Under the Bridge ////// 828

Summary

True Crime Garage – Episode: "Under the Bridge ////// 828" (March 11, 2025)

Hosts: Nic and The Captain
Podcast Description: Hosts Nic and The Captain delve into gripping true crime stories, blending in-depth analysis with casual banter and a touch of humor to engage listeners in the mysteries of unsolved cases.

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Introduction

[00:54] Nick:
Nick welcomes listeners to "True Crime Garage," setting an inviting atmosphere by encouraging everyone to "grab a chair, grab a beer" and join the deep dive into true crime cases. This episode, titled "Under the Bridge ////// 828," focuses on the haunting and unresolved case of Merilee Burt.

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Background of the Case

Merilee's Life and Disappearance

• Profile:
  Merilee Ruth Burt was born on January 28, 1955, and was a vibrant 15-year-old residing in Littleton, Colorado. She was a ninth-grader at Goddard Middle School, excelling academically and athletically, with aspirations of joining a ballet troupe in New York City.

• The Evening of February 26, 1970:
  On a cold February evening, Merilee attended a middle school basketball game as a cheerleader. Post-game, she met with her guidance counselor to select classes for high school and then decided to walk two miles home from her friend Cheryl Cook’s house.

• Last Known Movements:
  Merilee was last seen speaking with the driver of a vehicle on the side of South Middlefield Road. Her mother, adherent to strict household rules against accepting rides from strangers, did not arrive to pick her up, sparking immediate concern.

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Investigation Timeline

Initial Search and Discovery

• Immediate Response:
  After being reported missing, police initiated a search. [06:57] The Captain emphasizes the urgency, noting that within 18 hours, Merilee's body was discovered beneath a bridge in Deer Creek Canyon by a road crew worker.

• Crime Scene Details:

  • Location: One-lane scenic bridge over Deer Creek, 1.5 miles west of Phillipsburg, six miles from Merilee's home.
  • Condition: Merilee was found nude, partially submerged in the creek with no personal items—clothing, book bag, and textbooks—recovered at the scene.
  • Cause of Death: Strangulation with a 10-foot rope, coupled with a prior heavy blow to the head, indicating possible incapacitation before the attack.

• Forensic Evidence:

  • Wood Pieces and Metal Shavings: Found among Merilee's fingers and in her hair, suggesting movement post-assault.
  • Sexual Assault Evidence: Indicated by the authorities, but only limited forensic analysis (hair samples and fingernail scrapings) was possible at the time.

[11:52] The Captain:
Highlights the challenge of locating personal items, indicating the possibility that Merilee was moved before being dumped under the bridge.

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Eyewitness Accounts and Suspect Profiling

Raymond Burt's Sighting

• Timeline:
  [09:33] The Captain outlines that Merilee left the basketball game, met Cheryl Cook, and then set out to walk home around 6:50 PM.

• Description of the Vehicle and Driver:
  Raymond Burt, Merilee's older brother, reported seeing a girl (later confirmed as Merilee) interact with a truck—a late-model, light-colored two-tone pickup or carryall. The driver was described as a white male in his 30s or 40s with dark brown hair, a receding hairline, and long squared-off sideburns.

[12:29] Nick:
Discusses the significance of the vehicle description and its implications, suggesting the likelihood that the perpetrator was someone Merilee knew and trusted, given her family's strict rules against accepting rides from strangers.

Community Impact

• Small Community Challenges:
  Littleton, with a population of around 26,000, posed unique challenges for the investigation. The tight-knit nature meant the pool of potential suspects was limited but numerous in terms of personal connections to Merilee.

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Investigation Efforts and Challenges

Law Enforcement Strategies

• Canvassing and Tips:
  Police canvassed neighborhoods, receiving approximately 70 tips, many time-consuming to process due to the lack of modern technology.

• Coordination Between Jurisdictions:
  The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office and Jefferson County Sheriff's Office collaborated, assigning around 20 investigators, including lead Inspector David Tetch.

Cold Evidence

• DNA Evidence:
  [37:32] Nick:
  Discusses how remnants like the rope and other physical evidence provided limited forensic leads due to the era's technological constraints.

• Key Suspect: Ronald Bloom:
  In 1981, Ronald Bloom, a gymnastics instructor at Merilee’s school with a history of sexual offenses, became a prime suspect. However, DNA testing later excluded him from the case.

[40:07] Nick:
Emphasizes that despite Bloom’s confession-like statements acknowledging his propensity to assault underage girls, DNA evidence did not link him to Merilee's murder.

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Modern Forensic Advances and Renewed Efforts

DNA Testing and CODIS

• 1998 DNA Analysis:
  Old evidence was re-examined, and a DNA profile was developed. However, it did not match any entries in the CODIS database, as elaborated by [48:08] Nick.

• Potential for Forensic Genealogy:
  The hosts discuss the possibility of using genealogical databases to trace the suspect, given that traditional databases like CODIS had no matches.

[49:00] The Captain:
Mentions the feasibility of genealogy testing, which could potentially identify the perpetrator even if they were never arrested or entered into standard databases.

Ongoing Efforts

• 2021 Reward Increase:
  The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office increased the reward to $30,000, funded by donations, in hopes of generating new leads.

