerly awaiting the next day when her boyfriend, Ronald Holm, would be home. Victims were shot to death on the shore of the James River, some distance from Knoblings pickup truck. Donna was rushed to the hospital while police worked the scene. Photo: 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office A 61-year-old man learned this week he'll die behind prison bars after being sentenced to three consecutive life sentences. Bruce Bennett ~ 27 ~ Found Murdered January 16, 1984, Debra Bennett ~ 26 ~ Found Murdered, Sexually Assaulted January 16, 1984, Melissa Bennett ~7 ~ Found Murdered, Sexually Assaulted January 16, 1984, Vanessa Bennett ~ 3 ~ Found Alive,Jaw Crushed, Severly Beaten About the Face. Evidence of wounds caused by a blade revealed that Bruce attempted to defend himself as the intruder swiped and slashed at him with a knife. Investigators did not forget about the hammer murders, however, nor did the town of Aurora. What happened to Vanessa Bennett's family? People - Sportskeeda