I don't know if a thread on this story has been posted. If so, apologies.

In November 1985, Roger Dean and his wife were victims of an intruder which came into their house in Denver just after 7:00am. The man was wearing a balaclava and tied Mrs Dean (I forget her first name) to the bed and blindfolded her. Roger and the intruder went and scuffled in another room and the intruder demanded their life savings, which Roger stated was $30,000. As Roger walked down the stairs, the intruder shot Roger several times. Roger fell in the front yard and died before paramedics came to help.

In July 1990, almost 5 years after her husband's death, Mrs Dean recieved an anonymous letter from someone who claimed to be the killer of her husband, demanding that she paid them $100,000 or her daughter would also be killed.
With the help of Police, Mrs Dean co-operated with the assailant. She was asked to drop off the $100,000 at an alley in downtown Denver at night, but with police supervising the package until dawn, the assailant never showed up to make the pickup. Soon, the assailant rang the Dean's and claimed that Mrs Dean didnt co-operate and would now have to face the consecuences. The segment ends here.

There were some oddities surrounding the case at the time.

* Roger's glasses were found duct-taped upstairs in the house, despite the fact that Roger was wearing contacts that time of his death.
* Just before 7:00am, Roger was seen standing at the front of the house with the garage door open. This was unusual because it was stated that Roger normally left for work no later than 6:15am.
*It was later beleived that Roger had been taking money from his company, believed to be $30,000.
*Nobody noticed the car that was parked near the Dean's house, with the man sitting inside for a certain amount of time.

Could the whole thing have been staged??

If you take in mind that Roger had $30,000 stashed away, he could have used the robbery as a way of getting rid of the money, because he felt guilty. Roger was seen standing at the front of his house just before 7:00am. Could he have possibly been waiting for the "intruder" to show up. But if this whole thing was a setup, then why did the assailant shoot Roger?

I believe the killer is somebody who knows Roger's family, and knew of the $30,000 that was stashed away. Could it have been a simple revenge killing for the laundering of the money from the company.

Has there been any updates on this case??

To my knowledge, there has never been an update to this case. Which makes me wonder how D.J. and Tammy Dean have been the last 15 years.

Are they still living every day in total fear with police protection or did Roger's killer simply give up?

yeah, that hanging around his garage at 7 was weird, given that he usually left at 6:15. points to inside job, although even weirder was that he ended up murdered, I wonder what his original intent was, I don't think it was to get murdered.

I really felt bad for the wife and kids, as they had lost a lot of relatives in the years preceding this incident, then had to endure threats themselves in the years following it. sad case.

yeah, that hanging around his garage at 7 was weird, given that he usually left at 6:15. points to inside job, although even weirder was that he ended up murdered, I wonder what his original intent was, I don't think it was to get murdered.

I really felt bad for the wife and kids, as they had lost a lot of relatives in the years preceding this incident, then had to endure threats themselves in the years following it. sad case.

I don't know. It could have been an elaborate "suicide." Say he knows he' about to go down in flames for embezzlement from his company. He doesn't want to go to jail, doesn't want to face the embarassment of the whole thing, etc., is maybe depressed anyway, and so decides to kill himself. But, he also wants no trouble for his wife and family about the missing $30,000 after he's dead. So, he hires a hitman for the $30,000 to come to his house, essentially stage a robbery, and kill him. This way, after he's dead, no one from his company, he figures, will drag his wife and daughter to court to try to recover the stolen money, since it was "stolen" by this assailant during an armed robbery and they don't have it. Not only that, but it guarantees a life insurance settlement for his family, since he was "murdered." Maybe even a double pay out.

Later, the same killer, desperate for cash, figures the family still has some from a life insurance settlement, and tries to extort it. His attempt is clumsy, and he realizes he best abandon it.

Haven't seen the case in awhile, so I apologize if my theory contradicts known facts of the case!

I don't know. It could have been an elaborate "suicide." Say he knows he' about to go down in flames for embezzlement from his company. He doesn't want to go to jail, doesn't want to face the embarassment of the whole thing, etc., is maybe depressed anyway, and so decides to kill himself. But, he also wants no trouble for his wife and family about the missing $30,000 after he's dead. So, he hires a hitman for the $30,000 to come to his house, essentially stage a robbery, and kill him. This way, after he's dead, no one from his company, he figures, will drag his wife and daughter to court to try to recover the stolen money, since it was "stolen" by this assailant during an armed robbery and they don't have it. Not only that, but it guarantees a life insurance settlement for his family, since he was "murdered." Maybe even a double pay out.

Later, the same killer, desperate for cash, figures the family still has some from a life insurance settlement, and tries to extort it. His attempt is clumsy, and he realizes he best abandon it.

Haven't seen the case in awhile, so I apologize if my theory contradicts known facts of the case!
I think that is a pretty good assessment when you think of the circumstances involved. Roger signals the guy knowing that he is going to come for the money, so why not have it for him unless he wanted it to look like a botched robbery attempt only Roger didn't have the money to give him. Where did the $30,000 go (if there was even $30,000 to begin with)?
This one is almost as baffling as the Ed Baker case.
All I know is that Roger and the killer obviously had something shady and secretive going on there. Too bad they couldn't find some connection between Roger and his killer somewhere.

My first thought was that Roger had set this up to launder the money and wasn't supposed to die. One of two things could have happened:

1) The "intruder" was supposed to shoot to wound Roger to make it look like he really put up a fight, but the intruder still got the money (then they'd share it). But in the heat of the moment, Roger was killed instead.

or

2) The "intruder" decided he wanted all of the money himself and killed Roger on purpose.

I think the follow-up extortion attempt was someone unrelated to the murder... just someone who knew about it looking to make a quick buck.

My first thought was that Roger had set this up to launder the money and wasn't supposed to die. One of two things could have happened:

1) The "intruder" was supposed to shoot to wound Roger to make it look like he really put up a fight, but the intruder still got the money (then they'd share it). But in the heat of the moment, Roger was killed instead.

or

2) The "intruder" decided he wanted all of the money himself and killed Roger on purpose.

I think the follow-up extortion attempt was someone unrelated to the murder... just someone who knew about it looking to make a quick buck.
Yeah, but the $30,000 was never taken, or was it?

Yeah, but the $30,000 was never taken, or was it?

I'm pretty sure he didn't get it. From what I remember of the segment, a dropoff/pickup scenario was proposed and Dean's wife did drop off the money (while under police supervision) at a location selected by the extortionist but no one picked it up.

The extortionist called some time later and accused Dean's wife of not following instructions (I'm not sure what she did wrong, aside from notifying the police, the segment never went into that) and he threatened to kill her daughter.

I have seen this case repeated numerous times on Lifetime but have never seen an update of any kind. I'm sure we would all like to know more.

*Bump*

I was always really interested in this case, and I think everyone makes some excellent points here.

Also, I wonder if the stress of losing three close relatives in such a short time (circa 1983, since Stack said it was "two years earlier") could've been part of what promted this whole thing. They never alluded to any problems before this happened. Maybe aside from being heartbroken, they were short on money too?

The son's death would've been horrible to both of them (he was probably a teen, considering Tammy still looked fairly young in '91 when the segment was filmed...like late 20s), and even if it was DJ's parents who later passed away, I'm sure it was upsetting to Roger too. I'm sure him taking the $30,000 from his business behind his wife's back had something to do with his death.

BTW, does anyone know what he did for work? I'm guessing an office job.

In other discussions of this case, I've seen a different explanation.

