REOPENED: Lone Survivor

Summary

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Cold Case Files — "REOPENED: Lone Survivor" (June 4, 2026)

Podcast: Cold Case Files
Host/Narrator: Paula Barros
Episode Theme: The Aurora, Colorado Hammer Murders — The survivor’s story and the decades-long investigation that ended in justice

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Episode Overview

This episode traces the harrowing story of Vanessa Bennett, the sole survivor of a brutal 1984 hammer attack that killed her parents and young sister in Aurora, Colorado. Decades later, dogged investigation, advancements in DNA, and genetic genealogy finally solve the murders, providing justice and closure in a case long thought hopeless. The narrative weaves together survivor testimony, police detective recollections, and the emotional toll on a family and community.

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1. Vanessa Bennett: Surviving the Unthinkable

• Opening Testimony: Vanessa recounts her trauma, fear of the killer returning, and lifelong struggle with the label of "victim."
  • [01:42] "He took my sanity. He took that me, that person inside that I was supposed to be from me. I spent a long time... being a victim. And I chose from then on that I would never be a victim again." — Vanessa Bennett

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2. The Crime Scene: January 16, 1984

• Discovery: After the family misses work, Bruce’s mother Connie arrives to find a horrifying crime scene and calls police.
  • [02:19] Paula Barros sets the chilling scene in Aurora during a "frigid Monday morning."
• Police Arrival: Detectives Marv Brandt and Wilson Egan recall the brutality of the crime.
  • [04:16] "This was particularly vicious, very vicious." — Det. Wilson Egan
  • [04:53] "Melissa was also struck with the hammer and she'd been sexually assaulted." — Det. Wilson Egan
• Survivor Found: Vanessa, aged three, barely alive, is pulled to safety.
  • [05:43] "Three year old Vanessa Bennett is found by firemen barely clinging to life..."
• First Responders’ Emotional Toll:
  • [06:12] Reporter Paula Woodward: "She was hurt so badly, and every once in a while, she would give out this little sound, this little moan... it broke my heart."

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3. Family and Victim Background

• Profiles:
  • Vanessa, her parents Bruce and Deborah, and her sister Melissa painted as kind, loving, and close-knit.
  • Uncle Larry’s emotional recollections of Deborah as loving and Bruce as a "fantastic person."
    • [07:45] "If it wasn't for Deborah, none of us would have made it. She took the role of our mother..." — Larry

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4. The Initial Investigation & Community Panic

• Physical Evidence:

  • [11:46] Hammer never found; bloody knife with usable fingerprint collected.

• Forensic Limits:

  • Semen found at the crime scene, but 1980s DNA technology is inadequate.
  • [12:29] "We wanted DNA done... but you're talking about the mid-80s. Our state crime lab... said they weren't capable of doing it." — Det. Egan

• Entry Method:

  • Garage door inadvertently left open after birthday party ([13:20–13:38])

• Pattern Emerges:

  • [14:08] A similar murder (Patricia Smith) and several attacks occur nearby weeks before Bennett killings, all involving hammers and sexual assaults.

• Common Evidence:

  • Boot print found at both Bennett and Lakewood scenes; believed construction worker’s footwear ([15:51])

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5. Vanessa’s Trauma and Recovery

• Child Survivor: Vanessa faces physical recovery and deep psychological wounds, compounded by school bullying and estrangement.
  • [17:38] "Kids made fun of me... I never wanted to be me, just anything to be somebody else. So it made me... isolate from people. And this is why I grew up so angry."
• Therapy Attempts:
  • Vanessa unable to recall attacker or traumatic details ([16:51–17:01])

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6. Years of Dead Ends

• Stalled Forensics:
  • [18:37] Police revisit DNA repeatedly as technology advances, but progress is slow.
• Family as Suspects:
  • Bruce’s brother Richard briefly comes under suspicion after a bizarre dream account (bubble memory) and construction background ([19:23–20:29])
• Emotional Toll:
  • [25:01] "Now, by this time, ... I'm getting ready to retire, and I'm going, well, I'm sorry, but I'm done. It was hard to step away from." — Det. Egan

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7. Breakthrough via DNA and Genetic Genealogy