• Community Involvement:
  Despite the passage of 55 years, efforts continue with fresh pushes in 2021 and ongoing tips, though none have led to a breakthrough as of 2025.

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Community and Familial Impact

Emotional Toll

• Family's Loss and Advocacy:
  Merilee's mother, Sherry Burt, became involved in victims' programs, dedicating herself to supporting other victims of sexual assault.

• Testimonial from Cheryl Cook:
  [56:42] The Captain:
  Shares insights from Cheryl Cook, Merilee's friend, who expresses the enduring trauma and the desire for closure that remains unresolved decades later.

Unresolved Grief

• Lack of Closure:
  Merilee's parents have passed away without finding answers, highlighting the profound and lasting impact of the unresolved case on the community and her family.

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Conclusion and Current Status

• Unresolved Case:
  As of 2025, Merilee Burt's murder remains unsolved. Despite advancements in forensic technology and persistent investigative efforts, the identity of her killer has not been discovered.

• Hope for Resolution:
  The possibility of using forensic genealogy offers a glimmer of hope for a breakthrough, as traditional methods have reached their limits.

[59:25] The Captain:
Concludes with heartfelt gratitude towards listeners and recommends the book "In Light of All Darkness" by Kim Cross, encouraging further engagement with true crime narratives.

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Notable Quotes

• Ronald Bloom's Admission:
  [45:28] Nick:
  "the problem he had with underage girls involved picking them up in vans and sexually assaulting them."

• Sheriff on DNA Importance:
  [54:21] Nick:
  "We now know if we have DNA. It's huge. It is great evidence one way or another to include or exclude."

• Merilee's Nephew's Hope:
  [52:43] Nick:
  "There's got to be someone out there who knows something."

• Cheryl Cook on Longevity of Grief:
  [56:42] The Captain:
  "It was just such an awful, awful time. I would love for her to be able to know even if the person is dead."

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Recommended Reading

[59:36] Nick:
Recommends "In Light of All Darkness" by Kim Cross, a captivating true crime book that immerses readers in the kidnapping of Paulie Class, providing a thrilling and insightful companion to the podcast's content.

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Final Thoughts

"Under the Bridge ////// 828" offers a comprehensive and poignant exploration of Merilee Burt’s tragic and unsolved murder. Through meticulous storytelling and insightful analysis, Nic and The Captain shed light on the complexities of the investigation, the enduring impact on those left behind, and the hope that modern forensic techniques may one day provide the answers Merilee's family has long sought.

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Remember:

• If you have any information about Merilee Burt's case, please reach out to local authorities.
• Continue supporting efforts to solve cold cases by sharing knowledge and staying informed.

Be good, be kind, and don't litter.

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This summary is based on the transcript and information provided for the "True Crime Garage" podcast episode "Under the Bridge ////// 828." It aims to encapsulate the key discussions, insights, and conclusions presented by the hosts.

Transcript

[Nick]

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[The Captain]

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[Nick]

Welcome to True Crime Garage. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing. Thanks for listening. I'm your host Nick and with me as always is a man who would like to know what time does your rooster crow? Here is the captain.

[The Captain]

Yeah, here comes the rooster. It's good to be seen and good to see you. Thanks for listening. Thanks for telling a friend.

[Nick]

Today we are sipping on some Nightmare fuel by the scary good brewers at River North Brewery in beautiful Denver, Colorado. Nightmare Fuel is a hauntingly powerful coffee stout. In fact, a double coffee stout that is very good and very dark. ABV 11.9%. So drink this one at home garage grade four and a quarter bottle caps out of five. And let's give some thanks and praise to our good friends that helped us fill up the old garage fridge. First up, a big cheers to Annabelle the cat from parts unknown. Meow.

[The Captain]

And a big we like your jib goes out to Bambi in Lapeer, Michigan.

[Nick]

Next up, here's a cheers and we like your jib that goes out to Ann Paul in Annapolis.

[The Captain]

And a big tall cans in to Jennifer in Bella Vista, Arkansas.

[Nick]

And last but certainly not least, Captain, we have a cheers to Melody from Riverside, California. Everyone we just mentioned, they went to our website truecrime garage.com and contributed to this week's beer fund. And for that we thank you.

[The Captain]

Yeah, bwr you and beer run. If you're feeling frisky, head over to itunes and leave us a five star review. And Colonel, that's enough of the business.

[Nick]