Roger Dean was supposedly having an affair with a woman (who may or may not have worked for him as a secretary). Her son may have been the man who came to Dean's house that morning and killed him - I'm not sure if that was the intention or not. The $30K was blackmail money they demanded. I think there was something they knew, but who knows what it was.

These comments were posted with the video online a year or so ago, and that's what I remember from them. That theory is part of the reason why the police thought the letters had been written by a man and a woman.

^ WHOA, that's pretty interesting Missfit - thanks for the info. :)

I had no idea about any of that, but if it's true that really takes the case in a new direction. If Roger was having an affair, I could see that being a reason he was kinda secretive about things from his wife. Maybe it happened because of preexisting problems in the relationship (that wouldn't justify him doing that of course, but on the same token, it didn't warrant the guy being killed). :(

The murder was probably intentional, since the segment says he was shot four times, and he was trying to run outside as it happened (I think he collapsed in the driveway - maybe he was trying to make a break for his car).

If the gunman was the woman's son, there's lots of motives right there... and it would make it more personal.

Yeah somehow or someway I always have had a feeling that Dean did something shady to warrant the attack. It wasnt random. The affair thing is an interesting look though

I wish I could remember more of that discussion. But I think something happened where the son felt like the mother had been wronged by Dean, and this was his revenge or something.

I'm not sure if there was a source or article cited for this theory, so take it with a grain of salt.

Roger Dean's case is one of my favourites, it's just so intriguing. The music at the start was kind of creepy too

I believe that the police in this case like some other UM segments are holding something back or are incompetent. The police believe it was some sort of staged robbery if this was the case it was poorly planned and I do not think the glasses or rope were red herrings as for him going to work late and going in front of his house these are the red herrings used by the police to make it seem as if dean were up to something in my opinion these point toward a real robbery if he were planning this he could of had it done earlier when he would normally be home. And why not wait to kill him after getting the money because in a real robbery things go wrong and this caused the death of dean . The Idea of a women being involved points to the cops knowing much more. Are there any good articles on the case?

Here's an article published a few months ago (Dec. 2010). 25 years now since the murder.

http://www.coloradocommunitynewspapers.com/articles/2010/12/22/highlands_ranch_herald/news/23_cm_cold_case_hr.txt

They say that police do hold certain information about the case, which is not unusual in cases like this. Interestingly, the investigators says that they believe that the killer and the person who made the calls, letters, etc. and threaten to kill DJ's daughter are 2 different individuals and are not related. The UM segment was talking about the killer himself coming back to harass the family. Now they think it's someone who knew about the murder and tried to take advantage of the situation and extort money. How sick is that?

The positive thing in this: at least, the widow and her daughter seem to have been left at peace since the threats have stopped.

I believe that the police in this case like some other UM segments are holding something back or are incompetent. The police believe it was some sort of staged robbery if this was the case it was poorly planned and I do not think the glasses or rope were red herrings as for him going to work late and going in front of his house these are the red herrings used by the police to make it seem as if dean were up to something in my opinion these point toward a real robbery if he were planning this he could of had it done earlier when he would normally be home. And why not wait to kill him after getting the money because in a real robbery things go wrong and this caused the death of dean . The Idea of a women being involved points to the cops knowing much more. Are there any good articles on the case?


I would love an article on this case or some locals who have some inside scoop.

It is airing again and this one was very memorable. I always thought the whole contact lens/glasses thing was odd and interesting at the same time.

Why would Roger put in contacts if he usually wore glasses?

This case still confuses me. I'm not sure why the cops believe Roger Dean was in on the whole thing. If he had hired this guy to make it look like a robbery, why did the man shoot him 5 times? And I was confused on the whole $30,000 bit with his company. Did he embezzle the money from his company? And if so, if Roger was truely in on the scheme the whole time, if the "robber" had left Roger alive wouldn't he eventually be implicated or indicted on the embezzlement charges?

Just watched this again. Need more info to say Roger did this to his family. Seriously, think about your routine. I'm always up at 5am, but some days sleep until 7am. Sometimes I get the paper asap, others I don't. What if he decided to play lazy for once. Neighbors say he always left at 6:15? What? they watch every morning?

Just watched this again. Need more info to say Roger did this to his family. Seriously, think about your routine. I'm always up at 5am, but some days sleep until 7am. Sometimes I get the paper asap, others I don't. What if he decided to play lazy for once. Neighbors say he always left at 6:15? What? they watch every morning?

No. The neighbors said they saw him in his garage sipping coffee at 7:00 the day he was killed. Leaving for work no later than 6:15 was info probably supplied by D.J.

And the fact that he was drinking coffee in the garage at that time of year (in late November) always looked fishy to me. The reenactment was obviously shot in the summer time given the clothing the actors were wearing. But that time of year in Colorado is going to be cold, probably with snow on the ground. Who relaxes with a cup of coffee in a freezing garage at 7:00 in the morning?

I really think he was waiting for the killer to arrive to do some kind of money exchange (for what, we'll never know) but I don't think he ever expected to get killed.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/coldcases/2010/12/05/family-of-murdered-businessman-extorted-years-later/1830/

After reading this article, I'm convinced Roger had nothing to do with his murderer. I think the killer knew Roger embezzled some money from his company, and was planning on blackmailing him.

From what I can read, Roger owned the company. If so, then it isn't really embezzling. I own my own company and when there is extra money around that the business doesn't need, I take it out as income. Pretty standard operating procedure.

I always thought the whole contact lens/glasses thing was odd and interesting at the same time. Why would Roger put in contacts if he usually wore glasses?

(Jumping off this post, not in reply.)

I don't wear glasses, just reading glasses on occasion, so really don't know much about the subject.

What were glasses like in 1985?

Were Roger's glasses and contacts for the same prescription? Or did he wear contacts for driving, general clearer vision, whatever reason, but needed the glasses for seeing things close up like reading, shaving, etc?

In other words, did he need both the contacts AND the glasses at the same time for different purposes, or were the contacts and glasses supposed to do the same job, which is what made it weird (and wouldn't that distort his vision?) to wear both at the same time.

What an intriguing case. Have there been any updates? It's been about 30 years now.

Still a case with no ending ?

This case gets underdone on here. Don't have any new theories to offer at the moment, and as I re-read the one I posted on page one it seems to me now to be too clever by half...

But this case is very odd. Kind of reminds me of the Jack Brown case.

Bumping old thread because I just watched this in Season 4. Pretty interesting. Also, this link below is a tour of Roger Dean's house. This wasn't the house they filmed in, but this was his actual house. I have a feeling a lot hasn't changed inside of it from 1985:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/8266-Bighorn-Ct-Littleton-CO-80124/13457366_zpid/

Thanks to the clear picture on Amazon Prime, it's easier to read the first page of the letter shown on the screen from Roger's killer. There were just a couple words that were too hard to make out no matter how much I squinted. Here's what it said...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a very, very important letter. Read it carefully. Follow each instruction in this letter, and do not call the police. YOUR LIFE AND TAMMY’S DEPENDS ON HOW YOU CONDUCT YOURSELF.

DJ, on a cold snowy morning in November of 85, I had your husband murdered. At this point, you are probably frightened and hoping this is some kind of a joke. Well you should be frightened because this is NO JOKE. To prove to you who I am, I will present you some of the events that took place that morning.

1. You were in the tub when Roger and I went to get you.
2. I tied your hands and covered your eyes and laid you on your bed.
3. I took Roger into Tammy’s room, then I politely talked to you about your bank account.
4. Roger tried to escape while you and I were talking. I CAUGHT HIM!!!
5. As you stood at the top of the stairs, Roger refused to pay as the money ... he tried to struggle, I shot him 4-5 times to make sure he died.
6. I left my black bag which contained tape, rope, and a knife, some of your jewelry lost in the struggle. I took off my ski mask so Roger would know who killed him and why.
7. I DIDN’T KILL YOU! Even knowing you could be a witness if we were ever caught (but that will never happen.) By now, you should realize that I am one of the two persons who sees your Lonetree house with orders to KILL Roger if he didn’t pay his debt. You were right with 1 of us.