• DNA Progress: By 2001, CBI compares DNA profiles; clears family (including Richard) ([24:04–24:43])
• Database Frustrations:
  • DNA profile gets no hits in CODIS for years ([25:01])
• Case Hand-off: Detective Steve Connor takes over, haunted by the details ([25:27–25:52])

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8. The Personal Impact on Vanessa

• Descent and Recovery:
  • [26:01] Multiple placements, addiction, and homelessness follow Vanessa into adulthood.
  • [27:03] "I had this picture in my head, this monster who could do this... I just wanted to see what he looked like..."
  • Lack of closure and perceived police inaction fuel her distress.

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9. The Genetic Genealogy Revolution

• Partnering with Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick:
  • [27:56] Investigators employ new DNA-matching techniques using open databases like 23andMe, ultimately generating the surname "Ewing."
• Narrowing the Field:
  • 40+ "Ewing" names in local records; search laborious and time-consuming ([29:22])
• Breakthrough:
  • [29:42] After years stalled, in 2018 a "CODIS hit" finally identifies Alex Ewing, an incarcerated felon in Nevada.

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10. Alex Ewing: The Killer Revealed

• Background:
  • [30:35] Ewing, arrested mere days after Bennetts’ murder, had a history of bludgeoning attacks.
  • [31:26] Convicted in Nevada of attempted murder, serving a 110-year sentence.
• DNA Collection:
  • Only after laws change requiring felons to submit DNA does his sample match the Bennett case.
• Interrogation:
  • July 12, 2018: Ewing interviewed, admits living in Colorado and working construction, but requests a lawyer ([32:26])

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11. Justice at Last

• Charges and Conviction:
  • [34:53] Despite defense attacks on old DNA evidence, Ewing is convicted of the Bennett murders and later Patricia Smith’s.
  • [35:34] "Ewing wouldn't look at anybody... not because of a sense of shame, but because he didn't care." — Paula Woodward
  • Ewing receives multiple consecutive life sentences in both Colorado and for Patricia Smith’s case.

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12. Vanessa’s Journey to Healing

• Confronting Ewing in Court:
  • [35:07] "I told him that he took my sanity. He took that me, that I was supposed to be that person inside, that I was supposed to be from me." — Vanessa Bennett
• Path Forward:
  • [36:26] Vanessa begins sobriety, studies psychology, and trains as a drug counselor: "I didn't want to be a victim anymore. I was tired of being a victim."
• Hope and Resilience:
  • [36:26] "I spent a long part of my life, being a victim. And I chose from then on that I would never be a victim again." — Vanessa Bennett

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |---------------|--------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:42 | Vanessa Bennett | "He took my sanity. He took that me, that person inside, that I was supposed to be from me." | | 04:16 | Det. Wilson Egan | "This was particularly vicious, very vicious." | | 07:45 | Larry (uncle) | "If it wasn't for Deborah, none of us would have made it. She took the role of our mother..." | | 15:51 | Det. Egan | "The boot print is what they call a clutter boot, for construction type work." | | 24:43 | Paula Barros | "Nobody in the family was involved in this murder, and that includes Richard." | | 34:04 | DA Kellner | "Bruce fought for his family, fought for his own life... This case was pure evil. Ewing's motivation... was absolute bloodlust for violence."| | 35:07 | Vanessa Bennett | "He took my sanity. He took that me, that I was supposed to be that person inside..." | | 36:26 | Vanessa Bennett | "I didn't want to be a victim anymore. I was tired of being a victim." |

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Vanessa’s first testimony: 01:42
• Discovery and Law Enforcement Response: 02:19–05:43
• Family and victim recollections: 07:45–09:35
• Physical evidence & investigation: 11:46–15:51
• Investigation ties to other attacks: 14:02–16:11
• Suspect focus: family member (Richard): 19:23–23:46
• Breakthrough with DNA (2001): 24:04–24:43
• Genetic genealogy & surname revealed: 27:56–29:27
• CODIS hit/Alex Ewing identified: 29:42–32:26
• Trial and conviction: 33:36–35:59
• Vanessa’s healing and new mission: 36:26

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Conclusion

"REOPENED: Lone Survivor" details a horrifying crime, decades of frustration, and the ultimate triumph of forensic science and survivor resilience. The episode stands out for the raw, honest testimony of Vanessa Bennett, the forthrightness of law enforcement, and the profound relief and renewal that come only with justice finally served.