All right everybody gather round, grab a chair, grab a beer. Let's talk some true crime. Life without you. Was it even real? I don't wish without you. In 1970, more than a half century ago, 15 year old merrily Burt set out to do something that kids did most days back then, walk home. She likely thought nothing of it as she set out to walk the two miles other than to shudder at the cold. It was February in Littleton, Colorado. At that time of year, the temperatures can be dangerous for Merilee's walk home. It was dark and it was cold. And that is why perhaps Merrilee might have been open to the idea of accepting a ride. But the dark outside was nothing compared to the dark traveling next to her in whatever vehicle she may have entered. Merrilee was last seen on the side of the road talking to the driver of a vehicle and then she was gone. Her body was found the next day. To this day, the driver of that vehicle has never been found. Who killed Marilee Burke? This is true crime Garage Was it even real? Merrily Ruth Burke was born January 28, 1955 to parents Nathan Allen Burt and his wife sherry. Merrily had two older brothers, Alan Burt Jr. And her other older brother Raymond. Merrily grew up in Littleton, Colorado, which had a population of about 26,000 people in 1970. It was a nice small town outside of Denver, but Merrily's family, they weren't the farming type or the blue collar family. The Burts owned a number of car dealerships in the Denver area and were very well to do financially. Her father Allen was the VP and general manager of Burt Chevrolet in Inglewood, which was owned by his father Nathan. Marilee's Granddad and Grandma, Mr. And Mrs. Nate Burt, lived in Englewood and her mom, Sherry's parents, last name Booth, lived in Middleton. Marilee Burt was about as normal of a kid as you can find. She was a 9th grader at Goddard Middle School, a B student, a member of the student council and very popular. Marilee was very pretty. She was 110 pounds with blonde hair and a winning smile. She was athletic too, excelling in both ballet and tap dancing. And she loved swimming and diving and was an avid water skier and was on a gymnastics team as well. It's been reported that her lifelong goal was to join a ballet troupe in New York City. For now, in ninth grade, she was happy going to school, cheering, hanging out with friends and pursuing all of her hobbies. On the last day of her life, Merrily was excited to cheer at the middle school basketball game. She wore her green and gold cheerleading uniform emblazoned with a large G on the sweater's front and her name Merrily in cursive embroidered on the back. She also met with her guidance counselor about selecting her classes for her first year of high school. In the fall of 1971, she planned to try out for the high school cheer team and she was excited for the next chapter of her life.

[The Captain]

So let's get into the timeline of this case. We're going to start in February 26, 1970.

[Nick]

This is a Thursday evening. We have 15 year old merilee who was scheduled to cheer at the basketball game at her school, Goddard Middle School. We don't have any reports about the basketball game or what went down there. Merrily presumably cheered happily with her Squad. And everything was a normal evening. After the game, Merrily and her friend Cheryl Cook, they decided to walk to Cheryl's home. She lives nearby, close to the school. Merrily called her mother or called the house and left a message. And there's varying reports on this message and we'll get back to it. But the what we do know about this message or the phone call home, Captain, is that somehow her location got lost in translation because she needs a ride home. Her ride never shows up. Now what we do know is that her mother actually set out in her vehicle and drove to Merilee's school that evening where she had picked up her daughter plenty of times before this night. But on this night, Marilee wasn't there. She wasn't standing out front and she never walked out of the building. So mom is puzzled. She's sitting in her vehicle, engine on, and she probably got annoyed. And we do know that she went inside, she went inside looking for her daughter. Merilee was not at the school. There were only a couple of custodians left in the building cleaning up. None of them had seen Merrilee since the end of the game. So she's puzzled, she's concerned and she decides to return home. But she's going to drive slowly because she's looking for her daughter, expecting to see her walking, making her way home. She doesn't see her. In fact, Merilylee never came home. So later that night, frantic mom called around to Merilylee's friends. This is when she learned that Merilee had been at her friend's house. This is Cheryl Cook. But she had left to walk home hours prior. She set out to walk the estimated two miles to the Burt home located at 30 Wedge Way and she's on foot. It's hard to imagine the Burt's panic as they called the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office to report Merrily missing. It was three and a half hours since Merrilee had last been seen.

[The Captain]

So if I'm getting this right after the game, Merrilee heads to her friend's house instead of waiting for her mother to pick her up.

[Nick]

Police search for Merrily immediately throughout the night. And it didn't take long before there was news. The nude body of a blonde female teen was found on Friday around 1pm this is about 18 hours after police were called. A Jefferson county road crew worker saw the crumpled form partially submerged in Deer Creek and radioed the Jefferson County Sheriff's office they had found a dead girl. She lay under a bridge In Deer Creek Canyon. This is one and a half miles west of Phillipsburg and six miles from her home. This was not one of those high overpass type bridges. This was a one lane scenic country type bridge over a stream. Crime scene photos show police officers standing on the bridge looking down into the creek where Merrilee was found. Half in the water, half on the rocks. She was dumped off of the low bridge, likely from a vehicle stopped on the roadway. The other side of the roadway was abutted by a rocky hillside. Her clothing was nowhere to be found. All of the following items are missing and was missing from this horrific scene. A green pullover sweater with a large gold G on the front and the numeral 70 on the sleeve with Merrily embroidered on the back. A green and gold pleated skirt. A white blouse, A dark nylon windbreaker and white sneakers. Now, there is no mention of these items in the missing list, but we have to assume that Marilee was also wearing socks and undergarments. Also not located was her book bag and the three textbooks that she had been carrying that day. Police officers were dispatched to comb the area looking for these items or any other clues to what happened to Merrily. A Denver police helicopter was sent up on Saturday to fly over this area where they found the girl, looking for the bright colored clothing, the book bag, or anything suspicious. Merilee's personal items have never been found.

[The Captain]

Well, if you're a law enforcement, I think you have to then look at the scene where Merilee is at and say, well, this is the dumping ground. And by, by surveilling the rest of the area, you're looking for these items to see if these items were discarded of too. I think this lends itself to the idea because we know she wasn't walking six miles away from her home. So the crime probably took place somewhere else, possibly in a vehicle or a house, and then she was discarded here.

