Hitchhike Murders in Colorado - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Rosaecrucian · 06-15-2006, 07:14 AM

I Tivo Unsolved Mysteries with the "season pass" option, so I watch the show almost every day. If you don't have Tivo or a generic DVR, you are truly living in the dark ages (for those of you who still use VCR's).

Someone on these forums said that Lifetime "edits" these shows from the original NBC footage. How exactly do they edit them? It seems that they do mix and match stories and move them around, but are the segments themselves edited or shortened?

Anyway, to my real topic. I have seen an episode a couple of times lately that always intrigued me:

If I recall correctly, this took place in Colorado, I believe in Breckenridge or Aspen, or some other ski resort type of town. To summarize the story: this man claims his wife called him to tell him she was going out for drinks with friends after work. Many people in this area hitchhiked (I assume due to the weather conditions, not everyone had a car). Her husband claims he asked her if she wanted him to pick her up and she said no she would hitchhike back home later that night. Of course, she never made it home and was found murdered. Interestingly her husband and a friend found her backpack on the side of the road (which is suspicious as the backpack was a good ways out in a field, and how would he know where to find it?).

What makes the story strange, and not a run of the mill husband kills wife type of case, is the fact that his wife was wearing a single orange sock with the other sock on the other foot being a regular white sock. Her husband claims the orange sock did not belong to her.

What makes this story unique is that sometime after this murder another young woman was found murdered within a few miles of the first murder. Interestingly, this woman was also known to be a local hitchiker (and quite a strikingly beautiful woman). The real kicker is that the OTHER orange sock was found not on her body but laying near it. This sort of takes the suspicion off the husband since it seems a bit far fetched he would kill another woman along with his wife (unless he himself had turned into a serial killer). Of course, he could have killed the other woman as a ruse to take suspicion off of himself for his wife's murder, but this seems like it would be more risky than it would be worth from his point of view.

The socks are just weird. On the show, the police theorized -- and I think their conclusion is the most logical one -- that obviously the same person killed both women. The assailant must have had a pair of socks in his vehicle. The wife must have put ONE of the socks on by accident in the dark in a scramble to escape out into the snow covered ground, and was eventually chased down and shot. The other woman must have also tried to escape the theorized van, and when getting out of the van must have knocked the other sock out onto the ground near where her body was found. The killer did not see it laying on the ground and left it. This seems more likely than the notion the killer did it on purpose to tantalize police. I must say I was impressed by the deductive reasoning the police used here. This is refreshing from the often seen good ole boy network of scatter-brained or nonchalant police work you see in many of these cases.

The bad news for the husband is that it was later discovered that he had a business card of the SECOND victim in his wallet. He admitted to having picked her up on one occaision when she was hitchhiking (uh oh). However, he seems very believable with his story and did agree to appear on the segment (which I have noticed over the years is rare for those accused of the crime). Based on the business card, he is the best suspect for both murders, but that doesn't explain the orange socks, socks he nor his wife owned by all accounts.

My question is, has this case ever been solved? Does lifetime always update stories that have been solved this many years later?

Sorry for the long post, but this is my first post of, hopefully, many more.

Rosaecrucian · 06-15-2006, 08:38 AM

Nevermind on this. I did a forum search and found many replies discussing how a serial killer is now the prime suspect. I don't want to be one of the newbs who the vets have to incessantly point out the usage of the search function.

Still, this is an interesting case and would make a great book/Lifetime/Cohen Bros. movie. I assume a true crime book or two have been published on this case?

Kane · 06-15-2006, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rosaecrucian

Nevermind on this. I did a forum search and found many replies discussing how a serial killer is now the prime suspect. I don't want to be one of the newbs who the vets have to incessantly point out the usage of the search function.

Still, this is an interesting case and would make a great book/Lifetime/Cohen Bros. movie. I assume a true crime book or two have been published on this case?