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Transcript

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[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

This episode contains descriptions of violence and sexual assault. Listener discretion is advised.

[Vanessa Bennett]

I don't remember actually being sat down and being told, hey, your parents are dead, but I'm a living witness to what happened. I always thought that he would come back and try to kill me and finish the job. Just having that hanging over your shoulder puts a great deal of stress on you and anxiety. He took my sanity. He took that me, that person inside that I was supposed to be from me. I spent a long time, a long part of my life being a victim. And I chose from then on that I would never be a victim again.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

There are 120,000 unsolved murders in America. Each one is a cold case. Only 1% are ever solved. This is one of those rare stories. It's January 16, 1984. A frigid Monday morning in Aurora, Colorado, just outside of Denver. Connie Large Bennett receives a disturbing phone call from her brother about her adult son, Bruce, and his wife, Deborah. Bruce and Deborah work for Bruce's uncle, as the regional distributors of Bassett furniture. But they had not shown up for work that morning, and calls to their house have gone unanswered. There had been a gathering at Bruce and Deborah's house the night before for their eldest daughter Melissa's eighth birthday. Deborah's brother Larry recalls the occasion.

[Larry (Deborah's brother)]

It was a celebration of Melissa's birthday. She was turning 8. I remember the kids laughing and playing and, you know, it was festive. Debbie made it special.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

When Bruce's mother learns that no one can reach the family the following morning, she races over to the house in a state of concern. But nothing can prepare her for what she finds inside. Connie immediately calls the police for help, and detectives Wilson Egan and Marv Brandt are among the first to arrive at the scene.

[Detective Marv Brandt]

I arrived at the scene on East center drive at about 10:45. Patrol was already on the scene, as were crime scene investigators.

[Detective Wilson Egan]

I'd been a policeman since 1969. I've been to different crime scenes, but this was particularly vicious, very vicious. They led me from the garage into the kitchen. As I entered, I looked to my right on the floor, I saw the body of Bruce Bennett. Bruce was struck about the head and face with a hammer and I also observed that his throat had been cut. They then took me up the staircase.

[Detective Marv Brandt]

We then entered the master bedroom and there on the bed I saw a female that was bludgeoned to death.

[Detective Wilson Egan]

They took me into a girl's bedroom. I observed the body of Melissa Bennett, 7 years old. Melissa was also struck with the hammer and she'd been sexually assaulted.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

The ultra violent scene is too much for many of the seasoned officers to handle. The level of brutality and horror inside of the house is overwhelming and three people are dead. But there is a glimmer of hope.

[Detective Wilson Egan]

I was advised at that time that when the fire rescue got to the scene that Vanessa, who was three years old, was found between the wall and the bed.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

Three year old Vanessa Bennett is found by firemen barely clinging to life. She is rushed to the hospital and the medical staff do everything they can to save her life. The toddler's jaw is shattered and she has extensive damage to her head. She needs surgery to insert a metal plate into her forehead and a tracheotomy to help her breathe. Nine news reporter Paula Woodward recalls the reaction at the scene that day.

[Reporter Paula Woodward]

I knew that a family had been attacked. I did not know how they had been injured. It was only later in working sources that I found out what had happened. It was horrendous. It was inconceivable. One of the first responders that I talked to who was involved with saving Vanessa, said she was hurt so badly, and every once in a while, she would give out this little sound, this little moan. And he said, it broke my heart. And he said, that's what I can't let go of. I need to know how she is. I need to know that she's okay.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

Vanessa miraculously survives the attack that has claimed the lives of her parents and sister. Vanessa, now in her 40s, recalls what she can from that awful time.

