DNA from 1987 crime scene links Colorado killing to serial offender
Trace DNA from preserved evidence has tied a 1987 Douglas County homicide to a convicted serial killer, giving relatives answers and highlighting how modern forensics can resolve long-unsolved murders.
Case resolution and ongoing work
Investigators in Douglas County, Colorado, say they have identified the man responsible for the 1987 killing of 30-year-old Rhonda Marie Fisher, whose body was found down an embankment off South Perry Park Road south of Sedalia.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office announced on Tuesday that new DNA testing on paper bags placed over Fisher’s hands at the time of the autopsy matched convicted murderer Vincent Darrell Groves, who died in prison in 1996.
The finding closes a case that remained unsolved despite repeated reviews and earlier rounds of DNA analysis, including tests in 2017 that produced no suspect profile.
Officials say the result matters for families with relatives listed in Colorado’s statewide cold case database, which now tracks nearly 2,000 unsolved cases, including more than 1,400 homicides.
What we know
Fisher’s body was discovered on April 1, 1987, by a passing motorist in the 3500 block of South Perry Park Road in rural Douglas County.
She had been sexually assaulted and strangled and was identified as a 30-year-old mother living in the Denver area.
Detectives later concluded she was last seen alive the previous evening, walking north on Monaco Street toward Leetsdale Drive in Denver, about 25 miles from the scene.
In the weeks before her death she had been staying with acquaintances, one of whom was investigated and ultimately cleared.
In early 2025, the sheriff’s Cold Case Unit reopened the file and resubmitted several items for testing in cooperation with the Unified Forensic Lab and the department’s property section.
In October, the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) flagged a “case-to-case” match between DNA recovered from the inside of the paper bags and biological evidence from three 1979 Denver homicides linked to Groves.
Groves was already known to law enforcement as one of Colorado’s most prolific serial offenders, with documented activity targeting vulnerable women between 1978 and 1988 and confirmed involvement in at least three prior murders through earlier DNA work.
Community and official response
Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly called the identification an “exceptionally rare” use of trace DNA from nearly four-decade-old paper bags that had remained sealed in storage.
He said Groves and another man had long been prime suspects, but older technology could not distinguish between them.
The sheriff’s office said Fisher’s parents and brother have died since 1987 but that investigators notified a cousin, who expressed relief at finally having an explanation after years of uncertainty.
The case is being closed as an “exceptional clearance” because the identified suspect is deceased, a category used by police when a perpetrator cannot be prosecuted.
Local news coverage has prompted comparisons with other Colorado cold case resolutions in recent years, including a 1975 Boulder gas-station killing that was closed in 2025 using ballistic analysis linking bullets to a deceased suspect’s rifle.
Audience impact and media context
For families with loved ones listed in cold case databases, Fisher’s case underlines that unsolved homicides can still produce new evidence decades later.
Colorado’s Cold Case Task Force reported earlier this year that the state had 1,993 cold cases on record as of February, including 1,401 unsolved homicides, underscoring the scale of unresolved violence.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says Fisher’s case is the seventh cold homicide it has resolved in seven years, reflecting a broader push in Colorado to review older homicides when new forensic tools become available.
By comparison, law-enforcement data compiled by advocacy group Project Cold Case shows that nationwide, more than 346,000 homicides went unsolved between 1965 and 2023.
The resolution also feeds into wider public debate about how evidence is preserved, funded, and prioritised.
CBI’s searchable cold case database, created to standardise information statewide, now allows relatives and journalists to track progress in individual cases more easily than in prior decades.
Expert or data insight
Cold case researchers note that most unsolved homicides pre-date modern DNA profiling or rely on evidence collected before today’s preservation standards.
A Colorado State University study published in 2009 found that more than 1,400 homicides reported in the state since 1970 remained unsolved at that time, and that families often waited more than a decade for significant case developments.
More recent reporting from Law Week Colorado indicates that the Colorado Bureau of Investigation now tracks roughly 1,800 cold cases in a centralised database, which law enforcement agencies update as cases move from unsolved to cleared.
How to watch or listen
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has posted its news release on Fisher’s case on its official website and directs residents to its YouTube channel for archived press briefings and public statements, including the December 2, 2025 announcement.
Members of the public can also follow updates through local broadcasters such as 9NEWS, CBS Colorado and other regional outlets that have covered the case and often stream news conferences live on their websites and apps.
Families seeking information on other cold cases can search Colorado’s statewide cold case database online, which lists unsolved homicides, missing persons and unidentified remains by name, year and investigating agency.
Questions people are asking
How did investigators get DNA from paper bags?
Investigators in 1987 placed paper bags over Fisher’s hands to preserve potential trace evidence such as fibers or residues. When the case was reopened, forensic scientists swabbed the inside of those bags and recovered microscopic skin cells that could be analysed with modern DNA techniques, yielding a usable profile nearly four decades later.
Who is Vincent Darrell Groves?
Vincent Darrell Groves was born in Denver in 1954 and once played high school basketball at Wheat Ridge High School before dropping out of college. He was convicted of murder in 1982, released after serving fewer than five years, and later convicted in separate 1988 murder cases in Douglas and Adams counties. Authorities say DNA and investigative leads tie him to at least a dozen killings, and Denver police have suggested he may be responsible for more than 20 homicides between 1978 and 1988.
Why was Groves considered a suspect before the DNA match?
Groves’ name surfaced early because his known crimes involved women killed in the Denver area during the same period and with similar patterns of violence. However, another man also appeared in the investigation, and earlier forensic methods could not conclusively identify one suspect. The 2025 DNA testing allowed detectives to rule out the other person and formally attribute Fisher’s killing to Groves.
Does this mean other unsolved cases will now be tested?
Douglas County officials say they will continue to prioritise cold cases and re-examine preserved evidence when new technologies become available. Across Colorado, agencies have used similar approaches to close other older homicides, including a 1975 Boulder case resolved in 2025 with new testing on bullets and weapons.
Can prosecutors still bring charges if a suspect is deceased?
No. Prosecutors cannot file new criminal charges against someone who has died. Instead, police classify such cases as cleared by death and update public databases and internal files to reflect the identification. This can still provide documentation and closure for surviving relatives and communities.
Moving forward after the case resolution
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office will formally record Fisher’s case as solved with an exceptional clearance and update the Colorado Cold Case Database to reflect the findings, marking the seventh cold homicide the department has resolved in seven years through renewed reviews and improved forensic testing.
Officials say they will continue prioritising unsolved homicides, working with state and federal laboratories to identify older evidence that may yield results as DNA technology advances.
Fisher’s case, unresolved for nearly four decades until modern analysis identified a long-known serial offender, underscores how preserved materials can become decisive years later.
The development affects surviving relatives, families with loved ones in Colorado’s cold case files, and communities that rely on sustained investment in forensics.
As agencies revisit more cases and update public records, residents will be watching to see how many additional long-standing investigations can be formally closed.
