Murder: True Crime Stories – SOLVED: The Coors Brewery Murder 2

Podcast: Murder: True Crime Stories
Host: Carter Roy
Episode Date: September 18, 2025

Episode Overview

In this gripping conclusion to the two-part series on the 1960 kidnapping and murder of Adolph Coors III, host Carter Roy meticulously retraces the famed FBI investigation called “the largest manhunt since the Lindbergh baby kidnapping.” The episode focuses on the desperate hunt for Coors’ abductor, Joseph Corbett Jr., the evidence that finally cracked the case, and the profound impact on the Coors family. The story weaves through crime scene discoveries, forensic innovations, and a manhunt spanning continents, ending with the legacy left behind and the family’s lasting trauma.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Setting the Scene: A Brewing Dynasty Disrupted

• By 1960, the Coors family was on top of the brewing world, with Adolph “Ad” Coors III as CEO, his brothers Bill and Joe handling operations.
• AD, though deeply involved in the family business, secretly preferred ranch life over the brewery, spending his happiest moments at his newly built ranch near Morrison, Colorado.
• “After decades of putting the family business first... AD was finally leading the life he'd always wanted. And he'd never been happier.” (Carter Roy, 05:11)
• February 9, 1960: AD failed to arrive at work. His car was found abandoned, his lucky baseball cap in a creek, and ominous blood at the scene suggested foul play.

The Kidnapping and the Manhunt

• Rapid, exhaustive search operations began, involving 150 people, but only clues emerged: blood, a mysterious fedora, strange tire tracks, and AD’s damaged glasses.
• The next day, the Coors family received a chilling ransom note demanding $500,000 (equivalent to $5.5 million today).
  • The note instructed them to place a coded ad in the Denver Post and avoid law enforcement, though the FBI was already deeply involved.
  • “The whole thing made Mary incredibly nervous... Still, she knew there was no denying the facts. Just a day after he was taken, news of AD's kidnapping was already a national story.” (Carter Roy, 13:00)

Zeroing in on a Suspect: The Mystery of Walter Osborne

• Local witnesses recalled a yellow 1951 Mercury sedan lurking near the bridge before the abduction.
• Investigation connected the car to “Walter Osborne,” who had just vacated his Denver apartment, leaving behind evidence of handcuffs and a paint bucket with a single, crucial fingerprint.
• The car surfaced torched in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The fingerprint led to the real identity: Joseph Corbett Jr.
  • “It turned out that Walter Osborne was actually 31-year-old Joseph Corbett Jr.” (Carter Roy, 18:05)

The Backstory of Joseph Corbett Jr.

• Corbett’s troubled history: from a gifted but awkward student and family tragedy to an earlier murder conviction in California, prison time, an eventual escape, and a fugitive life under assumed identities.
• “During his sentence, Joe was examined by several psychiatrists... diagnosed as markedly schizoid, meaning he showed schizophrenic symptoms but didn't experience hallucinations or delusions.” (Carter Roy, 21:00)
• After escaping in 1955, he slipped into Denver life as “Walter Osborne,” blending in while meticulously planning his next crime.

The Investigation Breaks Wide Open

• The FBI had to work with limited evidence—mainly circumstantial dirt samples from the burned Mercury, matched to soil from the abduction site.
  • “It was damning but highly circumstantial. If the FBI wanted to take the Case to trial, they were going to need a whole lot more evidence.” (Carter Roy, 28:45)
• Seven months after the disappearance, a pizza delivery man hiking near Sedalia found COORS' personal items and skeletal remains.
  • Notable item: a penknife inscribed “AC III.”

Bringing Corbett to Justice

• A new tip from Canada led to Corbett’s arrest in Vancouver in October 1960, after a months-long international chase.
• Trial began March 1961. Despite Corbett’s insistence that no direct evidence linked him to murder, the prosecution presented a compelling narrative based on forensics, planning, motive, and method.
  • “After 13 days of testimony from FBI experts, witnesses and AD's family, the jury was ready to deliberate.” (Carter Roy, 40:41)
• Verdict: Guilty of first-degree murder. Corbett sentenced to life.

Aftermath and Legacy

• Parole reforms in Colorado made Corbett eligible for release after serving just 12 years and five more on supervised parole.
• He lived a quiet life, working for the Salvation Army, and died by suicide after a cancer diagnosis in 2009.
• The Coors family, particularly widow Mary and her children, suffered not just immense personal loss but an emotional and financial separation from the wider family.
  • “After AD's death, Adolf Jr. cut Mary and her children off from the family. Although the company paid her a $3,400 monthly pension... AD would turn out to be the final Adolf Coors to helm the corporation.” (Carter Roy, 41:46)
• AD’s son left the business, forging an independent path as an evangelical speaker—a final gift of freedom from his father’s legacy.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Family Expectations:
  • "Unlike so many people, he was handed the keys to his destiny on a silver platter... But beer wasn't AD's dream… And in the end, Ed paid for it with his own life." (Carter Roy, 00:29)
• On the Ransom Note:
  • "According to the letter, A.D. was taken for ransom. His abductor promised not to hurt AD as long as the Coors family cooperated and met their demands. They wanted $500,000." (Carter Roy, 12:59)
• On Finding the Breakthrough Evidence:
  • "The delivery man stopped to pick them [pants] up and heard the pockets jingle... There was also a silver penknife inscribed with the initials AC III." (Carter Roy, 35:05)
• On the Family Aftermath:
  • "Behind closed doors, the family was shattered. Mary had never been particularly close to Ad's parents, and it seemed like they took ad's absence as permission to distance themselves entirely..." (Carter Roy, 41:30)
• On Corbett’s Release:
  • "He was released on December 12, 1980, after five years of supervised parole. Joe was a free man. He settled in Denver once again driving trucks for the Salvation Army." (Carter Roy, 41:17)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [05:11]: The discovery of AD’s disappearance and first evidence at the bridge
• [12:56]: The ransom note arrives, and the FBI takes over
• [15:50]: Witnesses recall suspicious car and license plate—first break in the case
• [18:01]: Identification of “Walter Osborne” as Joseph Corbett Jr.
• [20:52]: Corbett’s backstory and prior California murder conviction
• [28:45]: Soil forensics, significance of evidence from the burned car
• [35:05]: Discovery of AD’s remains and personal effects
• [39:55]: Corbett located and arrested in Canada, then extradited
• [40:41]: Trial and verdict details
• [41:17]: Parole, Corbett’s post-prison life, and legacy for the Coors family

Conclusion

This episode of Murder: True Crime Stories provides a meticulous, suspenseful, and emotionally resonant account of the Coors Brewery murder investigation and its seismic impact on one of America’s most prominent families. Through careful storytelling and substantive forensic details, Carter Roy brings listeners into the moral complexities and lasting consequences of a crime that shaped a family—and law enforcement procedures—forever.