[Vanessa Bennett]

I remember the sticky things on my chest, the things that check your heart rate. I don't remember if I asked more than once, hey, where's my parents? I would assume that I would, as any child would, But I don't remember actually being told, hey, your parents are dead. I'm pretty sure I got the picture. For me, being that young, I don't really remember their voices or anything about them, but they were really good, honest people.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

Vanessa's memory of her parents, Bruce and Deborah, is spotty. But relatives like her Uncle Larry helped to fill in the gaps.

[Larry (Deborah's brother)]

Deborah was our oldest sister. She was a very loving, very caring, very affectionate person. My mother died when we were young. Deborah was 12. I was 11. And if it wasn't for Deborah, none of us would have made it. She took the role of our mother and provided the love and the caring and the understanding that we all needed at a young age. On my 16th birthday, I moved out of the house, and Bruce and I became friends, became good friends. We lived together, and we're in several bowling leagues together. Bruce was a great guy. I mean, he really was a fantastic person. He liked to joke. He was entertaining. I mean, I can picture him raising his leg as he turned around from the. Throwing his ball, laughing at himself. Debbie and I were spending a lot of time together, having mutual friends, and, you know, things just happened. Bruce and Debbie got hooked up together, and Bruce really made Debbie happy. When Melissa was born, we were so happy to have the baby there. And Bruce figured out that he could join the Navy and provide a better life for Debbie and Melissa. And so that's what he did.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

Bruce is stationed in Hawaii when the couple welcomed their second child, Vanessa, in 1980. They adore their girls, and after Bruce completes his service, the family returns to Aurora in November 1983.

[Vanessa Bennett]

I remember the last Christmas. I remember my sister, you know, us playing together. Whenever we get in trouble, I'd play the victim. My great aunt Mercy told me stories about how I would kind of put my sister to where she would get in trouble and I'd be the baby, like, oh, she did it, she did it. It's not me.

[Larry (Deborah's brother)]

I remember the kids laughing and playing, and Melissa was always smiling, always laughing. And Vanessa was a baby barely walking.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

While Vanessa is recovering in the hospital, the investigators are told not to speak with her because her condition is so serious.

[Larry (Deborah's brother)]

She was still suffering. She was still connected to the, to the machines and the tubes and fighting for her life.

[Detective Marv Brandt]

At that time, we didn't know that we might be dealing with a serial killer.

[Detective Wilson Egan]

This really, really made me mad. It was like, I will catch this son of a bitch if it takes me forever.

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[Vanessa Bennett]

Pluto tv.

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Then I heard a voice.

[Vanessa Bennett]

Come with me if you want to live.

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There were thousands of movies and shows

[Vanessa Bennett]

and they were all free.

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[Larry (Deborah's brother)]

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[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

back at the scene. Investigators are scouring the area for the murder weapon.

[Detective Marv Brandt]

We never found the hammer that was used to commit the homicide. But there was a knife next to the driveway, which was in the snow, and that was used to cut Bruce Bennett's throat.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

Crime scene investigators are able to pull a usable fingerprint from the bloody knife that was found in the snow covered driveway. Colorado District Attorney John Kellner recalls another crucial piece of evidence that's discovered in Melissa and Vanessa's bedroom.

[District Attorney John Kellner]

Investigators at the time found semen, actually on the carpet that was underneath Melissa. And then we also found on a comforter that was covering her body. There was also semen on that.

[Detective Wilson Egan]

We wanted DNA done on those items if they could do it. But you're talking about the mid-80s. Our state crime lab, CBI said they weren't capable of doing it. Yet.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

Investigators turned to the last people who saw the Bennetts alive. The guests at Melissa's birthday party, Deborah and Bruce's family members.

[Larry (Deborah's brother)]

We knew they didn't have any enemies. I mean, they never would have had a negative impact on anybody. Bruce for no reason, Debbie for no reason. And certainly not the kids. You know, just trying to wrap my hands around it was just challenging all in itself.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

Bruce's mother, Connie, and his brothers Richard and Daniel were at the party until around 9pm on the night before the murders. And before he left, Bruce's brother noticed something.

[Detective Wilson Egan]

Richard told Connie, make sure you tell Bruce that the garage door is open and have him close it. She said she did. But Bruce, for some reason, didn't do it. And the door was left open. It was an easy mark. And I believe that's why he went in.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

Detective Steve Connor recalls evidence that correlated with the theory that the killer entered the house through the open garage.