DJ, do you know that I have met your daughter Tammy on a few occasions? I have followed her to New York, Arizona and Costa Mesa. She is a very attractive blonde and a very good model. Do not make me KILL HER! If you go to the police or even mention this letter and what you are doing to Tammy, I will kill her. If you think the police or anyone else can stop me, ask ROGER! Now that Tammy is home with you, I can easily KILL HER when she leaves in the morning or goes out at night. But if you do what you are told, you and Tammy will be left alone. But if you do not do exactly what you are told, if you do anything, I mean anything to draw the police on the case, I will wait until they can no longer protect her and KILL HER! IF SHE LEAVES I CAN FIND HER. I know all the places she can go. Do not make your daughter live a life on the run and in hiding, hoping that she will not be killed that day! Do as I tell you, and Tammy need never know of this. If you do not, Tammy and you are DEAD!! If you don’t believe me, ask ROGER!!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

If someone could read the last sentence in #7, it was hard to make out what it said exactly. Maybe someone will have better luck? I got most of it except a couple words.

Bumping old thread because I just watched this in Season 4. Pretty interesting. Also, this link below is a tour of Roger Dean's house. This wasn't the house they filmed in, but this was his actual house. I have a feeling a lot hasn't changed inside of it from 1985:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/8266-Bighorn-Ct-Littleton-CO-80124/13457366_zpid/

Oh, my word. That shag-a-licious blue carpeting!!! I can see where that used to be cool, but it would literally be the first thing I ripped out if I bought that house...

Not sure if mentioned already but the original time I saw this case it said The Unexplained on this version it is correctly listed as Unexplained Death.

I think the cops were wrong in their theory that Roger was involved with the masked man and that he planned on staging a robbery. The most obvious reason being why would the guy kill Roger before he ever even got the money? That would make no sense at all. Why would Roger struggle and try to flee from this masked man if he was the one who hired him? So I think someone was planning on blackmailing Roger. That's why he took the $30,000 out of his company's account and transferred it to a private one. I think Roger knew when this guy was supposed to arrive. Which is why he was still at the house at 7 in the morning. I don't think he intended on splitting the money with the masked man. I think he arranged it to look like a robbery to hide whatever was behind the blackmailing. And according to this (http://lonetreevoice.net/stories/Murder-still-unsolved-after-25-years,82326) article, Roger was having an affair. Someone found out and planned on blackmailing him. IMO, the masked man took Roger to the other bedroom with the intent of tying him up and blindfolding him but instead went back into the master bedroom and began questioning his wife. Roger heard the guy getting louder and louder and freaked out and took off running. The intruder heard this and went after him, and shot at him (to scare him, IMO) but the bullet ricocheted and struck him. Roger broke off in a panic and the intruder was forced to murder him.

I think the affair played a big role in Roger's murder. Someone found out about it and threatened to tell Roger's wife unless he paid them. That's why Roger embezzled the money from his company into the private account. I think Roger planned on meeting the guy at his house that day, but he had no idea that the man was going to be armed, or that the man intended to involve his wife in any way.

http://coloradocommunitymedia.com/stories/Cold-case-files-Who-killed-Roger-Dean,75259

This article was one of the best I could find and gives us some insight. Apparently there were numerous people who might have a motive for Roger to be dead.

Apparently his business was grocery distribution. There is also a mention that the unnamed secretary and her son had not been ruled out as suspects, and that there was still an affair going on. I guess that was the part of the Deans' "personal problems" that D.J. did not mention, other than their son's death which I believe was an accident.

I do believe D.J. and Tammy to be completely innocent and that they did not know what might have been going on, even if Roger may have known.

Does anyone remember when Stack mentioned that the FBI believed that the letter was written by a man and woman working together? That would also point towards the secretary and her son.

I think the cops were wrong in their theory that Roger was involved with the masked man and that he planned on staging a robbery. The most obvious reason being why would the guy kill Roger before he ever even got the money? That would make no sense at all. Why would Roger struggle and try to flee from this masked man if he was the one who hired him? So I think someone was planning on blackmailing Roger. That's why he took the $30,000 out of his company's account and transferred it to a private one. I think Roger knew when this guy was supposed to arrive. Which is why he was still at the house at 7 in the morning. I don't think he intended on splitting the money with the masked man. I think he arranged it to look like a robbery to hide whatever was behind the blackmailing. And according to this (http://lonetreevoice.net/stories/Murder-still-unsolved-after-25-years,82326) article, Roger was having an affair. Someone found out and planned on blackmailing him. IMO, the masked man took Roger to the other bedroom with the intent of tying him up and blindfolding him but instead went back into the master bedroom and began questioning his wife. Roger heard the guy getting louder and louder and freaked out and took off running. The intruder heard this and went after him, and shot at him (to scare him, IMO) but the bullet ricocheted and struck him. Roger broke off in a panic and the intruder was forced to murder him.

I think the affair played a big role in Roger's murder. Someone found out about it and threatened to tell Roger's wife unless he paid them. That's why Roger embezzled the money from his company into the private account. I think Roger planned on meeting the guy at his house that day, but he had no idea that the man was going to be armed, or that the man intended to involve his wife in any way.

Maybe this: Secretary's son finds out and blackmails Roger. Roger moves money to personal account so secretary has no idea who is behind it. Son comes to the house to "rob" Roger. Roger at first cooperates and then gets combative (or not). Son fires shot to scare Roger, but hits him accidentally (or on purpose). Then finishes the job, but ends up running off and not getting the money.

Son later admits to secretary what happened. They send the letter (writing it together) trying to get $ out of D.J., who takes the bait. She drops off the money but they end up chickening out and not taking it.

Son calls Tammy claiming instructions not followed. UM then airs case.

Roger Dean's case is one of my favourites, it's just so intriguing. The music at the start was kind of creepy too

i cannot remember watching this case so i don´t know if the police ruled out DJ as the killer.

her daughter was home?

if not she could´ve killed him and staged the whole intruder incident, she probably discovered that her husband was stealing from their business and when she confronted him the situation just went wrong.

Later, she could´ve faked the extortion calls so her story had more credibility.

Maybe i should´ve submit this in the unpopular thread :)

This case still confuses me. I'm not sure why the cops believe Roger Dean was in on the whole thing. If he had hired this guy to make it look like a robbery, why did the man shoot him 5 times? And I was confused on the whole $30,000 bit with his company. Did he embezzle the money from his company? And if so, if Roger was truely in on the scheme the whole time, if the "robber" had left Roger alive wouldn't he eventually be implicated or indicted on the embezzlement charges?I have this episode recorded from analogue cable in the 90s (lifetime) and its fascinating..


@ some points it looks like Roger is involved but like you said IF HE IS,why was he killed?? (An argument with the killer??)


Its interesting after all this time they still havent found the guy!!!

I have this episode recorded from analogue cable in the 90s (lifetime) and its fascinating..


@ some points it looks like Roger is inolved but like you said IF HE IS,why was he killed?? (An argument with the killer??)


Its interesting after all this time they still havent found the guy!!!

Can I see it?

i cannot remember watching this case so i don´t know if the police ruled out DJ as the killer.

her daughter was home?

if not she could´ve killed him and staged the whole intruder incident, she probably discovered that her husband was stealing from their business and when she confronted him the situation just went wrong.

