He loved the way her hair fell over her eyes. Whether movers in Fort Collins are helping you Windows are often overlooked when designing or purchasing home decor. "It's past time for justice for Sid Wells and his family," Deputy Chief Dave Hayes said. Bond was set for $5 million in that case, the highest in Boulder history, said Hayes who believes Smika is living under an alias. ", Additional Information From Boulder Police. The FBI is now offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to Smika's arrest and conviction. A photo that accompanied a 1983 Associated Press article about Wells funeral showed the weeping young woman being comforted by her father on their way to the service. Boulder police have given The ENQUIRER sketches of Smika's possible age-enhanced appearance. Tips can also be submitted through the Crime Stoppers website at http://www.crimeshurt.com. * DNA Update -- History Repeats Itself: Twice now Boulder District Attorneys have misled the public in the JonBenet Ramsey murder case. Wells' mother June Menger says Redford is like a daughter-in-law to her, even though she never saw her son married. But he wouldnt know that until later that evening. The 22-year-old University of Colorado student had been dating Robert Redford's daughter Shauna Redford for three years at the time of his death, and she was so devastated by the loss that she dropped out of college. However, Smika was never prosecuted because the district attorney at the time, Alex Hunter, declined to take the case. She said Robert Redford and her son were friends, and they went jogging and skiing together. He didnt deserve being murdered.. Sid Wells' shot-to-death body was found in his Boulder apartment on August 3, 1983. Smika concocted an elaborate plan in which he said he planned to stake out their apartment and wait for the alleged thief to come in and steal the rest of the drugs. Feb 24, 2023, 3:22 PM. Hayes worked on many cocaine cases in the 1970s and 1980s and was an investigator in the 1983 homicide of Sid Wells a University of Colorado student who was dating Robert Redfords daughter Shauna. Hayes father was a Denver physician who became ill and had to step back from his medical practice. Smika was arrested for the homicide in 1983, however the DA at the time declined prosecution and Smika disappeared in 1986. Last updated: July 17, 2020 Denver, CO Detectives couldnt be reached Wednesday to comment on whether they obtained any leads from the family members phones. ;}v;LZ%^(R(;_/"-Rqnv};!;.cs|CGA6. Thayne Smika is wanted for first-degree murder and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. Smika was never prosecuted because the district attorney at the time declined to take the case. It's been 31 years since Sid Wells was shot execution-style in his own home in Boulder, Colorado and his terminally ill mother has yet to see his killer locked up. Smika left the area, and in 1986 his abandoned car was found in Beverly Hills, California. The couple have two children, a boy and a girl. She wants to find Thayne Smika and she wants to ask him, Why?. District Attorney Susan L. Opper. endobj The day before a long-sought arrest warrant in the high-profile 1983 slaying of Sid Wells was unsealed, Boulder police simultaneously called six relatives of prime suspect Thayne Smika to ask whether they had any information on the 52-year-olds whereabouts, according to newly released court records. I believe its possible that he still is out there.. Hayes never gave up on getting justice for the Wells family and, in 1997, Boulder police reopened the case. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. An advocate of mental health co-responders working alongside police officers, Hayes said, We want to be the people that people in the community call when they have a problem., Dave is just a natural, said Hayes long-time mentor, Burkhalter. appreciated. Also Read: Did Bbg Tyler Snatched JayDaYoungan? He has not been seen since. Investigators are still looking for Thayne Smika and are asking anyone with information about Smika or where he might be living to contact . Those submitting tips through Crime Stoppers that lead to the arrest and filing of charges on a suspect(s) may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000 from Crime Stoppers. The documents detail several personal timelines from people interviewed by detectives that investigators say show Smika was his killer. Were following up on all leads as to what his location may be, and this includes checking cell phone records of people who may be in touch with him.. We are continually working to identify anyone who may be in contact with Thayne Smika, police spokeswoman Kim Kobel said. Sidney Wells Murder And Case Update. In 2022 Hayes was a Democratic primary candidate for Sheriff in Boulder County running against Curtis Johnson, a division chief with the Boulder County Sheriffs