[Pluto TV Narrator]

But there was a shoe print located in the garage that didn't match anything else in the house. So they assumed this was the perpetrator's footprint.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

The investigators braced themselves for a tough investigation. But they receive shocking news from a nearby city that concerns them.

[Detective Marv Brandt]

We got contacted by Lakewood that they had had a homicide and pretty much looked like ours.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

On January 10, six days before the Bennetts were killed, Patricia Smith was attacked in her Lakewood home.

[Detective Wilson Egan]

Patricia was sexually assaulted on the floor, bludgeoned around the head with a hammer. Then the Bennett's came and said, well, we got a connection now.

[Reporter Paula Woodward]

And then more information started to come out that in the past 12 days before the Bennetts were killed, there had been three other attacks.

[Pluto TV Narrator]

On January 4, 1984, there was an attack on a couple inside their home. They were asleep in their bed. I think it was Kim first that realized someone else was in the room and was attacking her with a hammer. She woke up, started yelling, and the perpetrator started running out of the house.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

Five days later, on January 9, a woman named Donna Dixon was attacked with a hammer. As she was getting out of her

[Detective Wilson Egan]

car, the door opened up and the person grabbed her and he hit her and raped her on the garage floor. He probably presumed she Was dead. And by all means, she probably should have been. We've interviewed her numerous times, but she is unable to recall anything else about the case other than white male, shoulder length hair.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

Fear grips the community as the investigators race to find a connection between the violent attacks perpetrated in January 1984. In addition to the weapon used, detectives identify another common thread in each incident.

[Detective Wilson Egan]

There was a lot of construction going on in that area. I mean, a lot of construction, houses, apartments, not only here, but also in Lakewood. And the boot print is what they call a clutter boot, which at that time it was pretty common type of boot for this area. It was made for construction type work.

[Pluto TV Narrator]

So my thought was the guy that's committing these offenses here, he's familiar enough with the area because he's working the construction in that area.

[District Attorney John Kellner]

The Aurora police department pulling lists of anybody who had worked construction in the area.

[Detective Wilson Egan]

Somebody had to see something, but nobody had any information, Nothing.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

After being discharged from the hospital in March, three year old Vanessa is taken to the center for abused children where she's examined by a therapist as investigators watch from behind a pane of glass.

[Vanessa Bennett]

I remember there was a time when I was younger and some like, people were asking about what did he look like? I don't remember anything. Nothing.

[Detective Marv Brandt]

Once he started asking her about what had gone on, she became very, very agitated. And did they just stop the interview?

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

Two months have passed since the brutal attack on the Bennetts, and the detectives hit a dead end. They have no eyewitnesses and the physical evidence they have can't lead them to the killer. The case goes cold, and Vanessa Bennett moves in with her grandmother Connie to try to give her some semblance of normality. But life is an uphill battle for the young child survivor.

[Vanessa Bennett]

Kids made fun of me when I was in elementary school for having no parents. My parents were murdered. Don't go to her house. The hammerman will come get you. And kids would always be like, what's wrong with your face? It was embarrassing. It hurt. You know, I never wanted to be me, just anything to be somebody else. So it made me like kind of pull back and kind of isolate from people. And this is why I grew up so angry. I honestly just remember always being in trouble. I was always being a bully. My anger exploded a lot, no matter where I went.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

Five years have passed with no arrests, and by January 1989, Detective Marv Brandt steers the investigation back to the physical evidence that was found on the carpet and the comforter in the girl's bedroom.

[Detective Wilson Egan]

We wanted DNA done on those items, but they weren't capable of doing it yet. We did check in all the time with them and. And asked, are you capable of doing this now? There was always something there that prevented them, but they said, we keep trying.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

Anticipating scientific advances, Detective Brandt asks for DNA samples from everyone who was at Melissa's birthday party on the night before the murders.

[Detective Wilson Egan]

We had them coming into the police department so we could obtain their blood and hairs, you know, for testing purposes.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

Bruce's brother Richard presents himself for testing in February 1989. And what starts as a routine conversation takes a strange turn.