Later, she could´ve faked the extortion calls so her story had more credibility.

Maybe i should´ve submit this in the unpopular thread :)

Interesting points. I believe only Roger and DJ were living in or present in the house at the time of the murder. However I suspect DJ had no idea about what was in what account. The fact she was supposedly asked that question point blank is telling though.

Can I see it?I dunno how you would be able to buddy......

Heres info: http://unsolved.com/gallery/roger-dean

I am in the school that Roger was in on it. If it truly was an unknown intruder, why would you not take out Roger first? Why keep the bigger and stronger of the duo alive and able bodied? I don't think the wife had anything to do with it though.

If it truly was an unknown intruder, why would you not take out Roger first? Why keep the bigger and stronger of the duo alive and able bodied?

But that's the thing, the intruder did shoot Roger, prior to ever receiving the money. So I have no idea why the cops would think Roger was in on the plan, unless this was some weird assisted suicide type deal.

I am in the school that Roger was in on it.Ya yo may be right.. If he wasnt involved im sure they might have found SOMETHING OUT by now!!

But that's the thing, the intruder did shoot Roger, prior to ever receiving the money. So I have no idea why the cops would think Roger was in on the plan, unless this was some weird assisted suicide type deal.


True - could Roger have been in on it and it went wrong? Like the shooter knew along he was going to take Roger out as he would blab?

I am not trying to be argumentative, I am just puzzled.

True - could Roger have been in on it and it went wrong? Like the shooter knew along he was going to take Roger out as he would blab?

I am not trying to be argumentative, I am just puzzled.

Yeah this case has always baffled me. Especially the theory the police came up with. Roger struggled with the intruder and made a break for the door before being shot repeatedly. That doesn't seem like he was involved with the plot.

I just re-watched this one on Lifetime. I remember this case and I have been back and forth the many times I have watched it, he was in on it he wasn't in on it. The letter written and sent 5 years later was from someone else the letter wasn't from someone else. The suicide angle posted here by someone is an interesting one and I think it does hold some merit.

I own my own business and as such to take money out of the business that you own is not embezzlement its how I get paid or if I need cash for something so I don't believe the man embezzled the money. The affair is indeed a very interesting angle and one that was not mentioned in the segment so it adds a twist to my theory. Looking back at it again I am on the side of he was in on it. To have rope marks on one hand not the other makes no sense. Of course that brings up the problem of why he was shot 5 times. Could the intruder have gotten scared and lost his cool could something have been said that was not shared or overheard that changed things. In the heat of the moment things can go south fast and I think this is what happened here. What the motive was on his part is a mystery and I think will remain one.

On the side note that letter was eerie reading the whole thing makes the case even stranger. Based on the letter I do not believe it was someone different I think it was the same person, the belief that they were working with someone else makes sense. Being 5 years later and lets face it I would not be surprised if someone was watching her before and after the letter was sent and she contacted the police maybe thats why they said she didnt follow the directions why nothing else happens could mean a number of different things could she have chosen to no longer work with the police? I am sure I would as well since it seems that very rarely does contacting the police or fbi turn out right.

Time to re-up my amazon subscription so I can watch the original unsolved mysteries. Looking back I added nothing to this thread so clearly I am as lost as I was when I first saw this segment many many years ago.

The whole thing is interesting!

Will we ever know?

I fear sadly that we wont ever get a resolution to what happened for sure and how much if any involvement he had in the whole thing. I guess thats what keeps us watching these stories and coming on these forums and writing about them. As my girlfriend says to me all the time once the segment is over she doesnt really even think about it. She obviously does not have an inquisitive mind.

Its interesting someone was waiting in a car parked on the street near thier house.... No one knew who it was!!!

Why didnt someone phone the police??

Here's an article published a few months ago (Dec. 2010). 25 years now since the murder.

http://www.coloradocommunitynewspapers.com/articles/2010/12/22/highlands_ranch_herald/news/23_cm_cold_case_hr.txt

They say that police do hold certain information about the case, which is not unusual in cases like this. Interestingly, the investigators says that they believe that the killer and the person who made the calls, letters, etc. and threaten to kill DJ's daughter are 2 different individuals and are not related. The UM segment was talking about the killer himself coming back to harass the family. Now they think it's someone who knew about the murder and tried to take advantage of the situation and extort money. How sick is that?

The positive thing in this: at least, the widow and her daughter seem to have been left at peace since the threats have stopped.

Was starting to read through this whole thread - it had been a long time since I had thought of this case - and as I was thinking about the letters I had the thought that letters are kind of like the “new” eyewitness testimony in missing persons cases for me - the eyewitness is almost always wrong and should be taken with a serious grain of salt, and after-the-fact letters seem almost always to be coming from people who were just weirdos, but not actually involved, and should be regarded as such (probably true even in the sort of granddaddy of all letter writing cases, Jack the Ripper). I had that thought Andy then, lol and behold, here’s this theory that suggests the one had nothing to do with the other.

Thanks to the clear picture on Amazon Prime, it's easier to read the first page of the letter shown on the screen from Roger's killer. There were just a couple words that were too hard to make out no matter how much I squinted. Here's what it said...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a very, very important letter. Read it carefully. Follow each instruction in this letter, and do not call the police. YOUR LIFE AND TAMMY’S DEPENDS ON HOW YOU CONDUCT YOURSELF.

DJ, on a cold snowy morning in November of 85, I had your husband murdered. At this point, you are probably frightened and hoping this is some kind of a joke. Well you should be frightened because this is NO JOKE. To prove to you who I am, I will present you some of the events that took place that morning.

1. You were in the tub when Roger and I went to get you.
2. I tied your hands and covered your eyes and laid you on your bed.
3. I took Roger into Tammy’s room, then I politely talked to you about your bank account.
4. Roger tried to escape while you and I were talking. I CAUGHT HIM!!!
5. As you stood at the top of the stairs, Roger refused to pay as the money ... he tried to struggle, I shot him 4-5 times to make sure he died.
6. I left my black bag which contained tape, rope, and a knife, some of your jewelry lost in the struggle. I took off my ski mask so Roger would know who killed him and why.
7. I DIDN’T KILL YOU! Even knowing you could be a witness if we were ever caught (but that will never happen.) By now, you should realize that I am one of the two persons who sees your Lonetree house with orders to KILL Roger if he didn’t pay his debt. You were right with 1 of us.

DJ, do you know that I have met your daughter Tammy on a few occasions? I have followed her to New York, Arizona and Costa Mesa. She is a very attractive blonde and a very good model. Do not make me KILL HER! If you go to the police or even mention this letter and what you are doing to Tammy, I will kill her. If you think the police or anyone else can stop me, ask ROGER! Now that Tammy is home with you, I can easily KILL HER when she leaves in the morning or goes out at night. But if you do what you are told, you and Tammy will be left alone. But if you do not do exactly what you are told, if you do anything, I mean anything to draw the police on the case, I will wait until they can no longer protect her and KILL HER! IF SHE LEAVES I CAN FIND HER. I know all the places she can go. Do not make your daughter live a life on the run and in hiding, hoping that she will not be killed that day! Do as I tell you, and Tammy need never know of this. If you do not, Tammy and you are DEAD!! If you don’t believe me, ask ROGER!!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

If someone could read the last sentence in #7, it was hard to make out what it said exactly. Maybe someone will have better luck? I got most of it except a couple words.

I think it was

(You were right there were 2 of us, not 1)

Which means Unsolved mysteries left out the fact that maybe there was a second intruder.