Office. According to court documents, he told his family members to get passports in order to be able to visit him, implying that he would be leaving the country, but his family claims they havent heard from him since either. Shauna woke up that morning and left for work just before 11 a.m. She woke up Sid, reminding him that he was to have lunch with his mother at noon. Earlier this month, Arias's present attorneys, Peg Green and Corey Engle, filed a 324-page appeal on behalf of the imprisoned murderer, asking that her conviction be overturned. It's an unsolved mystery involving a beautiful college town, a picture-perfect young couple and even a movie star. Tonight, In Pursuit with John Walsh takes a look at both men and the allegations against them. First published on July 31, 2013 / 9:40 PM. Thayne Smika Missing Thayne Smika Follow Thayne's Case Smika moved out of his Denver, CO home in 1986. Or, keep up-to-date by following Denver7 on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. My dad helped review medical charts to screen for possible suspects, said Hayes. Smika was never prosecuted because the district attorney at the time declined to take the case. Wells was dating Shauna Jean Redford, the daughter of actor Robert Redford, and this brought attention to the case on a global scale. Smika was a leading suspect when the coroner declared the death to be a homicide. In August 1983, Hunter was publicly criticized for his failure to file charges against Thayne Smika in the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Sid Wells. This goes back a long way to when I was 9 or 10 years old, and I am still in touch with Jim today, 56 years later.. <> The case, however, was never solved. The case was presented to a grand jury but the District Attorney at the time, Alex Hunter, did not believe he had enough evidence to try Smika and released him from custody. 2. 5:59 PM EDT, Fri July 10, 2015. 15 0 obj He had a warrant for his arrest for the charge of Forgery and he was also the suspect in a 1983 Boulder, CO Homicide. Smika was never prosecuted because the district attorney at the time declined to take the case. The Moving can be an exciting experience. Sid Wells, a 22-year old journalism student at the University of Colorado, was looking for someone to rent a room to. Wells was entering his senior year at the University of Colorado, and his death drew international attention because he was dating actor Robert Redfords daughter, Shauna Redford, at the time. In 1920 there were 2 Smika families living in Oklahoma. He also reviewed the grand jury decision by Hunter. You will be redirected once the validation is complete. Please enable cookies on your browser and try again. The story made headlines across Boulder County when Smika was tabbed as a suspect, though a friend was quoted in the paper as saying hed said the other man whom Smika had allegedly stolen the drugs and money from was to blame. Before arriving in Boulder, Smika had lived in North Platte, Nebraska, and Akron, Colorado, throughout his formative years. upperclassman or graduate student. She grieved in ways that I cant even imagine, Menger said. The case was presented to a grand jury but the District Attorney at. However, they are crucial to any rooms look and feel. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Frozen Dead Guy Days live music and entertainment lineup announced, Estes Womens Monument given prestigious history award, Perspectives: Watched by Howard P. 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Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Fred Neitzel, now retired, was one of the Boulder Police Department detectives on the case at the time, and says that a host of evidence played into the decision to arrest Smika, but his note saying he was leaving town may have been the biggest factor. BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - Thursday will mark 30 years since a murder on the University of Colorado Boulder campus and police are still asking for help to track the killer down. [Smika] gets a get-out-of-jail-free card a letter from the DA saying, nope, we got a grand jury going on but were not going to indict you. /Outlines 4 0 R Smika's potential motivation would have been because she owed Wells $300 in rent that day. Example video title will go here for this video. in 2011 the Boulder County District Attorney's Office reviewed the case and approved an arrest affidavit for Smika, but they still haven't been able to find him. - DNA Not from a Single Intruder: In 2016 Boulder's Daily Camera and Denver's 9News obtained the crime scene DNA report and their undisputed analysis found that in two of the three DNA specimens, the "a 3rd person's . But during a grand jury process to determine if and what charges Smika might face, Neitzel discovered in District Attorney Alexander Hunters case file that the office had reached an