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CAPTURED: Hammer Killer in Denver

This episode was originally released in September 2021, and is one of seventeen episodes from the archives we’ll be bringing you every Thursday, now through top of next year... for good reason! ;) We highly recommend you listen to each episode and follow us on Instagram @crimejunkiepodcast so you're the first to know what's coming next! <3
Duration
51m
Broadcast on
14 Nov 2024
Audio Format
other

This episode was originally released in September 2021, and is one of seventeen episodes from the archives we’ll be bringing you every Thursday, now through top of next year... for good reason! ;) We highly recommend you listen to each episode and follow us on Instagram @crimejunkiepodcast so you're the first to know what's coming next!  <3

In the 1980s, the Denver area was terrorized by a hammer-wielding mad man. But as fast as the attacks started, they suddenly stopped. Leaving the area to wonder if the mad man was dead or had moved on to another place. Once answers came, decades later the public would learn that the truth was much more concerning.

You can listen to our episode MURDERED: The Hendricks Family right now!

 

Source materials for this episode cannot be listed here due to character limitations. For a full list of sources, please visit:  crimejunkiepodcast.com/captured-denver-hammer-killer/

 

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Crime Junkie is hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat. 


Text Ashley at 317-733-7485 to talk all things true crime, get behind the scenes updates, and more!

Hi, crime junkies. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers. And today, we're headed to Colorado, specifically Denver, a city full of art, culture, and outdoor adventures. But as you know, major cities aren't always all rainbows and butterflies. There was a moment in time when the beauty of the area became overshadowed by fear and horror. And that's when a real-life monster was roaming the streets, a monster who senselessly ripped families apart and took away precious lives that deserved so much more. And he almost got away with it. So let me take you back to 2021 when I first told you how decades later, before it was almost too late, justice was finally served. Hi, crime junkies. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers. And I'm Britt. And the story I have for you today is one of the most terrifying kinds of crime junkies stories, because it reminds us all that we're all vulnerable, that no matter who we are, where we are, evil can still come knocking at our door, or come sneaking through the garage. This is the story of the Denver Hammer Killer. January 10, 1984 was cold in Aurora, Colorado. Even colder if you're lingering outside at a bus station waiting for your ride. And that's exactly what Sherry Lutton was doing. She had just taken the bus back from work that evening, and she was waiting for her mom Patricia to come pick her up. According to reporting by Kirk Mitchell in the Denver Post, this was their routine every weekday since Sherry and her two kids moved to Aurora to live with Patricia after Sherry's divorce. Sherry kept staring down the road waiting for her mom to pull up so they could go pick up the kids. Where was she? She tried calling her mom at home, but no luck. Which to Sherry meant she had to be coming to get her, yet she never showed. When Sherry could wait no more, she called her cousin to come get her, and together they rushed to pick up little Amber and Joe who were six and four. By the time they pulled up to the complex of townhouses where they lived, it was dark. And that prickle that had started low in Sherry's spine trickled up her back because what she saw was all wrong. Kevin Vaughn for nine news reported on their podcast Blame that the detached garage door was open and there was Patricia's car. Also, there was what looked like a TV on just flickering through a window upstairs. So her mom was definitely home. This was so unlike her. Sherry and the kids hustled out of the car and up to the front door. The kids like making their way in front of Sherry. When Sherry unlocked the door and flipped on the light, I can almost see her like hands on the kids backs ushering them in taking a quick step towards the stairs to go see her mom before her whole world imploded. And it was Amber who saw her grandmother first. She was lying feet from the door. And though a Winnie the Poob Blanket was covering her face, the blood around her made it clear that she was dead, even to six year old Amber. Amber told Kirk Mitchell quote, "It's definitely an image that never leaves your mind." Sherry swooped up her children as fast as she could and got them out of there then ran to a neighbors who called police. When detectives arrived and actually looked at the scene in more detail, what they saw was horrifying. There was a reason the killer had covered her head. She had been beaten with a blunt instrument and it wasn't hard to guess what because right next to her body was a hammer. And it also wasn't hard to guess a motive or motives. Some jewelry had been taken off of her and her pants were pulled down. So police were thinking that the killer was motivated by robbery and sexual assault. But could they tell which one was the killer's main motive? No, not yet. But there were some indicators if they looked closely. Yes, her necklace and rings were taken, but nothing else really was. Her purse was dumped, but the house was relatively untouched. Now, police did what they could to process the scene, the best they knew how in 1984, dusting for prints, collecting items, but of course, all without gloves because what's DNA? Ultimately, they didn't find anything useful. Nothing to tell them who did this or more importantly, why? Patricia didn't have any enemies. In a letter to the Denver Post in 1984, her friend wrote to say that she was gentle and sincere. In fact, here, Brit, why don't you read actually a few excerpts from that letter just to give everyone a better sense of like who she was. So the letter said, quote, "Pat was a gentle, sincere woman with soft brown eyes and a thunder figure. She knew how hard life could be and why it was important to take the time to laugh,

Transcription truncated.

This episode was originally released in September 2021, and is one of seventeen episodes from the archives we’ll be bringing you every Thursday, now through top of next year... for good reason! ;) We highly recommend you listen to each episode and follow us on Instagram @crimejunkiepodcast so you're the first to know what's coming next! <3