[Nick]

Jefferson county coroner Ken Renee revealed to the media that Merrilee's cause of death was strangulation. What was not revealed at the time was that Merrilee was found with the murder weapon still attached to her. This is a 10 foot length of sturdy rope that was wrapped around her neck. It had been used to strangle her. But before she was strangled, she had been immobilized by a single blow to the head with something very heavy. It left bruising, an abrasion and trauma to her head, but did not fracture the skull. So the blow would likely not have killed her, but was believed likely to have knocked her out. Close inspection of the body detected wood pieces among Marilee's fingers and metal shavings in her hair. These shavings were described to a reporter for the Denver Post as similar to those found on the floor of a machine shop. The coroner also told the media that there was evidence that Merrily had been sexually assaulted. A sexual assault kit, hair samples and fingernail scrapings were collected. A funeral for Merrily was held on Monday, and it's it's hard to contemplate just how somber that must have been. Merily was full of life on Thursday, and within three days her parents were at her grave site this from the Denver Post blog quote at her funeral at the First United Methodist Church, Reverend Fred Venable described Merrilee as an angel with the proper amount of mischief to make her superbly human. End quote.

[The Captain]

Well, the whole town must have been shook up because of this, because at that time there's a lot of people that walked home from school events or walked home from school.

[Nick]

To set the stage here a little, the area where Merrilee had gone missing from this is Columbine Valley. This at the time was only settled by about like 120 families. So there's not a lot of people here.

[The Captain]

Right?

[Nick]

Merrily's family lived in the Columbine Country Club development in Littleton. When news got out that a girl from a respectable family in a high end area had been murdered and dumped in Deer Creek Canyon, people were shocked, horrified and of course, devastated. When the Jefferson and Arapaho county sheriffs requested anyone who had anything, any information at all to please come forward, the community called in about 70 tips. Some of these tips backed up some crucial information given to police on the night Merrily disappeared by her own brother, Raymond. It's a little unclear what exactly Raymond saw, but here is the gist of it. Raymond, who was older than Merrilee, was driving on South Middlefield Road heading home right around 6:50pm on Thursday evening. According to the Denver Post blog, this road was at the time a deserted stretch of road bordered by trees on both sides. Raymond's car approached and then passed a girl walking in the same direction that he was going and he saw a truck flash its lights, pull over and stop right where the girl was walking on the side of the road. Now, of course, people have questioned why Raymond didn't in the moment recognize that the girl he saw walking was his sister. We have to keep in mind it's dark out, he was driving by probably fairly fast, and he saw the girl from the rear. She's going in the same direction that he's driving toward their home. He did not see her face, and Merrily reportedly did not typically wear her hair and pigtails. So she's wearing pigtails that day. So it didn't occur to him in the moment that the girl walking on the side of the road was his sister. And the whole thing probably happened very quickly. He got a flash of the girl and then the truck pulled over and that was it.

[The Captain]

I think this is a piece of information that's rightful that people question because she would have been wearing her cheerleading outfit, but because he saw her from the backside, she would also been wearing her book bag, which would have basically covered up any distinguishing marks that he would have seen as far as clothing or anything that he would recognize easily.

[Nick]

Correct. And keep in mind, due to the cold, due to the time of year, she had a lightweight jacket on over top of that cheerleading outfit. This information, though, Captain, is a really good clue for the police and their investigation. Captain Stanley Smith of the Jefferson county sheriff's office told the Associated Press, quote, all indications suggest that the girl in pigtails was Merrily Burt.

[The Captain]

But I'm guessing he was questioned by law enforcement.

[Nick]

Raymond was grilled by police about every detail relating to the location where he saw his sister. What do you know about the truck? What did you see about the truck? Can you describe the driver? The sighting was on South Middlefield Road in Arapahoe county near the Columbine country club. Raymond told investigators he drove by a man who was driving in the opposite direction. And as he glanced in his rearview mirror, he saw the girl turn to speak with the man in the truck. Raymond was able to remember some of the truck's physical features, but police never released any sketches or photos of similar trucks. But they did issue a request to the public to call in information about this vehicle, Described as a pickup or a carryall, which I had to look up what a carry all is. That's not a term that we use in my neck of the woods. A carry all the best way I can describe it is more like an outdoor working type of vehicle. It is shaped similarly to a pickup truck, but it would be. I would consider it more of like an easy go. Something that you would see maintenance workers or landscapers using to get around for people that maintain a golf course or something of that nature.

[The Captain]

Yeah, or like you said, this is a. This is a town where it's not heavily populated and we have individuals in this area that are farmers. So it's possibly a utility vehicle. That a farmer would use.

[Nick]

And I would guess that right now there's somebody that's angry saying, well, why would the police, if he said truck, if Raymond said truck, why would the police include a carryall? It just seems to kind of confuse the matter. But we've seen this in plenty of other cases where the police will go out of their way to be extra vague with the information that they're seeking and be extra vague about the information that they know. In part because you don't want anybody to rationalize away any information. A lot of times people have information that may be important to the investigation that they don't know is important. So you be, by being extra vague in a way you are opening up the phone lines and opening it up for more information to come in.