The whole thing is mysterious............ If it really happend as UM says,something is def not right!!!!

This case has always been on my list of ones that I do think will be solved eventually.

Just finished listening to RobinW's episode about the Dean murder and it got me thinking about various aspects of the case.

-According to DJ, the killer kept asking her how much money they had in their savings account and she kept saying that she didn't know. She heard him start to rifle around some drawers in the bedroom before a noise made him leave the room and confront Roger. I think the noise was Roger getting loose from his bindings and getting ready to escape.

-After the killer left the room to confront Roger, they argued in the hallway where the killer kept asking how much money did they have and Roger finally said that he had $30,000 but not on him and the killer said that they were going to go to the bank. It really doesn't seem like this person knew the financial situation of the Dean family, and it doesn't seem like the kind of questions someone would ask ("how much is in your savings") if their motive was to extort money. IMO, it seems more like a robbery than a grand extortion attempt.

-The police thought it was odd that only one wrist of Roger's had twine fiber on it and wondered if he was ever even tied up at all. I think it's just as likely that the killer tied Roger's one hand to a heavy object in the room so he couldn't escape while he searched the master bedroom. The loud noise that startled the killer, IMO, was Roger getting loose from the heavy object and perhaps knocking it over in an attempt to escape.

-Roger's glasses being covered with duct tape while he was wearing contacts could be meaningless, IMO. His killer wouldn't know if he had contacts in, so I could see him taping the glasses in preparation for taking Roger out of the house to get the money.

-I no longer think that the killer and the extortionist are the same person. Whoever killed Roger didn't make any threatening statements about harming his family, knowing where his daughter lived, etc. they just kept asking about money and how much they had in their savings. The extortionist seemed to have knowledge about their family and where Roger's daughter had lived. They seem totally unrelated to me.

-The killer was seen waiting in his car earlier that morning. Roger opened his garage door and neighbors saw him drinking coffee shortly before 7. I know that police speculate that this was a signal from Roger to the killer and that they were working together, but it could just as easily have been that the killer was waiting for Roger to leave for work so he could enter the house with DJ being alone. When the killer saw Roger in the garage, he took advantage of it and confronted him. A full cop of coffee was found in the garage, meaning that the killer startled Roger shortly after opening the garage door.

I don't think the killer was someone totally unknown to Roger. I think it could have been someone who was an acquaintance, or someone who perceived Roger and DJ to keep large sums of money in their home. I also still can't wrap my head around why Roger would stage this elaborate scheme just to pocket $30,000. The money was already transferred to a "secret account" according to UM. So he already had it. What he intended to do with it, I have no idea. He could have been involved in something shady, but I'm not so sure that that is was caused his death. I still lean towards someone who knew (or thought) that the Dean's were wealthy and kept large sums of cash in their house trying to rob them. I think UM spent too much time covering the extortion attempts rather than focusing on the events leading up to Roger's murder. His affair wasn't even mentioned, outside of DJ saying that there were "personal issues" around the time of Roger's murder. I didn't even know that DJ knew about the affair until listening to The Trail Went Cold episode. That's another knock against the killer was trying to blackmail him to keep the affair a secret theory.

I no longer think that the killer and the extortionist are the same person. Whoever killed Roger didn't make any threatening statements about harming his family, knowing where his daughter lived, etc. they just kept asking about money and how much they had in their savings. The extortionist seemed to have knowledge about their family and where Roger's daughter had lived. They seem totally unrelated to me.

Good analysis. I know the UM segment presented it as an absolute certainty that the killer and the extortionist were the same person and that's what the FBI initially believed, but it was interesting to find out that the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, who investigated the case from the very beginning, believe they were completely separate people.

If you freeze-frame the extortion letter when it's displayed onscreen in the UM segment, there's a line where the writer mentions removing his mask before shooting Roger, so that he would know who wanted to kill him. But of course, if Roger and the intruder were in on this together, that makes no sense. The way the events at the house unfolded do seem more like a robbery than a revenge scheme, so that line about the mask doesn't sound like something the actual perpetrator would have wrote.

The killer was seen waiting in his car earlier that morning. Roger opened his garage door and neighbors saw him drinking coffee shortly before 7. I know that police speculate that this was a signal from Roger to the killer and that they were working together, but it could just as easily have been that the killer was waiting for Roger to leave for work so he could enter the house with DJ being alone. When the killer saw Roger in the garage, he took advantage of it and confronted him. A full cop of coffee was found in the garage, meaning that the killer startled Roger shortly after opening the garage door.

Yeah, even though it seems like a minor detail, the cup of coffee is one of the main things which made me think Roger didn't orchestrate the whole scheme. Why would he prepare coffee for himself if he knew someone was about to enter his house and stage a robbery? While I do think it's possible Roger arranged a meeting with the masked man in his garage for other reasons, such as blackmail, I don't know why he would do so while D.J. was still in the house.

I still believe that the gunman attempted to fire off a warning shot at Roger when he attempted to flee, but did not expect the bullet to ricochet off the banister and strike Roger in the arm. Since Roger was not going to be able to withdraw any money from the bank with a gunshot wound, the intruder decided to finish him off and kill him.

The killer taking the ski mask off never made sense to me. It would be one thing if this all went down at 2:00 in the morning. But not on a weekday when children are leaving for school and neighbors are leaving for work.

And wouldn't Roger have known by that point who was holding him at gunpoint? There was probably no need for a "big reveal."

The killer taking the ski mask off never made sense to me. It would be one thing if this all went down at 2:00 in the morning. But not on a weekday when children are leaving for school and neighbors are leaving for work.

And wouldn't Roger have known by that point who was holding him at gunpoint? There was probably no need for a "big reveal."

Yeah, I'm inclined to think that the mask came off accidentally during a struggle and the only reason the killer left it behind was because he had to follow Roger outside the house when he shot him and decided to immediately flee the scene without retrieving it.

Even though no one would have been thinking about this back in 1985, DNA was eventually obtained from the mask and could be used to convict the perpetrator if they ever make a match.

Yeah, even though it seems like a minor detail, the cup of coffee is one of the main things which made me think Roger didn't orchestrate the whole scheme. Why would he prepare coffee for himself if he knew someone was about to enter his house and stage a robbery? While I do think it's possible Roger arranged a meeting with the masked man in his garage for other reasons, such as blackmail, I don't know why he would do so while D.J. was still in the house.

Also keep in mind how cold it was that morning. According to historical weather online, the max temperature in Littleton, CO on November 21, 1985 was 26 degrees. And the letter writer said it was a snowy day. (It was actually nothing weather wise like the reenactment which was apparently shot on a beautiful summer day.)

The coffee had to be to keep warm. There would really be no reason to open your garage just to stand around in the freezing cold unless that really was a signal for a meeting to take place.

The coffee had to be to keep warm. There would really be no reason to open your garage just to stand around in the freezing cold unless that really was a signal for a meeting to take place.

Unless he went out to the garage to warm up his car, opened the garage door, and was then intercepted by the killer. If this was some sort of signal, why did Roger go out of his way to be seen by neighbors? Why not agree on a prearranged time and leave the front door unlocked? I guess I suppose it's possible that Roger actually did intend to have someone he knew come over in the morning, but nothing nefarious was planned, and that this person simply took advantage of the situation and planned on robbing them. The only problem with this theory is that Roger would be able to identify him (if you believe that the killer didn't intend on killing Roger).

First off, RobinW did a great job with this podcast! Thank you for covering this case, and job well done on it. I think you covered all sides very well.

