1984 Cold Case Break Through: DNA Leads To Arrest

Colorado authorities have begun the process of extraditing Alex Christopher Ewing, 57, who's now being accused of 18 counts of murder and attempted murder in a 1984 cold case. The murders of three Aurora family members, alongside other deaths, attempted murders and sexual assaults, are being blamed on Ewing.

Ewing, of Sacramento, CA, is already serving a 40-year prison sentence for two counts each of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, the Denver Post reports.

One charge stems from the murder of Patricia Smith in Jefferson County in January 1984.

Six days later, a brutal murder took place in Aurora. Bruce and Debra Bennett, as well as their 7-year-old daughter Melissa, were found dead in their Aurora home, beaten to death with a hammer, reports say. Vanessa, their other child, 3 years old at the time, was beaten, but survived with severe facial injuries, according to the Denver Post.

KDVR reported DNA evidence uncovered in 2010 showed that whoever killed the Bennetts had also killed Patricia Louise Smith around the same time in Lakewood with a hammer.

There were two other hammer attacks in the metro area around the same time, KDVR reports, of which Ewing is suspected.

The attacks don't stop there. He's also accused of multiple sexual assaults, beating a man to death with a boulder in Arizona, another home invasion in which he beat two victims brutally with an ax handle.

Ewing is facing 18 charges of murder and attempted murder in relation to the string of brutal homicides.

See the Denver Post for a full list of the charges against Alexander Ewing.

If you have any information on the brutal 1984 murders, you can call the Aurora tip line at 303-739-6400 or the Lakewood tip line at 303-763-6800.

Article image Nevada Department of Corrections