[The Captain]

Yeah. For example, if the eyewitness thinks the truck was black, but possibly could have been dark blue because of the lighting or because of the weather or whatever, their vision was somewhat obstructed, or maybe their memory is a little vague, then police will put out that it's a black truck or possibly a dark blue truck because they don't want anybody to eliminate. Calling in a tip on a, on.

[Nick]

A dark blue vehicle and your witness could be misremembering.

[The Captain]

Exactly.

[Nick]

The general description here meshing with the somewhat vague description given by Raymond was that it was a late model light colored two tone pickup truck. Now, Raymond may not have been the only eyewitness because we have another witness that says that they saw a truck speeding away from the area. We don't get a great description on if this is the exact same spot. It's just a truck speeding away from the area, but also running a stop sign. If in fact this truck is the same Right. As what the perpetrator was driving. I worry given this description that maybe that she may have been incapacitated. That blow to the head may have already have taken place. It seems to me it would be extra risky running a stop sign and. But maybe he ran the stop sign because he was trying to control her and was struggling to do so. I feel like this, this truck may be the same one that we are looking for. Now, Raymond was also able to describe the man that he saw drive past him. He said that the man was white, 30 to maybe 40 years old, and had dark brown hair with a receding hairline and long squared off sideburns. It's worth mentioning that at least one of the tips also mentioned that the car had pulled into Middlefield road at about 6:50pm which is exactly the time when Merrily, when Merilee was seen near the truck. Police sought the car and the driver as well, although they had no description to guide them. So they're technically looking for two vehicles and asking the public for help with two vehicles. But one of the vehicles, a car, other than saying that it was a car, they have no description for it. We don't know if police were ever able to track down this car or of course, the driver that went with it. The Jefferson County Sheriff's office was involved in the investigation because Merrily was found in their jurisdiction. They dispatched eight investigators to go door to door, canvassing families who lived near the dump site to see if they had seen anything. Now, note we'd already mentioned this is a remote area, so the chances of having additional witnesses are very slim. Of course, the abduction was believed to have happened in Arapaho county and that's where Merrily lived. And you see this a lot of times with older cases. We have two jurisdictions working this investigation, Arapahoe county and Jefferson County. She lived in Arapaho. Her body was found in Jefferson. Both were heavily involved in the investigation. They assigned about 20 men under the leadership of Inspector David Tetch to investigate what had happened to Merrily. Several investigators were assigned to talk to everyone Merrily knew and others were assigned to look into all sex offenders known to police in the area. Englewood Police Department contributed three detectives to the investigation as well, running down tips and looking into similar crimes. The Arapaho Sheriff's Department worked around the clock, holding meetings behind closed doors, interrogating witnesses and brainstorming for ideas. Authorities revealed that they believed whoever picked up Merrily in the truck that he was someone she knew and trusted. This is according to the sheriff. This is because they learned that Merrily's parents had a strict policy about any of their kids not accepting rides from strangers. So it was felt that Merrily, by all accounts a good girl who followed the rules, would not have ignored her parents rules.

[The Captain]

But doesn't this become more complex because it's such a small community, so she would know a lot more people. And so the, the idea of how well you need to know this individual before you get or before you accept a ride from them.

[Nick]

Well, and she's outgoing, she's popular, and she's in ninth grade, right. Just that day alone, we talked about, she was at school, she met with a guidance counselor, she went to the basketball game after school, she was a cheerleader at the basketball game. She went to a friend's house. Merily knows a lot of people. So this may in some ways may shorten your list or, or gives you a nice theory to be working. I don't think it trims down the possibilities very much to your point.

[The Captain]

Now that we have a rough description and I'm sure law enforcement has more details about this description. If I'm law enforcement, I'm going and questioning everybody at that basketball game to see if anybody saw this individual's vehicle at the basketball game during the time that she was cheerleading.

[Nick]

Police concluded that Merilee knew the guy, even if it was just on the fringes of her social circle. It could be something as simple as a parent of a friend or a teacher or an administrator at the school or a coach. It could also be somebody that knew somebody that she knew. As we mentioned, it was dark and it was cold. She may have been more willing to get into a vehicle due to the circumstances, and I keep saying this, that may have been willing to get into the vehicle because we don't know for certain that she wasn't pulled into a vehicle after talking to the driver. She may not have been willing to get into a vehicle at all. But as said, it was cold, it was dark, her books were heavy and the vehicle may have looked warm and the man may have seemed nice. And it is possible that she just got in and accepted the ride.

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[Nick]

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[The Captain]

All right, welcome back. I want to publicly apologize for my throat issues I'm struggling through. But we'll make it through. Colonel, cheers to you.

[Nick]

Cheers to you. I. I was considering calling you by a different name so the listeners would think that. That there was a stand in, like a special guest.

[The Captain]

Yeah.

[Nick]

A not so special guest.

[The Captain]

Yeah. Captain Grumpy Throat.