Well, I know there is a book about Thomas Luther, the serial killer in question. The title of the book is "Monster," and it was written by Steve Jackson.

kadrmas15 · 06-15-2006, 10:56 AM

Yes, I never really seriously considered that the husband did it. The man did appear on UM now that obviously doesnt make him honest but I just dont think he did it. I dont know what it is but I just dont think he did it. Hitchhiking is dangerous and never really understood the craze behind it. Did you know that Charles Sinclair was even looked at as a suspect for this murder? At the time these murders occurred in 1982, Sinclair was living in Northern New Mexico. Now it would have taken 3 or 4 hours maybe more for Sinclair to get from his home in New Mexico to Breckenridge but the drive wasnt unreasonable for him. The orange sock thing is just chilling. Both women were in the twenties, the one that was married was 29 if I remember right while the younger one was 20. They were both attractive women. If you want a really good website on this and other unsolved Colorado mysteries go to. www.rockymountaincoldcase.com

dynoguy88 · 06-15-2006, 11:18 AM

I'm really looking forward to seeing the psychic program that will cover this double murder on the Discovery Channel some time this summer. We need to keep our heads up and hopefully a date and time will be posted....

On Monday, May 22, 2006, information generated by the Discovery Channel’s Sensing Murder episode interviews took three members of the 11th Judicial District Homicide Task Force on a new path down the Sacramento Creek area. Investigators Richard Eaton, Betty Royse and Charlie McCormick followed up on leads from two psychics who visited the crime scenes of Bobbie Jo Oberholtzer and Annette Schnee. The psychics involved in the filming of the new television series sat down with McCormick and former CBI agent Jim Hardtke during the first week of May 2006. As a result, the investigation of the 24-year-old double homicide has taken on new life.

The Task Force spent about four hours in the field exploring new possible sites associated with the murder of Annette Schnee. Psychics Pam Coronado and Laurie Campbell indicated that the location where Schnee’s body was found might not be the actual crime scene or the precise place where the death occurred, according to the team.

The two psychics, interviewed separately, reportedly came up with the same first name of a suspect in both murders as well as possible vehicle descriptions. They also provided their insights as to the nature of the relationship of the killer to the victims and possible motives connected to the murders. The Task Force members are using this new information to re-examine persons of interest in their case files, according to McCormick.

Investigators did not discuss what, if anything, they have found as a result of the new leads or their searches. “We don’t want to reveal anything more specific in the ongoing investigation,” McCormick said. The Sensing Murder series is scheduled to air a pilot episode later this summer.

kadrmas15 · 06-15-2006, 11:31 AM

I found that link through the Summit County, Colorado Sheriff's Department. It seems the current sheriff John Minor has a big interest in this case and having it solved. The Sheriff from Summit County who was interviewed in the UM segment was I believe Delbert Ewoldt who left office in 1995.

06-15-2006, 07:14 AM	#1
Rosaecrucian Overseer Occasional Poster Join Date: Jun 15, 2006 Location: USA Posts: 9	Hitchhike Murders in Colorado I Tivo Unsolved Mysteries with the "season pass" option, so I watch the show almost every day. If you don't have Tivo or a generic DVR, you are truly living in the dark ages (for those of you who still use VCR's). Someone on these forums said that Lifetime "edits" these shows from the original NBC footage. How exactly do they edit them? It seems that they do mix and match stories and move them around, but are the segments themselves edited or shortened? Anyway, to my real topic. I have seen an episode a couple of times lately that always intrigued me: If I recall correctly, this took place in Colorado, I believe in Breckenridge or Aspen, or some other ski resort type of town. To summarize the story: this man claims his wife called him to tell him she was going out for drinks with friends after work. Many people in this area hitchhiked (I assume due to the weather conditions, not everyone had a car). Her husband claims he asked her if she wanted him to pick her up and she said no she would hitchhike back home later that night. Of course, she never made it home and was found murdered. Interestingly her husband and a friend found her backpack on the side of the road (which is suspicious as the backpack was a good ways out in a field, and how would he know where to find it?). What makes the story strange, and not a run of the mill husband kills wife type of case, is the fact that his wife was wearing a single orange sock with the other sock on the other foot being a regular white sock. Her husband claims the orange sock did not belong to her. What makes this story unique is that sometime after this murder another young woman was found murdered within a few miles of the first murder. Interestingly, this woman was also known to be a local hitchiker (and quite a strikingly beautiful woman). The real kicker is that the OTHER orange sock was found not on her body but laying near it. This sort of takes the suspicion off the husband since it seems a bit far fetched he would kill another woman along with his wife (unless he himself had turned into a serial killer). Of course, he could have killed the other woman as a ruse to take suspicion off of himself for his wife's murder, but this seems like it would be more risky than it would be worth from his point of view. The socks are just weird. On the show, the police theorized -- and I think their conclusion is the most logical one -- that obviously the same person killed both women. The assailant must have had a pair of socks in his vehicle. The wife must have put ONE of the socks on by accident in the dark in a scramble to escape out into the snow covered ground, and was eventually chased down and shot. The other woman must have also tried to escape the theorized van, and when getting out of the van must have knocked the other sock out onto the ground near where her body was found. The killer did not see it laying on the ground and left it. This seems more likely than the notion the killer did it on purpose to tantalize police. I must say I was impressed by the deductive reasoning the police used here. This is refreshing from the often seen good ole boy network of scatter-brained or nonchalant police work you see in many of these cases. The bad news for the husband is that it was later discovered that he had a business card of the SECOND victim in his wallet. He admitted to having picked her up on one occaision when she was hitchhiking (uh oh). However, he seems very believable with his story and did agree to appear on the segment (which I have noticed over the years is rare for those accused of the crime). Based on the business card, he is the best suspect for both murders, but that doesn't explain the orange socks, socks he nor his wife owned by all accounts. My question is, has this case ever been solved? Does lifetime always update stories that have been solved this many years later? Sorry for the long post, but this is my first post of, hopefully, many more.

