Murder of Eugenio Lopez

On December 15, 1914, 41/42-year-old Eugenio Lopez was at his home at 225 Conejos St. in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Two men would knock on Eugenio's door. When he answered he was either shot or stabbed in the chest which went through his right lung. He would then flee to his neighbor's home for help. The two men proceeded to burn down Eugenio's home. They may have had

He would die on December 31st from the injuries.

I could not find if the two men were found and prosecuted for the murder.

SOURCES:
Find a Grave

The Ordway New Era December 25, 1914

Gilpin Observer December 17, 1914

UNIDENTIFIED: 1864 Larimer County, Colorado Unidentified Mexican Friend

 

In 1864 a man was buried at Modena Cemetery in Larimer County, Colorado. His Tombstone reads Unidentified Mexican Friend. 

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

UNIDENTIFIED: 1970s Durango, Colorado Jane Doe

Sometime in the 1970s, someone found a human skull in Durango, Colorado, and kept it. The skull would later be turned over to Balch Springs, Texas. It's believed the person may have been dead between 1950 to 1970. 

The skull belongs to a woman between 20 to 49-years-old. 

SOURCES:

NamUs

Murder of Mary Rose Matthews

In late 1883 couple, Micheal and Maggie Cuddigan took in Mary Matthews. They adopted her from Denvers Catholic Orphan's Home. Mary's mother had died and her father put her in the home so she could be taken care of. The couple would take Mary from Denver, Colorado to their home in Ouray, Colorado. It was known by neighbors they did not treat the girl well.

On January 12, 1884, 10-year-old Mary was found crouched beside a haystack near the Cuddigan's home. She was underdressed for the cold and snowy weather. The Cuddigan's were notified and they brought the girl home. She would die a few hours later and with some secrecy the buried in a distant part of the ranch. They told people that she had accidentally fallen down the cellar steps and had died. 

Neighbors of the family were suspicious of them. They knew that the family treated the girl cruelly and combined with her sudden death and hurried burial suspicions grew. Neighbors would notify the coroner that they suspected that the foster parent's murdered Mary and her body was dug back up.

The autopsy showed that  Mary's body was covered in wounds. It was obvious the little girl was abused and overworked. She had cut marks all over her body from a knife, her leg was broken, her skull was fractured, her limbs seemed to have been frozen, she also had evidence of sexual abuse. It was believed the couple forced the girl to stay out in the snow as punishment.

When the Cuddigan's and Maggie's brother John Caroll was arrested. At the time of their arrest, the couple was preparing to leave the country. They were arrested along with the wife's brother John Caroll. The three of them would be kept temporarily at the Delmonico Hotel between 4th and 5th Ave.

 On Jan. 18th a lynch mob come for the trio. Michael outside city limits. Even though Maggie was pregnant she and her husband were lynched. He was hung from a tree and she from a ridgepole. They were going to hang John also but he told them he wasn't even there when the girl died and they released him. 

 People from the town were not angry about the lynching and thought the couple was deserving of it. Though Michael's brothers were said to be at the hotel and refused to stop the lynching and watched as the crowd of people took the couple away.

Their bodies were displayed in public view of the town. The bed that Mary used was also on public display which was four gunnysacks stitched together. The Cuddigan's were refused to be allowed to buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery and the local Catholic priest also refused to officiate the funerals even though he was against the lynching. No one wanted anything to do with the funeral and the coroner buried the couple on their ranch with the $240 Michael had in his pocket when he died. not one attended. Their money was left to their infant son who was taken care of by relatives.

Not only did the Cuddigan's bodies get displayed, but Mary's was also displayed in Denver. She was presented before the public to show how the young girl suffered before her death. thousands of people viewed her before her burial at the Denver cemetery.

The death date for Mary is wrong on Find a Grave. There were articles from Friday, Jan. 18th, 1884 stating the girl was dug back up and an autopsy was done on her body. It stated that she had died the Saturday before which would make it the 12th. 

Maggie was the first known woman to be lynched in Colorado. 

SOURCES

Find a Grave

Colorado  Encyclopedia

Bismarck Tribune Jan. 18, 1884

The Tennessean Jan. 22, 1884

The Linwood Leader Jan 24, 1884

Valley Falls Register Feb 1, 1884

Delta Chief Feb 6, 1884

The Alton Empire Feb. 7, 1884

Murder of Nathaniel Abrams

 On the night of January 2, 1956, 25-year-old Nathaniel Abrams was enjoying a night out at the Young Man's Social Club at 25 South Burns Place in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He had been there with another man. At 10:40 police received a call of a man being shot in the alley in front of the club.

Nathaniel was found lying face down in a pool of blood. He had been shot five or six times.

Witnesses stated that they could recognize his associate if they saw him again. The associate never returned to the club, and it is still unknown who this was and if they had anything to do with the murder. 