[Nick]

Yeah. All right, Captain fans, thank you. Cheers to you and cheers to all the people in the back. There were several witnesses here, Captain, that saw a young girl walking. Okay. And as we heard earlier, the sheriff is pretty convinced based off of these statements and what they probably know about the case tying everything together, it just seems likely that the girl that everybody saw was our victim, Merrily Burt. Now, this is due to the fact that some of these witnesses saw a girl walking at different portions of her route. And all of the portions where somebody reports seeing somebody walking on the side of the road would have been a route that would have been natural for her to take from her friend's house back to her home. Now, no one saw her get into the truck, but nobody saw her walking after that. So it also seems likely that this truck is what we should be looking for as well. Right, Raymond? Her brother later said that when he realized that Marilee was not home, he realized that it was her, likely her that he had seen. He goes back to the spot. There's. There's. Once they believe her to be missing, he and some others go back to the spot where he had seen the girl talking to the truck. No truck and of course no Merrily is there. And there's no sign or indication of what took place.

[The Captain]

Well, like you said, we have missing items. Clothing, backpack, jacket, all those things. So they didn't find any of that at the scene where he believes that she would have got into that truck.

[Nick]

And considering the sheriff and police being so adamant that Merrily was likely picked up by someone she knew, let's go beyond the rule Right. Established by her parents. We have to keep in mind, as you've already pointed out, this is a smaller community. This was not a major roadway either where she was last seen. South Middlefield Road is a relatively short connector road between commercial West Bowles Avenue and on its north end, the residential club and Niblick lanes on its south end. Its span is all basically in and around the golf course community. Now, keep in mind, though, one thing we do know about the description is that whoever was in that truck was driving a road that led only to and from the golf course residential community and the Columbine Country Club facilities. So this is not a place where one would go trolling for victims after dark. You wouldn't expect to see anybody here. There would no be. There would be no reason for the driver of the truck to be there unless they lived or worked there.

[The Captain]

Yeah, or possibly they were driving home and saw her walking, maybe went back, switched vehicles, doubled back to catch up to her.

[Nick]

Within days of Merrilee's murder, the Metropolitan Denver Automobile Dealers association announced a $5,000 reward for about the case. Now that is a lot of money in 1970. In fact, I would like to have $5,000 right now.

[The Captain]

Yeah.

[Nick]

And plenty of tips were called in, keeping investigators busy. Keeping track of all the tips and running them down was incredibly time consuming in 1970, the days before computers and cell phones. On March 6, the Arapaho authorities released more information. This is when we learned that Marilee had been found with a 10 foot piece of rope around her neck. We don't know a lot about this rope that was used to strangle the girl. No photos of it have been released, so we don't know what it looked like. We do know that the rope was sent to the FBI for analysis. Reportedly they found a black hair on the rope. Merrily was blonde. But at the time, hair analysis was useful only for comparison. And even then it was done imperfectly by imperfect humans using microscopes.

[The Captain]

But like you said, the brother says this could be a pickup truck or it could be some kind of utility vehicle that you would use on a farm or maybe a golf course. If I'm law enforcement, I'm going to this golf course to say, do you have a vehicle that matches this description because the 10 foot rope would lend itself to be something that maybe you would have on a utility vehicle if, if your job was maintenance.

[Nick]

Well, and you're working off the theory that she may have known the attacker, may have known the killer, and even if it's in some weird roundabout way, but smaller community. And keep in mind where she is believed to have been picked up. It's described by the people that live and work there that this is a stretch of road that would only be traveled by people that live or work there. And then where she's found underneath this scenic bridge.

[The Captain]

Right.

[Nick]

Is a location where I don't think that they ended up there by accident. I think that now I have something I've got to get rid of. And they chose to go to that location, Meaning this is a location that would be known to the locals. All of this is lining up to be highly suggestive that it was somebody from the area. And I'm with you, Captain. The first place I'm looking is I want to know who was leaving that country club, who was leaving that golf course and heading in the direction that her brother described the truck as going. I, I have a feeling it may have been somebody that was simply leaving that area to go to their home.

[The Captain]

Right. Saw an opportunity.

[Nick]

Exactly. And we've talked about this before with these with a sexual predator and they're all a little different. But keep in mind, some of them at the very basic of level, they. You have the abilities.

[The Captain]

Well, so if I'm law enforcement, I'm going to that golf course and saying, hey, do you have a, a vehicle that matches this description and who works here, who's members here and do they have any connection, whether it's their daughter's friends with her or they are on the same cheer squad, or is there any connection between any worker there and Marley?

[Nick]

But we have the three abilities that we always want to keep in mind. Desirability, vulnerability and availability.

[The Captain]

Right.

[Nick]

Sometimes it only takes one of those for a predator to see an opportunity. Regarding this hair that was found on the rope, as said, it can only be used for comparison. I wouldn't put a lot of weight into that. What I'm hoping, Captain, is that we do have some suspects that were ultimately ruled out in this case. I'm hoping that none of them fall into the category of having been ruled out based off of this hair that may be key to solving it or leading you to the right guy or may have no connection to the killer at all. We also mentioned that the Coroner believed that Merrily was raped. We can presume that this meant that seminal fluid was detected and hopefully collected back then. The only way this would prove useful was for blood typing.

[The Captain]

Right.

[Nick]

From a semen sample, the investigators could learn the suspect's blood type. But again that was only helpful for elimination purposes and even then was only able to eliminate those of a different.

[The Captain]

Blood type, which seems like not that big of a deal, but I think in a small community that could help.

[Nick]

You also have secretors and non secretors. We've talked about that in other cases.

[The Captain]

Right.

