She grieved in ways that I cant even imagine, Menger said. And his younger sister told investigators that the first thing Smika did when he got home that day was wash a bag full of clothes some of which may have been bloody, a friend later relayed to investigators. The FBI is currently offering a reward of $10,000 for information that results in Smika's capture and conviction. It's an unsolved mystery involving a beautiful college town, a picture-perfect young couple and even a movie star. /MarkInfo <> Thayne Smika, a 24-year old college dropout, answered the ad. Oklahoma had the highest population of Smika families in 1920. Now it comes down to finding a man who hasnt been seen or identified in 31 years. I believe the motive was the money and the cocaine, and that Thayne got found out from Sid that he was not being up and up, Neitzel added. Sid was killed by a single gunshot wound to the back of the head from a .20-gauge shotgun shell shot at a near-horizontal, but slightly downward trajectory, the coroners office found, deeming Sids death a homicide. endobj We are about being the guardians of the community and constitutional policing which is protecting the rights of everyone no matter what their race, immigration status or sexual orientation is, said Hayes. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. He didnt deserve being murdered.. Prefer C.U. Boulder Deputy Police Chief Dave Hayes, one of the first detectives to investigate the case, said Smika may have become assimilated into a community and he hopes new coverage of the case will lead a neighbor or a relative to step forward. The fire, which began at about 11 a.m., quickly spread to some 6,000 acres across a populated suburban area just south of Boulder. New DA furthers investigation, obtains new arrest warrant. He started reviewing the case, its evidence and how it had progressed through the new analyses. Jihad Ramadan is wanted by U.S. $300 monthly. In 2010, armed with more sophisticated forensic and ballistic evidence, he says he was once again able to pinpoint Thayne Smika as the likely killer. . Sid Wells, who was 22 at the time, was found shot to death in his condo in August of 1983. The former DA, Hunter, served as the Boulder County District Attorney from 1973 to 2001, when Mary Lacy became head of the office. * DNA Update -- History Repeats Itself: Twice now Boulder District Attorneys have misled the public in the JonBenet Ramsey murder case. It all started with this classified ad in the Boulder Daily Camera, January, 1983. That same year Hayes joined the Louisville Police Department at the age of 20. I dont want him to go through this for something he did not do, Darryl Smika said. To view more information on a district, click on a county within that region. District attorneys are assigned to Arkansas's 23 judicial circuits. Boulder police believe he may have a new identity and he may be working as a bookkeeper or accountant. The grand jury was the biggest shock for my family and the most difficult thing to deal with, said Robert Wells, Sids older brother. Hayes father was a Denver physician who became ill and had to step back from his medical practice. An autopsy showed Wells was shot execution-style at point-blank range in the back of the head with a 20-gauge shotgun. Thayne Smika has been missing since 1986 after his mother posted a bond for the 1983 murder of his roommate Sid Wells. However, then-district attorney Alex Hunter -- well. District Attorney Susan L. Opper. "Thayne Smika escaped a first-degree murder charge, and has likely been living a life of freedom while the Wells family has been grieving for three decades. Lakewood, Ohio. But Sid and a friend confronted him about the missing drugs, andSmika blamed their disappearance on another man. Wells was entering his senior year at the University of Colorado, and his death drew international attention because he was dating actor Robert Redfords daughter, Shauna Redford, at the time. The whole thing was extremely frustrating.. Boulder detectives suspect that Smikas parents and siblings upon learning of the new warrant, which was signed by a judge Dec. 2 and placed under seal might have alerted him to the fact that police were ready to arrest him, according to court documents. Dave Hayes was a rookie detective in the Boulder Police Department when Sid Wells was killed. This goes back a long way to when I was 9 or 10 years old, and I am still in touch with Jim today, 56 years later.. Multiple experts confirmed it was highly likely that the shell used to kill Sid was a match to the other two shells investigators found, something Netizel says is the most damning evidence in the case. Thayne Smika has been missing since 1986 after his mother posted a bond for the 1983 murder of his roommate Sid Wells. However, they are crucial to any rooms look and feel. 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It kind of rips you to the core, Robert said. Im still hopeful, Robert said. Smika concocted an elaborate plan in which he said he planned to stake out their apartment and wait for the alleged thief to come in and steal the rest of the drugs. Marshals in connection with a 2005 stabbing and Thayne Smika is wanted by the FBI for murder. Currently Reading. BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - Thursday will mark 30 years since a murder on the University of Colorado Boulder campus and police are still asking for help to track the killer down. Thayne Smika, now 54, is being sought in 1983 murder of 22-year-old Sid Wells; . In December 2012, a judge signed an arrest warrant for Smika after Boulder police developed more evidence in the case. With the Marshall Fire, he experienced being a victim, something he says has given him an increased sense of empathy in working with others. According to Detective Hayes, This is not a whodunit, but rather a 'where is he?'