I agree that the killer and the extortionist are different people. I think the extortionist has a vendetta against Roger's daughter, and was trying to scare, extort, and/or punish her. Roger was already dead, so if it was to punish him, what was the point? The specific references to his daughter and "you'll never know when" makes me think it was really about her.

If this was some sort of signal, why did Roger go out of his way to be seen by neighbors? Why not agree on a prearranged time and leave the front door unlocked? I guess I suppose it's possible that Roger actually did intend to have someone he knew come over in the morning, but nothing nefarious was planned, and that this person simply took advantage of the situation and planned on robbing them.

I still think Roger was absolutely waiting for someone that morning. I'm torn as to whether he was waiting for the actual person who showed up though. The fact he was usually long gone for work by that time and he was standing with a cup of coffee in the garage with the door open on a cold morning says he was waiting for someone. To me, it seems like he wanted to meet someone and he didn't want them ringing the doorbell as if he didn't want DJ to know. But why meet them at all with her at home? He could have done it at a different place or time and not involved her at all. I think this gives credibility to the theory he was setting up something but it all went wrong. I do think he was trying to stage a robbery or kidnapping so DJ would think it was real, but it got out of control.

I think it is likely Roger didn't know his killer as well as he thought, or the guy reneged on a previous agreement and intended to take more of Roger's money than originally planned. The duct tape on the glasses is really odd. He wasn't wearing glasses at the time and if you wanted to tape over his eyes, why not just do it? Also, as Robin said, it seems likely that the shooting was an accident but then the killer realized he was in too deep.

Roger strikes me as a guy who thought he was pretty smooth, but probably not street smart at all. I think it is likely he was staging something to cover up for the money he hid and it all went to hell.

In other discussions of this case, I've seen a different explanation.

Roger Dean was supposedly having an affair with a woman (who may or may not have worked for him as a secretary). Her son may have been the man who came to Dean's house that morning and killed him - I'm not sure if that was the intention or not. The $30K was blackmail money they demanded. I think there was something they knew, but who knows what it was.

These comments were posted with the video online a year or so ago, and that's what I remember from them. That theory is part of the reason why the police thought the letters had been written by a man and a woman.

This may be leaning a bit too far into tin-foil-hat territory, but I feel like Roger's death is still related to something like the above (in bold).

He most definitely wasinvolved in something shady. That is almost a certainty at this point. From there, things could go in one of two directions.

A) Someone (or multiple persons) who knew about, was involved in or was otherwise affiliated with that shady something could've gotten wind of the $30K Roger had stashed away and either figured there was a lot more where that came from and/or he was just an easy target. They hatched a plan to rob him and Roger ended up dead. That's about the easiest explanation I can come up with.

B) Whatever shady business Roger was involved in left one or more people seriously aggrieved. These one or more persons were aggrieved to the point that they wanted him dead. To accomplish this, while disguising their own true motives, they hired someone or otherwise let it be known that Roger had money, thus marking him as a robbery target (rather than the perpetrator of something personal)

Either way, I don't think Roger knew this was coming or was somehow involved in staging this himself.

D.J. made a comment during her interview that there had been some personal problems in her marriage to Roger that seemed to get worse after their son had died. Sometimes I wonder if one of the personal problems she was referring to was Roger's infidelity. If she knew about it, that completely scraps the blackmail idea.

Either way, I don't think Roger knew this was coming or was somehow involved in staging this himself.

I understand why people think Roger didn't set up this robbery/extortion. But that doesn't explain Roger's odd behavior on the morning of his murder. Everyone says he was always gone by 6am, yet there he was after 7. Also, it wasn't like he was moving with purpose -- he was standing in the garage, on a cold morning, with a cup of coffee. That just doesn't make sense.

If there was a logical explanation for this, I could dismiss most of the rest of it. But this has every mark that he was waiting for someone or looking out for someone. He may not have been anticipating be robbed and/or kidnapped, but I definitely think he was waiting for someone (or looking out for someone). If he was just starting his car, he would have started it, backed it out of the garage, and gone back inside. No one hangs out in the driveway waiting for their car to warm up. (Being from a cold-weather climate, I know this well... :))

If DJ had said Roger wasn't at work because he had an off-site meeting or a doctor's appointment or he wasn't feeling well, this might make sense. No one can explain why a creature of habit just happened to do something completely out of character on the morning he was killed. That part sticks with me more than anything.

Roger was killed 34 years ago today.

What I am wondering, is in the segment, RS says cops were pretty certain the killer and letter writer were one and the same. Now, they are not so sure. I wonder why.

What I am wondering, is in the segment, RS says cops were pretty certain the killer and letter writer were one and the same. Now, they are not so sure. I wonder why.

RobinW did a good job covering this in his podcast. Originally police thought the letter writer knew things that only the killer could have known. Later on, it was determined that it probably wasn't correct as most if not all of that information was publicly available.

It also seemed like the letter writer was more concerned with inflicting terror on Roger's daughter than anything else.

Roger wore glasses and right after being tide up with his glasses duct taped he used his contacts as a backup while freeing himself. To see on his escape out! He had contact case in his pockets in case the robber/partner blindfolded him w his glasses on or punched roger in the face during spur of the moment disagreement.

Did his neighbors see Roger w his glasses on in the garage??!!

It was necessary to open and keep the garage door open so later roger could sneak out while the killer was interrogating his wife! Roger had this planned as a setup. But also had a backup plan in case the suspect turned on him. Sadly he turned on roger but roger almost got away from the killer.

The hot coffee was to be used if roger made it to his car And the killer as well. He could throw the hot coffee in the killers eyes thus blinding him for many seconds. Even w a winter mask the eyes can be scolded w hot coffee. By the time the cops arrived the coffee was no longer hot. (Knowing cops they prob drank the coffee thus destroying good evidence hee hee!)

QUOTE=RedBasket;4618828]I would love an article on this case or some locals who have some inside scoop.

It is airing again and this one was very memorable. I always thought the whole contact lens/glasses thing was odd and interesting at the same time.

Why would Roger put in contacts if he usually wore glasses?[/QUOTE]

RobinW did a good job covering this in his podcast. Originally police thought the letter writer knew things that only the killer could have known. Later on, it was determined that it probably wasn't correct as most if not all of that information was publicly available.

It also seemed like the letter writer was more concerned with inflicting terror on Roger's daughter than anything else.

Roger should have had a gun. I say he was in cahoots w the man because he never used a gun. Since roger knew who was coming he didnt feel need to use a gun or buy one.

Maybe roger told his secretary and coWorkers that he was gonna arrive 1 hour later the next morning just because. Someone at work heard this. Like the secretary. She then went 2 work at 7 am ish as usual but her son did the killing. She had an alibi w this. Detectives in an article or on UM said the mother n son left the area after the murder. Huge red flag. Wth!!??

RobinW did a good job covering this in his podcast. Originally police thought the letter writer knew things that only the killer could have known. Later on, it was determined that it probably wasn't correct as most if not all of that information was publicly available.

It also seemed like the letter writer was more concerned with inflicting terror on Roger's daughter than anything else.

Thanks for the info.

That case was and still is very confusing!!!!!


In some cases it seems like Roger was involved and it backfired on him.......


I hope they find who did this to him!!!

Watched the Roger Dean UM segment (S04) for the first time. Wow - this is especially strange, given that it really looks like Dean was in on this supposed robbery/abduction & that it back-fired on him. I completely agree that the details of the case strongly lend credence to Dean's setting the whole thing up, i.e.:

-His glasses that were found duct-taped in another room, when he was wearing contacts at the time of his death. So, why would the killer duct-tape his glasses over his face - if he was wearing contacts?!

-His seemingly waiting for someone in his open garage the morning of the crime.