[Nick]

And sometimes that can be useful as well. Let's talk about the metal shavings for a moment. Police said they were found in Marilee's hair. We don't have her clothing. Right. We. The clothing was never found because my first thought when I, when I learned metal shavings found in the hair, I wanted to know was it found on her clothing as well? But obviously that is going to be of no help. This could be, obviously metal shavings could be on the floor of this truck. Yes, could be in the truck. No doubt about that. But it all co. It also could suggest that she was moved to another location before she was eventually tossed over the side of the bridge almost right away. Arapahoe County Sheriff Roy Voight said that they would be looking into whether there was any connection between Merrily's death and that of Constance Paris who was killed in March of 1968. Connie Paris was an 18 year old blonde woman who had gotten off of a Tramway bus on March 26 at 9:45pm at Gerard Avenue and South Broadway in Inglewood. Englewood police said she was attacked on Little Dry Creek path and killed by strangulation. Similar look, similar MO possibly. Her body was found on March 31st on the side of the road on West Canyon Avenue, a budding Bear Creek park in southwest Denver. According to the Greenlee Daily Tribune, she was nude and badly beaten.

[The Captain]

Did they find any wood shavings or.

[Nick]

Metal shavings that we don't know. What we do know is her clothing was never found either. At first look, her murder sounds an awful lot like Merrilee's case.

[The Captain]

And we roughly think that Merrilee was picked up a little bit before 7pm Correct. And so one of the things that this kind of reminds me of. So if I'm law enforcement, I'm also asking the public, was there anybody neighbor wise, was any of your neighbors, did they have a fire that night? Did they have a bonfire? That seemed abnormal? This kind of reminds Me a little bit of Wayne Williams, Lana Child Murders. Remember how the neighbors would say that he'd be burning stuff real late hours at night? Because somehow you have to discard these clothing. And you could do that by simply hiding it in your workshop. Or you could burn it somewhere.

[Nick]

Yeah. The clothing never being found and how distinctive it is. In one of the articles having her name on it.

[The Captain]

Right.

[Nick]

Seems like somebody would have to do a good deal of work to make it so that these items are never located. Because in some cases. Look, sometimes we have situations where items belonging to a victim are found by people that don't know about the case or don't know or have any. Or have any way of knowing that it belonged to a murdered victim. Things can just be tossed on the side of the road. Your mind going to a serial killer. We're sharing a brain, Captain. Not just a garage. We're sharing a brain. My mind immediately I started thinking about Ted Bundy picking up a victim, striking them in the head, strangulation, rape, dumping the body in a wooded area or near the woods. That's all very Ted Bundy. Ish. It also made me think of Harvey Kerrigan, who we had talked about with. He. He actually used a truck in most of his cases, and sometimes he was picking up girls on the side of the road. And he lived for a bit in Minnesota, lived for a bit in Washington State. It's very likely that it's a local, but this case mirrors some other cases that we've examined in the past.

[The Captain]

Law enforcement has to spend a lot of time weeding through these call INS and these tips. But we do end up with a prime suspect.

[Nick]

Yeah. And it's not clear why. Captain, this seemed to have taken 11 years. But let's fast forward zoom ahead to 1981. We have police taking a very hard look at a man who became a prime suspect in this specific case. His name, Ronald Bloom. He had been a volunteer gymnastics instructor at Goddard Middle School who helped train Merrily. So he's fitting the bill so far. Now, it's absolutely horrifying to think about him working with young girls, because as it turns out, Bloom had a history of sexual assaults against women and girls dating back to 1955.

[The Captain]

Yeah, but that's what these predators do. They put themselves around children. They put themselves around people that they want to make victims.

[Nick]

And back then, it worked.

[The Captain]

Yeah.

[Nick]

In 1981, police investigating Merrily's case, quote, detained him and interrogated him. And he gave a sample of his hair so it could be compared to the hair found on the murder rope. The this must not have matched because Bloom was never charged in Merrily's case, even though, per the Denver Post, citing an affidavit during his interview, Bloom told investigators that, quote, the problem he had with underage girls involved picking them up in vans and sexually assaulting them, end quote. Those are his words to police. Merrily was heavily involved in gymnastics. We know that. And had a meet scheduled for the very week after she was killed. So she would have known this man. She would have known Ronald Bloom.

[The Captain]

Right.

[Nick]

The question is whether she would have gotten into his truck. It's pretty clear. Police thought that it was highly unlikely to be a coincidence that Ronald Bloom knew Merrily. She might have trusted him and he was a pedophile and a rapist who victimized girls and victimized women on this.

[The Captain]

Hair that they found might have nothing to do with the crime.

[Nick]

In 1998, zooming ahead again, there was a major reinvestigation of this case. At that point, it's 28 years old. Detectives decided we're going to start all over with fresh eyes. But now they had something to work with. This is from the Denver Post. In 1998, quote, recently the Arapaho County Sheriff's Department submitted old evidence in the case to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for DNA testing. The evidence submitted to us was collected 28 years ago and never submitted to the laboratory, said a Pete Meng. He's the inspector with the cbi. The Rocky Mountain News had details, quote, the tests are the results of slides collected and preserved during Merrily's autopsy. Tom Henry of the Denver Medical Examiner's Office found the slides still in the original sealed envelope while making one last sweep through the office's files. The discovery gave new life into a stalled investigation. Analysis of the slide samples determined that they contained sufficient biological material to develop a full DNA profile of the offender.

