KUSA - It's been 35 years since the brutal murder of a mother, and Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office investigators are still looking for her killer.
Around 5 p.m. on Oct. 25, 1980, Violet Newman, a 57-year-old married mother of four, left from work at what was then the Southglenn Mall.
Her husband arrived home after bowling around 7:30 p.m. After Violet failed to come home by 1:30am, he called police.
"I had just moved out and my dad called me about 2 a.mm and asked if I had heard from her," said Violet's son, Greg Newman. "I said 'No,' And then I thought, I knew right then, something was up."
Hikers found Violet's body in the Castlewood Canyon around 2:15 p.m. the next day. Violet was nude, and covered in a plain white sheet. She had been shot once in the head. Investigators determined she may have been sexually assaulted.
"Just all of the sudden your world comes crashing down, like, where do you go from here? Where's my dad going to go from here?" Newmand asked.
Jim McCord, a retired Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office Lieutenant, was the lead investigator. McCord believes someone shot her from behind in her car, a yellow Chevrolet station wagon.
"There was a copious amount of blood here," McCord said, motioning to what would be the passenger seat of an automobile. "As if someone had pushed her over, and drove."
Deputies found her station wagon three blocks from Violet's home. Investigators say a witness described the man parking her vehicle as a young, white man, who was alone. They estimate the car was parked there between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Oct. 25.
The same day, a woman reported being approached by a male with a firearm, demanding a ride, in the May D&F parking lot. He's described as a white man with short red hair, and a pug nose. Investigators don't know for sure if he is related to the case, but say there may be some connection between this man and Violet's murder.
Deputies never found a murder weapon. McCord says he followed every lead, every angle, he could find. In 2004, investigators obtained a DNA sample that did not yield any leads. The case went cold, but not forgotten.
"How are you gonna forget stuff like that? You know, pictures of Mrs. Newman at the autopsy, and the crime scene. I remember a lot of that," he said.
Newman has spent the last three and a half decades coping with Violet's death, and holding on to hope that the case will be solved.
"I feel cheated because my wife never met my mom, my kids haven't," Newman said. "In due time, this person will be brought to justice."
Arapahoe County Deputies are asking the public to report anything suspicious they saw that day, or anyone who recognizes the man in the composite. They also say Violet's clothes were never located and the there would have been a significant amount of blood on her clothing.
To report information or tips, please call Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office investigators at 303-795-4711
(© 2015 KUSA)