-Prior to the crime, it was noted that he took $30,000 from his work & put it in a separate account (without his wife's knowledge).

Re: the later calls that terrorized RD's wife DJ & his daughter, I don't believe these calls were from the same person that committed the crime:

https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Roger_Dean

If there was a logical explanation for this, I could dismiss most of the rest of it. But this has every mark that he was waiting for someone or looking out for someone. He may not have been anticipating be robbed and/or kidnapped, but I definitely think he was waiting for someone (or looking out for someone). If he was just starting his car, he would have started it, backed it out of the garage, and gone back inside. No one hangs out in the driveway waiting for their car to warm up. (Being from a cold-weather climate, I know this well... :))

If DJ had said Roger wasn't at work because he had an off-site meeting or a doctor's appointment or he wasn't feeling well, this might make sense. No one can explain why a creature of habit just happened to do something completely out of character on the morning he was killed. That part sticks with me more than anything.

Exactly!!

It’s worth noting DJ past away this past Aug, at the age of 84.

I'm curious if Roger had a gambling debt or owed a loan shark.

This case is very baffling.

A man by the name of Michael Jefferson was arrested following the use of genetic dna. The ski mask worn by the murderer had hairs investigators were able to use to develop a dna profile in 2003. When no hits were found in CODIS they were able to hire an investigator to develop a family tree for the suspect. No idea on the motive and the statute of limitations on the blackmail has passed. However one of the investigators who rode on a cross-country flight with Michael Jefferson listed to the threatening recordings and thinks they are the same person.

Sounds like they are slowly getting there!!!!!

No statue on this so they could still get him!!

This case has always been on my list of ones that I do think will be solved eventually.

At the time I wrote this, the furthest thing from my mind would be DNA evidence cracking the case. I always thought someone known to Roger killed him in an extortion attempt gone wrong and that a confession would be the thing that cracked the case. Glad to see that this one is (hopefully) getting resolved. I do find it interesting that Jefferson is being charged with kidnapping, as well as murder. If Roger hired Jefferson to stage a kidnapping, why are they charging him with that since he murdered Roger before he could stage it?! I am still leaning towards Roger not being involved in any staged kidnapping plot, and that this was a crime of opportunity. It'll be interesting to see if a connection between Roger and Jefferson is established.

The whole thing is very strange and its amazing something so small like a plastic bottle could help solve it!!! (Its amazing)

I do find it interesting that Jefferson is being charged with kidnapping, as well as murder. If Roger hired Jefferson to stage a kidnapping, why are they charging him with that since he murdered Roger before he could stage it?! I am still leaning towards Roger not being involved in any staged kidnapping plot, and that this was a crime of opportunity. It'll be interesting to see if a connection between Roger and Jefferson is established.

I wonder if it was planned to be a staged kidnapping that turned into the real thing. Of all the evidence and witness testimony that was presented on UM, I just can't get over Roger appearing to wait for someone in the garage that morning, which was totally out of character for him. It seems incredibly odd that he would do that on the very morning he was killed. I hope we'll find out the true story on all of this, including the ransom letters. If Roger wasn't involved, then I really hope we learn the full story of what went down.

At the time I wrote this, the furthest thing from my mind would be DNA evidence cracking the case. I always thought someone known to Roger killed him in an extortion attempt gone wrong and that a confession would be the thing that cracked the case. Glad to see that this one is (hopefully) getting resolved. I do find it interesting that Jefferson is being charged with kidnapping, as well as murder. If Roger hired Jefferson to stage a kidnapping, why are they charging him with that since he murdered Roger before he could stage it?! I am still leaning towards Roger not being involved in any staged kidnapping plot, and that this was a crime of opportunity. It'll be interesting to see if a connection between Roger and Jefferson is established.


Kidnapping charge is probably for DJ.

Good analysis. I know the UM segment presented it as an absolute certainty that the killer and the extortionist were the same person and that's what the FBI initially believed, but it was interesting to find out that the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, who investigated the case from the very beginning, believe they were completely separate people.

If you freeze-frame the extortion letter when it's displayed onscreen in the UM segment, there's a line where the writer mentions removing his mask before shooting Roger, so that he would know who wanted to kill him. But of course, if Roger and the intruder were in on this together, that makes no sense. The way the events at the house unfolded do seem more like a robbery than a revenge scheme, so that line about the mask doesn't sound like something the actual perpetrator would have wrote.




Yeah, even though it seems like a minor detail, the cup of coffee is one of the main things which made me think Roger didn't orchestrate the whole scheme. Why would he prepare coffee for himself if he knew someone was about to enter his house and stage a robbery? While I do think it's possible Roger arranged a meeting with the masked man in his garage for other reasons, such as blackmail, I don't know why he would do so while D.J. was still in the house.



I still believe that the gunman attempted to fire off a warning shot at Roger when he attempted to flee, but did not expect the bullet to ricochet off the banister and strike Roger in the arm. Since Roger was not going to be able to withdraw any money from the bank with a gunshot wound, the intruder decided to finish him off and kill him.

1. The tape on the glasses was suspicious to me because he had his contacts in and his vision would get blurry. That was the main reason I thought he was involved. However, I'm coming around towards Roger not being involved either.

2. 7:00 isn't that far off from 6:15 am. It could be he was taking a lazy day and not going in until later. He could have opened the garage door in preparation to start his car before leaving. Some mornings, if I'm not brewing coffee for the road, I'm still drinking my coffee when I go to warm up my car. Since he regularly had a 6:15 leave time, perhaps the killer were waiting for him to leave and got tired of waiting?

3. This makes the most sense to me. Reading that letter in its entirety, why would the killer take the time to take off his mask to show who was committing the crime if they had a meet already scheduled?

Okay Michael Jefferson is NOT Caucasian, yet, DJ Dean stated that the killer was Caucasian. This was an egregious error on her part.

Okay Michael Jefferson is NOT Caucasian, yet, DJ Dean stated that the killer was Caucasian. This was an egregious error on her part.

The investigators made an egregious error by discounting the young neighbor who saw the killer take off his mask and run away to his car as a black male.

This (https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/roger-dean-cold-case-murder-douglas-county/73-b7a71259-0fad-48e6-af92-e42f376915a9) link from early last year discussed the break in the case and that Michael Jefferson is the prime suspect in the case. There is a portion I am confused on, though. This is taken from that article:

An investigator who boarded the cross-country flight with Jefferson also listened to the recorded phone calls sent by the believed sender of the letters and said he believed the voices sounded the same, the affidavit says.

I am curious if this means they believe Jefferson was the letter writer/caller or if it was someone completely separate. In any event, there haven't been any updates on Jefferson's arrest or impending trial since April 2021.

In any event, there haven't been any updates on Jefferson's arrest or impending trial since April 2021.

Yep. Over a year and no info. Very frustrating.

Likewise, another Colorado case from the 80's, the orange sock murders (Bobbie Oberholtzer & Annette Schnee), the killer was finally arrested in February 2021. But other than a few scraps, the only information that's been posted online since then is the story of the killer's rescue from the same mountain top mere hours after the murders. I'm still trying to figure out why nobody thought to tie HIM to the murders in the 39 years that followed. :crazy:

Yep. Over a year and no info. Very frustrating.

Likewise, another Colorado case from the 80's, the orange sock murders (Bobbie Oberholtzer & Annette Schnee), the killer was finally arrested in February 2021. But other than a few scraps, the only information that's been posted online since then is the story of the killer's rescue from the same mountain top mere hours after the murders. I'm still trying to figure out why nobody thought to tie HIM to the murders in the 39 years that followed. :crazy:

That development irritated me to no end. After killing them, he gets rescued. Unbelievable. :mad:

I do hope they got the right one after all this time!