agreement with Smika that the grand jury would not be able to come back with a true bill charging Smika with any criminal conduct effectively meaning he wouldnt face any charges no matter what the grand jury found. , updated The whole thing was extremely frustrating.. But authorities could not find him. LinnyT. A young man is murdered under suspicious circumstances. Comments Sid didnt learn until later that Shauna was the daughter of actor Robert Redford. According to the FBI, Thayne Smika hasn't been seen since he was freed from detention. Smika left the area, and in 1986 his abandoned car was found in Beverly Hills, Calif. Robert Redford said in 1997 that Wells' murder still haunted him. Also Read: Debra Jeter Death And Daughter Kiersten Jeter Netflix Documentary Case Dateline. However, then-district attorney Alex Hunter -- well. Marshal Walsh shines a light on the current search for Jihad Ramadan, who is . He says he was confident in his work and the departments conclusions. Police focused their attention on Thayne Smika and, when forensic evidence confirmed their suspicions, they arrested him. www.officer.com is using a security service for protection against online attacks. Last seen alive: October 01, 1986. According to court documents, Smika, who was 24 in 1983, was a jobless drifter who was trying to skirt paying bills and getting caught by authorities after failing to pay a mortgage on a house hed bought with a friend a couple years earlier. You all made up your own stories.. She believes Smika has had some very good cover for 30 years and has also had help staying off the grid. I have not been in touch with him, and I have no intentions of trying to do so. He spent a little over half an hour airing out his sleeping bag and cleaning out his car before going upstairs to his apartment. Its something she and her family have never gotten over. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers. Shortly after, his roommate, Thayne Smika, 24, was arrested in connection with the murder of Wells; however, the Boulder District Attorney decided not to file charges, and Smika was released. And though Robert and his remaining family members say they still continue to feel Sids loss and it is sometimes a challenge to find hope, he says hes optimistic that Smika will be found at brought to justice. His vehicle was recovered in Hollywood, CA in 1986. stream Smika was never prosecuted because the district attorney at the time declined to take the case. The fire, which began at about 11 a.m., quickly spread to some 6,000 acres across a populated suburban area just south of Boulder. They said it's possible he lived in Yelapa, Mexico for many years after he was released from custody. The trail has been icy, but Boulder police said they haven't given up. Following an investigation, authorities discovered Sid had been killed by a single shot fired at a slight downward angle from a.20-gauge shotgun. but it can also be stressful. [KGOV updated this report on Oct. 28, 2019.] But as long as theyre not giving up, we have hope.. Smika left the area and in 1986, his abandoned car was found in Beverly Hills, CA. Sid and his brother needed a roommate and settled on Smika, but they werent close friends. Re: Walking at night . Published on September 2019 | Categories: Documents | Downloads: 6 | Comments: 0 | Views: 288 of 46 June Menger, who is suffering from a terminal illness, is hoping to see Smika brought to justice for the murder charges against her son. www.officer.com is using a security service for protection against online attacks. An aspiring journalist, Wells also was part of the universitys Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps. Now, a retired detective who worked the case back in the early 80s is speaking up for the first time in years in hopes of bringing closure to a Colorado family and an end to a complex murder mystery that has puzzled Boulder for decades. COLORADO investigators are asking for help finding a man suspected of killing Sid Wells, a 22-year-old college student who was dating actor-director Robert Redford's daughter when he was shot to . Smika would be off scot-free for the time being, which infuriated the still-grieving Wells family. When Wells was assassinated, he had just started his final year at the University of Colorado and was 22 years old. However, Smika was never prosecuted because the district attorney at the time, Alex Hunter, declined to take the case. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. Police said a possible motive was that Smika owed Wells $300 for rent that day. For a list of Offices and access to their websites, either select "Directory of District Attorney Offices" or select a location on the map. People had to be evacuated from the fires path. 7 0 obj The trail has been frozen, but Boulder police said they haven't given up. 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