06-15-2006, 11:18 AM	#5
dynoguy88 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 01, 2000 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 3,672	reply I'm really looking forward to seeing the psychic program that will cover this double murder on the Discovery Channel some time this summer. We need to keep our heads up and hopefully a date and time will be posted.... On Monday, May 22, 2006, information generated by the Discovery Channel’s Sensing Murder episode interviews took three members of the 11th Judicial District Homicide Task Force on a new path down the Sacramento Creek area. Investigators Richard Eaton, Betty Royse and Charlie McCormick followed up on leads from two psychics who visited the crime scenes of Bobbie Jo Oberholtzer and Annette Schnee. The psychics involved in the filming of the new television series sat down with McCormick and former CBI agent Jim Hardtke during the first week of May 2006. As a result, the investigation of the 24-year-old double homicide has taken on new life. The Task Force spent about four hours in the field exploring new possible sites associated with the murder of Annette Schnee. Psychics Pam Coronado and Laurie Campbell indicated that the location where Schnee’s body was found might not be the actual crime scene or the precise place where the death occurred, according to the team. The two psychics, interviewed separately, reportedly came up with the same first name of a suspect in both murders as well as possible vehicle descriptions. They also provided their insights as to the nature of the relationship of the killer to the victims and possible motives connected to the murders. The Task Force members are using this new information to re-examine persons of interest in their case files, according to McCormick. Investigators did not discuss what, if anything, they have found as a result of the new leads or their searches. “We don’t want to reveal anything more specific in the ongoing investigation,” McCormick said. The Sensing Murder series is scheduled to air a pilot episode later this summer.

06-15-2006, 08:38 AM	#2
Rosaecrucian Overseer Occasional Poster Join Date: Jun 15, 2006 Location: USA Posts: 9	Nevermind on this. I did a forum search and found many replies discussing how a serial killer is now the prime suspect. I don't want to be one of the newbs who the vets have to incessantly point out the usage of the search function. Still, this is an interesting case and would make a great book/Lifetime/Cohen Bros. movie. I assume a true crime book or two have been published on this case?

06-15-2006, 10:56 AM	#4
kadrmas15 Retired from Board 03/03/11 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 11, 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 1,910	Yes, I never really seriously considered that the husband did it. The man did appear on UM now that obviously doesnt make him honest but I just dont think he did it. I dont know what it is but I just dont think he did it. Hitchhiking is dangerous and never really understood the craze behind it. Did you know that Charles Sinclair was even looked at as a suspect for this murder? At the time these murders occurred in 1982, Sinclair was living in Northern New Mexico. Now it would have taken 3 or 4 hours maybe more for Sinclair to get from his home in New Mexico to Breckenridge but the drive wasnt unreasonable for him. The orange sock thing is just chilling. Both women were in the twenties, the one that was married was 29 if I remember right while the younger one was 20. They were both attractive women. If you want a really good website on this and other unsolved Colorado mysteries go to. www.rockymountaincoldcase.com

06-15-2006, 11:31 AM	#6
kadrmas15 Retired from Board 03/03/11 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 11, 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 1,910	I found that link through the Summit County, Colorado Sheriff's Department. It seems the current sheriff John Minor has a big interest in this case and having it solved. The Sheriff from Summit County who was interviewed in the UM segment was I believe Delbert Ewoldt who left office in 1995.