Nathaniel was based at Ft. Carson at the time. He had just returned from Christmas leave. He had spent it with his wife and children in Chicago. 

SOURCES:

Colorado Bureau of Investigation

Find a Grave

Argus-Leader Jan. 3, 1956

The Ogden Standard-Examiner Jan 3, 1956

Murder of Dorothy Beazell

  On October 10, 1957, 50-year-old Dorothy Beazell was found unresponsive in her home in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Her husband Dr. James Beazell called the ambulance around 10:50 a.m. He and a nurse tried to attempt a medical intervention, but she would pass. 

It was found that she had died from cyanide poisoning.

SOURCES:

Colorado Bureau of Investigation

Find a Grave

UNIDENTIFIED: 1933, Cheyenne County, Colorado John Doe

 In 1933 an unidentified man was found in Cheyenne County, Colorado. He was buried at the Fairview Cemetary in Cheyenne Wells. There is little information on this case. 

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

Unidentified Wiki

Unsolved Murder of Alford Norris

On June 1, 1954 someone beat elderly couple 81-year-old Alford and Charolette Norris inside of their home on South Corona St. in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They would be transported to Penrose Hospital. Charolette survived, but unfortunately, Alford would die the next day.

SOURCES:
Colorado Bureau of Investigation

Unsolved Murder of Harold "Murph" Murphy Cohen

On November 3, 1949, 38-year-old Harold" Murph" Cohen was reported missing to the Denver, Colorado Police Department. Murph would leave a note for his wife that he wouldn't be seen for several days. He had also told his wife that he was going to a special dinner. He reportedly attended a ceremonial dinner at Gaetano's in Denver prior to his disappearance. At the time he was a known gambler and was a fight referee.

It's believed that Murph was attacked at the dinner or right after. He was hit in the head and had his legs and arms bound. He would then be tied to railroad iron and dumped into Blue Lake alive. His body wasn't discovered until Feb. 11, 1950.  They intended for his body to sink to the bottom of the lake, but it landed on a ledge allowing him to be found.

SOURCES:

Colorado Bureau of Investigations

Jefferson County, Colorado

Fort Collins Coloradoan Feb. 13, 1950 

Greeley Daily Tribune Feb 13, 1950

St. Louis Post-Dispatch April 17, 1950

UNIDENTIFIED: September 30, 1952 Gilpin County Maria Doe

On September 30, 1952, a man went on a hunting trip in a wooded area in Gilpin County, Colorado. He spotted legs underneath a burned log and reported it to the police. The log was 7ft long and was in an unused gravel pit 100 yards from Highway 119 and 35ft from Clear Creek.

 The body belonged to a young woman who had been killed within the last month. She had blunt force trauma to her head, but it was unknown what her cause of death was. It was possible that the injury had killed her, but also possible that it simply knocked her unconscious and she was burned alive.

She's a white female between 17 and 30-years-old. She was around 5'7" and had brown/black hair. She would have had a notable overbite. A fragment of a turquoise sequinned blouse, metal rivets of blue jeans, and a sole of a shoe. She was wearing a whinstone necklace and earrings. A purse, small electric razor, and an empty lipstick container. A man's wedding ring with no setting was found near the scene.

This case is often known as Maria or Pyre Case.

SOURCES:
NamUs
Doe Network
Greeley Daily Tribune (October 1, 1952)

UNIDENTIFIED: Jan. 1, 1912, Boulder, Colorado

There is little information in this case. The John Doe was found in Boulder, Colorado on Jan. 1, 1912 and was a victim of a homicide. He was a male between 55 and 65-years-old.

SOURCES: 
Doe Network
Colorado Bureau of Investigation

Missing: John William Gates

John William Gates was born in the early 1880s in Iowa. Before the 1900's he moved to Colorado and worked as a farm laborer. In 1903 he married his wife. By 1910 his occupation was listed as a teamster in the transfer. His family claimed that it means that he delivered supplies to miners in the mountains. 

On April 23, 1916, 34-year-old John left him home in Longmont, Colorado. It was believed he may have had an accident when he left. It may have been a mining accident or the wagon he used for movement of mining supplies fell off the mountain. At the time in Colorado, there were several mines open due to the need of tungsten for WWI. It's possible his remains were found on the mountain and they never identified as him. His fate is unknown though.  It isn't believed he left on his own. He was said to be a good provider and a good husband and a wonderful father.

When his wife in May of 1917 filed for "Mother's Compensation in Boulder county she had to explain why she needed help and her husband's disappearance. The Mother's Compensation Act was a way for mothers to provide for their children. This was long before social services.

John William Gates was 34 at the time of his disappearance. He was 5'7 to 6'0 and weighed around 160 to 180 lbs. He had brown receding hair and his eye color is unknown.

SOURCES

Daily Camera 

Find the Missing