[Detective Wilson Egan]

When Richard was there, he was making statements to us about him being at the party that night. He had a few beers that night, and he says he went home that night with his mother, Connie Bennett. He told us about how he was floating around in a bubble. And I said, what do you mean, floating around in a bubble? He said, floating around in a bubble. And I could see in the master bedroom window. And then subsequently the bubble popped and he was inside the bedroom. And then he went downstairs. And when he got downstairs, he was being chased by a person to the point where Richard ran up to the kitchen, tripped and fell. And when he tripped and fell, he looked over and he saw his brother's body. He said, I dreamed that. I says, do you actually think that that happened, Richard? He says, well, it did to me.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

Richard's statement about his dreamlike vision of the murder of his brother and his family raises the investigators suspicious.

[Detective Wilson Egan]

Richard worked construction, so I thought this might be somebody that might be wearing a pair of boots. And he did admit that he did have a pair of colored boots at one time, but he threw them away. So that got us on the possibilities of him being involved. We started thinking of him as a good suspect, so we worked him as a suspect.

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[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

Investigators now turn their focus on Bruce's brother Richard as a suspect. With Richard's background in construction and the likelihood that he owned a pair of boots similar to the kind that left the print found at the Lakewood crime scene, they asked those closest to the family if they think Richard could be responsible for the horrific triple murder.

[Larry (Deborah's brother)]

We were asked if, if there was a chance that Bruce's brother Richard could have committed this crime. And that really threw everybody for a loop. You know, just like, you know what

[Detective Wilson Egan]

I told Connie Bennett and the mother of Richard Bennett about the dream or portions of it. And she said she didn't understand what that was all about. But she confirmed the fact that he did have his boots. They were very old and he threw them away long before the murders. I don't believe he had an alibi other than he went home that night. There was nothing that other, other than his own statement and his own dream that puts him at the crime scene. We didn't think we had enough to arrest him at that time. We said if this thing called DNA ever works out and pops up and it's him, then obviously it's different.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

It's now 2001, 17 years after the murders, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation are finally equipped to extract and compare DNA profiles.

[Detective Wilson Egan]

CBI found DNA which only one person out of 18 million could have deposited that DNA. They said, if you get this person, that's the person that did your crime right there. We tested Richard's blood and the entire family's blood. As far as DNA, none of this DNA that came off these items coincide with anything from the family. Nobody in the family was involved in this murder, and that includes Richard.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

With Richard cleared, Detective Brandt runs the killer's DNA profile against every database available.

[District Attorney John Kellner]

In 2001, not every state had the same sort of DNA collection laws or the same sort of DNA preservation laws that would get these profiles into CODIS in a way that we could ultimately use.

[Detective Wilson Egan]

So we did what we could, but nothing ever popped up. There was nothing from the feds or from Colorado or anywhere else. And now, by this time, you know, I'm getting ready to retire, and I'm going, well, I'm sorry, but I'm done. It was hard to. It was hard to step away from. I knew we were getting very close. Luckily, it was given to the right person. Steve Connor.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

After 18 years, Detective Steve Conner takes over the Bennett murder case.

[Pluto TV Narrator]

It was a case that occurred when I'd been on the department just three years. I was a field training officer at the time. I actually went in, and it kind of freaked me out because I had never seen a crime scene like that. The image of Melissa laying on the floor, I think that was the one that probably impacted me the most. And it always kind of lingered.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

Detective Connor isn't the only one who can't forget the awful tragedy. Vanessa Bennett has been trying to recover from it for almost two decades.

[Vanessa Bennett]

There was a lot of miscommunication and misguided anger. My grandmother did the best she could with what she had. She couldn't handle me. And the older I got, the worse it got. She sent me to boarding school. And then when I came home that summer, I cut my wrists. And so she sent me to the psych ward, and then I went to group home from there. And then I was out on my own at 18. I'm a living witness to what happened, so I always thought that he would come back and try to kill me and finish the job. Just having that hanging over your shoulder puts a great deal of stress on you and anxiety. And I started using when I was 19. You know, I used heroin to make myself just go. Everything go away. And that went on for a good 15 years. And I did end up homeless because of my addiction.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

The fact that the murder of her parents and sister has been unsolved for so long compounds the fear Vanessa feels.

