Suspect Identified In Connection With 1963 Colorado Murder Case

DNA testing has identified a suspect wanted in connection with a Colorado murder case that is over half a century old, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office announced Thursday.

On Aug. 19, 1963, Margaret "Peggy" Beck was found dead in her Girl Scouts camp at the Flying G Ranch near Deckers, around 50 miles southwest of Denver. The 16-year-old had been sexually assaulted and strangled.

Beck was sharing her tent with another girl, but she had gone to the camp's infirmary. Police interviewed others at the camp, but they did not remember hearing or seeing anything suspicious.

The identity of Beck's attacker has remained unknown for decades.

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Investigators used genealogy testing to identify a suspect — James Raymond Taylor — using DNA taken from under Beck's fingernails, officials said on Thursday. He's not been seen since 1976, and his whereabouts are unknown, according to the sheriff's office.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office tip line at 303-271-5612 or Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867, and reference case 63-10335.