AURORA, Colo. — The trial has begun for the man accused of brutally attacking and killing several members of the Bennett family in their Aurora home more than 37 years ago.
Debra and Bruce Bennett and their 7-year-old daughter died in the Jan. 16, 1984 attack at their home in the 16300 block of East Center Drive. Vanessa Bennett, who was just three years old, survived the attack but was seriously injured.
9NEWS investigative reporter Kevin Vaughan will be providing daily updates online throughout the trial for Alex Christopher Ewing. Coverage will include live video updates around 5:30 p.m. They can be found by visiting the 9NEWS watch page. You can watch or join the live analysis on the 9NEWS phone, Roku, or Fire TV app.
Now that the trial has begun you can find links to all of our coverage inside this story or on the BLAME page. You can also text the word BLAME to 303-871-1491 to have the latest updates sent directly to your phone.
You can also text the word BLAME to 303-871-1491 to have the latest updates sent directly to your phone.
For decades the case went unsolved until, in 2018, there was a hit on DNA samples taken from the crime scene. The DNA was linked to Ewing who had been sitting behind bars in Nevada after being convicted in connection with a similar attack in that state not long after the attacks in Colorado.
Ewing, who faces 13 separate counts related to the Bennett family attack, fought extradition to Colorado but finally arrived in Colorado in March 2020. Legal proceedings were delayed until this summer by the coronavirus pandemic.
9NEWS was the first to break the news of an arrest in the case. Ewing also linked to three other attacks including the killing of Patricia Louise Smith who was killed in her Lakewood home on Jan. 10, 1984.
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Jefferson County prosecutors have formally charged Ewing with four counts of first-degree murder and two counts of committing a crime of violence in Smith’s murder.
The story of these assaults, the search for a killer, and the anxiety that gripped the survivors and altered life in the Denver metro area is the subject of a 9Wants to Know investigative podcast. The newest episode launched on July 23.
“BLAME: The Fear All These Years” takes listeners back to the attacks and tells the stories of those most deeply impacted — the survivors and the loved ones of the dead. It follows the police investigation through years of cold-case frustration, forensic breakthroughs and the latest developments.
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“BLAME: The Fear All These Years” is available at Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.
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