. An aspiring journalist, Wells also was part of the universitys Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps. His longtime girlfriend, Shauna, was the daughter of actor Robert Redford, which was a major reason the story attracted so much attention when Wells was murdered. But he came anyway because of his close friendship with Wells. BOULDER, Colorado (AP) Investigators are asking for help finding a man suspected of killing Sid Wells, a 22-year-old college student who was dating actor-director Robert Redford's daughter when he was shot to death three decades ago. A short time later, his roommate, 24-year-old Thayne Smika, was arrested in connection with Wells' murder, but the Boulder District Attorney declined to file charges and Smika was let go. Another man who lived next door to the Wells brothers told investigators that hed heard a loud bang, similar to a gunshot, at the time the coroner determined Sid had died. He immediately called police, his shock apparent in the 911 recording. MDAA is an independent state agency whose mission is to support the eleven elected Massachusetts District Attorneys and their staff, including approximately 785 prosecutors and 260 victim-witness advocates. Smika left the area, and in 1986 his abandoned car was found in Beverly Hills, California. My view is the warrant couldve been approved long ago, and had it been, its possible that Mr. Smika mightve been found more quickly, Garnett said. While Smika was arrested on Oct. 6, 1983, about two months after the slaying, then-District Attorney Alex Hunter declined to charge him, saying there wasn't enough evidence. Sid Wells, a 22-year old journalism student at the University of Colorado, was looking for someone to rent a room to. It would be unusual for someone to absent themselves from contact with any and all known family members for such an extended period of time, Detective Traci Cravitz wrote in an affidavit supporting the departments request for phone records, which was made public Wednesday. Smika says he told Sid about the trip the night before. One of the most high-profile murders in Colorado's history remains unsolved after nearly 34 years, but police and prosecutors know who their suspect is and have an active warrant for his arrest. Now, a retired detective who worked the case back in the early 80s is speaking up for the first time in years in hopes of bringing closure to a Colorado family and an end to a complex murder mystery that has puzzled Boulder for decades. Wells' mother, June Menger, said that Boulder investigators have been dogged in their work to solve the case. In 2010, the Boulder County district attorney's office agreed to review the case and approved an arrest affidavit for Smika. His vehicle was recovered in Hollywood, CA in 1986. Smika, who was 24 years old in 1983, was a drifter without a job who was attempting to avoid paying his bills and being arrested by the police after failing to make a mortgage payment on a home he had purchased with a friend. What Happened To Nia From Real World Portland? Why? he wonders. upperclassman or graduate student. Finding Smika is especially urgent because June Menger is now battling stage four cancer and would like closure and justice for her son in her lifetime. The rent was due that day. Police focused their attention on Thayne Smika and, when forensic evidence confirmed their suspicions, they arrested him. He had a warrant for his arrest for the charge of Forgery and he was also the suspect in a 1983 Boulder, CO Homicide. Darryl Smika said he has theories on where his son is hiding, but theyre mine. He said he absolutely believes his son is innocent in the infamous homicide, and he hopes police never find him. www.officer.com is using a security service for protection against online attacks. "Smika's relatives have not provided any helpful information to the Boulder Police Department," police spokesperson Kim Kobel said in a statement. The door was unlocked, as it typically was. Thayne Smika, now 54, is being sought in 1983 murder of 22-year-old Sid Wells Wells was found dead from 20-gauge shotgun blast to the back of the head in his home Well had been dating Robert. COLORADO investigators are asking for help finding a man suspected of killing Sid Wells, a 22-year-old college student who was dating actor-director Robert Redford's daughter when he was shot to . Police focused their attention on Thayne Smika and, when forensic evidence confirmed their suspicions, they arrested him. A short time later, his roommate, 24-year-old Thayne Smika, was arrested in connection with Wells' murder, but the Boulder District Attorney declined to file charges and Smika was let go. Smika told investigators he slept for a couple of hours that morning before he left to Akron at either 10 or 11 a.m. to visit his mother and sister, do laundry and get his hair cut and permed. , updated According to the FBI, Thayne Smika hasn't been seen since he was freed from detention. But I hope its solved with the criminal who did it, not with my son being convicted of something he didnt do.. However, they are crucial to any rooms look and feel. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Frozen Dead Guy Days live music and entertainment lineup announced, Estes Womens Monument given prestigious history award, Perspectives: Watched by Howard P. 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Investigators are still looking for Thayne Smika and are asking anyone with information about Smika or where he might be living to contact . Sid, it turns out, had a decent amount of the drug reportedly spending around $2,000 for an ounce at one point, though it wasnt clear how he got the money. Please enable cookies on your browser and try again. Police suspected his roommate, Thayne Smika, and arrested him. But as time passed, Sid began having trouble collecting the rent. Smika's mother) Thayne Alan Smika, a white male, DOB February 27, 1959, and then described as being 5-11, 140 pounds with Brown Hair and Brown Eyes, was at the residence and the detectives notified him of the murder. Some of us have expressed not criticism but surprise Smika is getting another airing considering he's a cold case the previous most recent John Walsh show already did (as opposed to a new cold case and/or unused . In Sids obituary, Shauna was listed as survivor, girlfriend and best friend. Call 1-866-THE-HUNT (In Mexico: 0188000990546) or click here. (Information retrieved from NamUs.g. In 1986 his abandoned car, a Dodge Aries, was found in Beverly Hills wiped clean of prints. Boulder police issued a statement Wednesday saying they're looking for Thayne Smika, who is still being sought after a murder warrant was issued for his . Stories worth watching 16 videos. Wells was dating the daughter of Robert Redford, Shauna Redford, at the time of the shooting. Detectives couldnt be reached Wednesday to comment on whether they obtained any leads from the family members phones. A grand jury failed to indict him, and two previous Boulder County district. "Thayne Smika escaped a first-degree murder charge, and has likely been living a life of . The victim, CU student Sid Wells, was dating the daughter of actor Robert Redford, a major reason the story attracted so much attention when he was murdered. One man who lived across the street from Spanish Towers told detectives he was certain hed seen Smika walking quickly and strangely across the parking lot with something long and stiff shoved up his sleeve. Assistant District Attorney Kevin M. Osborne Mary C. Brejcha Jayne Davis Dewire Andrea M. Will Lindsey H. Hirt Abbey L. Nickolie Melissa J. Zilavy Shawn N. Woller Kristina J. Gordon Jack A. Pitzo Molly M. Schmidt Zachary A. 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