Anyone know of any updates on this?

Ever since I watched it on UM I thought Roger was involved somehow and it went bad...... I love watching this episode...... I have it recorded from analogue cable!!

I do hope they got the right one after all this time!

I recently checked to see if there were any updates and found this article from July regarding the DNA evidence: https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/colorado/news/colorado-prosecutors-writing-inmates-dna-evidence-manipulation-overturn-convictions/

Thanx for the link........

I recently checked to see if there were any updates and found this article from July regarding the DNA evidence: https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/colorado/news/colorado-prosecutors-writing-inmates-dna-evidence-manipulation-overturn-convictions/

Thank you.

In the segment, Stack says the authorities thought that the extortion letters were written by a man and a woman working together. I wonder what was said in those letters that gave them that idea.

The killer took a plea deal (https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/douglas-county-sheriff-dna-plea-bargain-missy-woods-aclu-colorado-bureau-investigation/) which has a maximum penalty of 32 years in prison. Hopefully he gets the maximum.

Im sorry but if its really this idiot,he should also be killed....

Poor Roger had no say in the matter,why should he??


It indeed isnt justice!!

I randomly chose an episode to watch today, and I picked the one that contained Roger Dean's story.

Then I did some googling to see if there was an update and found the story at the link that follows: https://denvergazette.com/news/courts/roger-dean-murderer-sentenced-michael-jefferson/article_f7e5cb58-d43d-11ef-9693-b30816fc9fe5.html

Hmm is that site down right now?

When I click the link it says site cant be reached (A local browser alert)

Yes I have heard they finally found someone.......

Glad that he's been sentenced. Just wish DJ could have lived to see justice served. Hopefully their daughter Tamara can have some peace of mind now.

As for the forensic scientist who handled this case, looks like she should have been let go a long time ago. No excuse for her misconduct.

He did himself in by removing his mask and leaving it behind. I wonder what was the point of him doing that. Even Unsolved Mysteries pointed out how strange that was.

He did himself in by removing his mask and leaving it behind. I wonder what was the point of him doing that. Even Unsolved Mysteries pointed out how strange that was.

Yeah I thought the same thing. Only reason I can think of is he was heading somewhere to blend into a crowd and didn't want to be seen with it on. Remember this was in 1985, so the danger of them getting any evidence off it due to DNA tech being in its infancy probably seemed miniscule.

Criminals are stupid is why he did it!!

Yeah I thought the same thing. Only reason I can think of is he was heading somewhere to blend into a crowd and didn't want to be seen with it on. Remember this was in 1985, so the danger of them getting any evidence off it due to DNA tech being in its infancy probably seemed miniscule.

Yes, DNA testing would have been an unknown thing in 1985. But removing your mask and making your face be seen while escaping in the middle of a residential neighborhood around the exact time children would be leaving for school and adults are leaving for work. Not to mention the endless neighbors that probably would have been looking after hearing the gunshots. Removing your makes absolutely no sense.

It's a shame someone that stupid got to evade police for another three decades.

It's a shame someone that stupid got to evade police for another three decades.

Thank the police for that. They told the eyewitness, who was adamant that she saw a black guy, that she was mistaken and the man was white.

Thank the police for that. They told the eyewitness, who was adamant that she saw a black guy, that she was mistaken and the man was white.

Cases like these are always hard to understand. I never heard/read anything regarding if DJ thought the guy was white or black? Even with a mask I think you'd be able to tell. Maybe she never got a look at him.

Cases like these are always hard to understand. I never heard/read anything regarding if DJ thought the guy was white or black? Even with a mask I think you'd be able to tell. Maybe she never got a look at him.

It was a 9 year old neighbor who said she saw the killer take his mask off and that he was black; the police discounted her story. No idea why.

It was a 9 year old neighbor who said she saw the killer take his mask off and that he was black; the police discounted her story. No idea why.

Idk maybe DJ said he was white? But I did read that the police thought the girl thought he was black because of the contrast of his skin again the white snow that was on the ground.

Idk maybe DJ said he was white? But I did read that the police thought the girl thought he was black because of the contrast of his skin again the white snow that was on the ground.

DJ didn’t know his race. She never saw him without his mask on. She was left tied up and blindfolded upstairs in the bedroom when he chased Roger out of the house, shot him and THEN removed his mask.

Idk maybe DJ said he was white? But I did read that the police thought the girl thought he was black because of the contrast of his skin again the white snow that was on the ground.

This same police department thought Roger hired the guy to rob him because he drank his coffee later than he normally would. I also seem to remember the UM segment showing a clip of the girl seeing the guy take his mask off and running away, but I think it was edited out of the Film Rise versions.

It was a 9 year old neighbor who said she saw the killer take his mask off and that he was black; the police discounted her story. No idea why.

This case was featured on Paula Zahn's show, and there was finally a reason given as to why the investigators dismissed the 9 year old neighbor:

The cops set up an "experiment" where one of them would stand in the window and watch someone leaving the Dean residence in the same manner as the killer, and they couldn't determine the race of the person volunteering as the stand in for the killer. They thought shadows from neighborhood trees distorted the girl's vision. Yes, you read that right.

Its sad they still dont know!

I watched the Paula Zahn episode. Yeah, that’s pretty embarrassing that the police thought that shadows from the trees made the 9 year old neighbor think a white man looked black. Wow. So they had the wrong race of the suspect for 37 years.

The crime scene photographs were interesting. I know the UM reenactment was taped about a block away from the real Dean house. But seeing Roger’s shirt and the amount of blood on it, much more blood than the actor wore in the segment, was a little chilling. They also played some of the recordings of the phone calls the FBI taped between DJ and the extortionist, as well as the phone call Tammy took after he claimed DJ messed up the drop off location for the money.

UM said the killer took his mask off (for reasons known only to himself) and left it behind. But apparently it’s theorized that Roger pulled the mask off to see the identity of the man who was threatening him. And THAT was when he opened fire.

Also confusing; the UM segment said shortly before his death that Roger put $30,000 in a separate bank account unbeknownst to DJ. But the Paula Zahn episode said once DJ was tied up and blindfolded on her bed, the killer came in and asked her if they had any money and she said they had $30,000 in a safe? I may have to go back and watch that part again. I might have heard that wrong.

Tammy looks amazing. She’s now 65 years old but you’d never know that looking at her. They also showed a short snippet of her statement at Jefferson’s hearing. And that was satisfying to see.

They also played some of the recordings of the phone calls the FBI taped between DJ and the extortionist, as well as the phone call Tammy took after he claimed DJ messed up the drop off location for the money. Wow is that what that call was about when he told Tammy "She hasnt followed instructions and now im gonna hurt you"???

Didnt he tell her to leave he bundle where she did??? (In that alley)

Wow is that what that call was about when he told Tammy "She hasnt followed instructions and now im gonna hurt you"???

Didnt he tell her to leave he bundle where she did??? (In that alley)

Yep. The actual exchange was...

Caller: Your mom f*cked up.

Tammy: (Angry) How did she f*ck up?

Hehe I can see why Unsolved Mysteries changed the words :D

Does anyone know where he really wanted the package?

Hehe I can see why Unsolved Mysteries changed the words :D

Does anyone know where he really wanted the package?

The Paula Zahn episode said he could tell the police was trying to trap him with the drop off. So he got angry and lashed out. Tammy said in the UM episode that when he called, he said DJ had not followed instructions. I think he was referring to not getting the police and FBI involved.

Ah ok....... Ya well why wouldnt they get them involved?