[Vanessa Bennett]

I had this picture in my head, this monster who could do this to, you know, a child. I just wanted to see what he looked like to put a face to those nightmares, to have some. Somebody to say this is your fault. But I wasn't sure if the cops were doing anything. I felt like I was put on the back burner. I didn't think anybody would catch the guy.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

It's now 20, and the detectives have run the DNA profile through databases every few years for more than three decades. But they are unable to identify a suspect through CODIS. Detective Connor and Chief Deputy D.A. kellner take on a new approach and team up with genetic genealogist Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick.

[Pluto TV Narrator]

She would go into open databases that had the DNA information from like 23andMe or ancestry.com and she would just start mining different areas, looking for close matches to the DNA that she had. She told me that if I got her a sample of the DNA extracted and analyzed, that she could tell me the last name of who the suspect was.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

Detective Connor shares the killer's DNA profile with Dr. Fitzpatrick.

[Pluto TV Narrator]

She gets up before back to you in a few days, and it was less than a week, and she called back and told me she gave me the last name of Ewing. That name had never appeared on any of the reports that I could find.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

It's been 34 years since the Bennetts were murdered, and detectives finally have a promising lead. A man with the surname Ewing. Detective Connor wastes no time chasing it.

[Pluto TV Narrator]

I went to our prison database and there was like three or four incarcerated Ewings at the time. But the Colorado Bureau of Investigation was able to tell me that the ones that were incarcerated in Colorado were in no way related to the Ewing that we were looking for. So I went into our own in house database of all the names of people we've contacted or arrested. And I didn't realize there were that many Ewings. The number just in our database alone was huge.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

There are more than 40 people with the last name Ewing in the Aurora police database.

[Pluto TV Narrator]

The next step in the research would be which part of the tree did they come from? And then it would be my job to go out and start contacting people within that family group.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

The process could take years.

[Pluto TV Narrator]

It's a case that's gone on for over 30 years. It's something that we continue to look into. But I had a bunch of other cases at the time that I was doing follow up on. And in the back of my mind, I kept telling myself, you know, this guy's deceased. So I just kind of set it aside. And then on July 10, 2018, at about 9:15 in the evening, I received a call from my boss. They had a codisid on the Vente case. I go from where? And he goes, some inmate out in Nevada.

[Detective Wilson Egan]

I got a phone call from Steve Connor and he says, you won't believe it. We know who our suspect is. He's been in prison since August of 1984. I said, well, what's his name?

[Pluto TV Narrator]

The individual's name was an Alex Ewing.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

Investigators pour over 58 year old Alex Ewing's criminal record and discover that he had been arrested just 12 days after the Bennetts were murdered.

[District Attorney John Kellner]

Not long after the Bennett family murders, Ewing popped up on the radar in Kingman, Arizona where he allegedly bludgeoned a man with a rock.

[Pluto TV Narrator]

Alex Ewing was arrested for the Arizona case. He was in jail awaiting trial, but because of what I was told was overcrowded conditions, he was transported to a jail up in St. George, Utah. The transport vehicle pulled off into a gas station to use the facilities in the Henderson area of Nevada and Alex Ewing escaped their custody. He entered the home to get away from being apprehended and attacked the homeowners.

[District Attorney John Kellner]

He bludgeoned nearly to death two people with an axe handle. He was captured in Nevada and he was ultimately convicted of that attack for attempted murder.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

The crime was so horrendous that the judge in Nevada imposed a record sentence of 110 years. Ewing had never had his DNA taken while he was in prison because it wasn't required back then in either state. But a law was eventually passed that meant that convicted felons had to submit their DNA. It's a viable lead and the investigators spring into action. They head to Carson City, Nevada to Interview Ewing on July 12, 2018. After an hour of questioning, the detectives broach the topic of Colorado and learned that Ewing lived in the area for a while and he worked in construction. Ewing asks for a lawyer and the interview stops.

[Pluto TV Narrator]

He was looking at trying to get out of prison. In the next year or two, he was eligible for parole. And I think he knew at that point that wasn't going to happen.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

After 34 years, Alex Ewing is charged with the first degree murder of Bruce, Deborah and Melissa Bennett. Prosecutors are unable to try ewing for the two hammer attacks in which the victim survived because 1984 Colorado law set the statute of limitations of attempted murder charges at just three years. But Ewing can be charged with the Lakewood murder of Patricia Smith. 37 years after the murders of the Bennetts and Patricia Smith, Ewing pleads not guilty to four counts of first degree murder. The Bennett's case is the first to go to trial on July 26, 2021, with the original first responders as witnesses. Now district attorney Kellner gives a horrific account of that night in January 1984.

[District Attorney John Kellner]

January 15th was a happy day. When the happy family partygoers left, they left the garage door open. Tragically, that's how Ewing got into the home.

[Detective Wilson Egan]

Even though Bruce was a big guy, he was caught off guard and he was struck about the head.

[Detective Marv Brandt]

First time Deborah and the kids probably heard it going on, were probably just scared to death.

[Detective Wilson Egan]

I'm sure that Bruce was trying his best to get back upstairs to get to the kids and Deborah.

[District Attorney John Kellner]

Bruce fought for his family, fought for his own life. And it was a violent, bloody struggle, one that he lost. We had several firefighters and paramedics testify about what they saw. And it's something to behold when you see them cry. People that have seen terrible things, that rushed into fires to save lives on the witness stand, choking up as they go back to the horror of that scene. I've prosecuted a lot of murder cases and oftentimes pull back the layer of the onion. You see, the motivation was something like greed. Maybe it was a gang rivalry. This case was pure evil. Ewing's motivation for committing this crime was absolute bloodlust for violence.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

Ewing's defense team argues that 34 year old DNA evidence can't be trusted. But the jury doesn't buy it. Alex Ewing is found guilty on all three counts of murder.

[Vanessa Bennett]

I came back at the end of the trial for this victim statement. I told him that he took my sanity. He took that me, that I was supposed to be that person inside, that I was supposed to be from me. And when it comes to my family, that was the most important thing to me in the world.

[Reporter Paula Woodward]

Ewing wouldn't look at anybody, not because of a sense of shame, but because he didn't care. And then the judge asked him, do you want to say anything? And he said, no, thank you. The judge was particularly succinct, calling it an abundant abomination, and sentenced him in Colorado to three consecutive life sentences.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

In April 2022, Ewing was found guilty of the murder of Patricia Smith. He received a fourth life sentence for the fourth murder he committed during a 12 day spree of horrifying viol. The long awaited justice gives Vanessa the motivation she needs to change her life.

[Vanessa Bennett]

I stood outside the courtroom thanking people. I went and hugged all the firemen and all the policemen that saved my life. And then I started getting sober and I started taking accountability for my actions and started going to classes. I went to school for psychology to be a drug counselor. I wanted to help people like me. I didn't want to be a victim anymore. I was tired of being a victim. I spent a long time, a long part of my life, being a victim. And I chose from then on that I would never be a victim again.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

Cold Case Files is hosted by Paula Barros. It's produced by the Law and Crime Network and written by Eileen McFarlane and Emily G. Thompson. Our composer is Blake Maples. For A and E, our senior producer is John Thrasher and our supervising producer is McKamey Lin. Our executive producers are Jesse Katz, Maite Cueva and Peter Tarshis. This podcast is based on A E's Emmy winning TV series Cold Case Files. For more Cold case files, visit aetv.com.

[Pluto TV Narrator]

At first I didn't think it was real. I woke up to this blinding light and I was transported to another place.

[Narrator/Host (Paula Barros)]

Pluto tv.

[Pluto TV Narrator]

Then I heard a voice.

[Vanessa Bennett]

Come with me if you want to live.

[Pluto TV Narrator]

There were thousands of movies and shows

[Vanessa Bennett]

and they were all free.

[Pluto TV Narrator]

Truth isn't it's just so Beautiful on Pluto TV.

[Larry (Deborah's brother)]

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[Lisa (Licensed Psychotherapist)]

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[Reporter Paula Woodward]

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[Kiana]

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