[The Captain]

So this is coming from the semen sample?

[Nick]

We can't say for certain, but that's what would make the most sense.

[The Captain]

Right?

[Nick]

And what we do know is 1998 was the year that CODIS, the national DNA database of convicted offenders and arrestees. This is when that got up and running in every US State. But many of the states had statewide databases operating before 98. In Colorado, fortunately, was one of them. They submitted the DNA samples and searching through these databases, they were hopeful to find a match. They did not. This is short lived hope for finally solving this case. No match was made. Whoever had slain Merrily was not in the database. But at least police did have the DNA sample to work with, but with.

[The Captain]

Its DNA sample now, we. With technology catching up, we could do some genealogy testing on this DNA sample. So the person might not be in CODIS because they might never have been arrested or their sample has never been collected. But you think that we could do a genealogy test and some people were.

[Nick]

Willing to give their DNA to police if they had been questioned or looked at or if they had any involvement in. In the case at all, even being completely innocent. So what we do know is the sheriff's office is on record saying that they've excluded two dozen suspects or excluded two dozen persons.

[The Captain]

Right.

[Nick]

Because some of these people include family members. They did openly say at this time, too, that, like, look, we had seven, maybe 10 suspects that we really thought could have been the guy. We didn't get a hit on any of them. And in fact, they went so far as to exhume a body of a suspect who had passed to compare the DNA and still no match. And then. I know what you're wondering here, Captain. Everybody's wondering. Investigators would not confirm that one of those men ruled out was Ronald Bloom. This is again, 1998. I think they were still locked and loaded on this guy, even though the science would ultimately tell them.

[The Captain]

Right.

[Nick]

He's not the guy. They could. They had a hard time moving off of him. He knew the victim. He was. He told the police. Can you imagine? You're a detective, you're questioning this rapist pedophile guy.

[The Captain]

Yeah.

[Nick]

And he tells you he doesn't even hide from it. He says, I have a problem. My problem is picking up girls and women. And women and sexually assaulting them.

[The Captain]

Well, it's hard for our brain sometimes to rape around the idea that there's different spectrums of monsters. To think that somebody could kidnap somebody, rape them, but not be a murderer doesn't seem. Doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. And this guy is telling you, yeah, I'm a bad dude. I am a monster, but I'm not a monster that kills well.

[Nick]

And we've talked about the old pervert roundup a dozen times, maybe. Yeah, four dozen times on this.

[The Captain]

I'd love to make a T shirt about it, but I don't think anybody would wear it.

[Nick]

It would be confusing, the whole pervert Roundup club to see a man sitting there enjoying a salad at the Olive Garden wearing a pervert Roundup T shirt.

[The Captain]

Right. Not something that's going to sell well.

[Nick]

No. On Etsy, shout out to Olive Garden. Hashtag not a Sponsor hashtag love their breadsticks. Yes. Here's the thing. So while they couldn't move off of this guy, in, in all reality, just like you were saying here, Captain Ronald Bloom, absolute creep. He's a creep and he's a rapist. But he wasn't Merrily's killer. We know this based off of a DNA comparison that did not match. It excluded him. And then with the. With the roundup, a lot of times when, because most of these guys, almost all of them are still on parole when they're doing the roundup, so it's pretty easy to make phone calls and knock on doors. These guys know that they're being looked at and considered in a major case. And so 99% of the time, they're extremely cooperative. They don't want to go back to prison. They don't want to end up getting convicted of something they didn't do.

[The Captain]

Right.

[Nick]

So the roundup does work. It's very successful, regardless of what funny name we choose to give it.

[The Captain]

Right.

[Nick]

This is from February 26, 2002. So exactly 32 years after Merrily was killed. This is from the Rocky Mountain News, and here's some excerpts. Today, 32 years to the day after one of Arapahoes County's most notorious homicides, investigators are making one last push to crack the heartbreaking mystery. Witnesses and suspects are getting older. They are dying, said investigator Bruce Isaacson. This is probably our last chance. Merrily had been raped, an indignity that investigators now say could give them their best evidence. For the past three years, authorities have been quietly conducting DNA testing. Quote, we now know if we have DNA. It's huge. It is great evidence one way or another to include or exclude. Isaacson said. We don't have to depend on a confession. We can let science do some speaking, end quote. What we do know, Captain, where it sits today, or at least last time they gave us a good, solid update on this. The results of the laboratory test have ruled out 24 possible suspects as sources of this DNA. The people tested included a child molester who knew Merrily and moved to the top of the suspect list after he told authorities he probably had feelings of wanting to have sex with her. The convicted pedophile was identified years ago as the prime suspect in the slayings. His DNA has been tested twice. They couldn't move off of this guy so much that they tested him twice.

[The Captain]

Right.

[Nick]

And of course, we know that it did not match. Authorities racing the clock, racing against the clock, have also tested the DNA of two Dead men. Let me say that more of two dead men. In one case, the man's DNA was on file from an autopsy and the other case investigators persuaded the suspect's parents to give samples. Both men were cleared. The majority of the suspects were more than willing to be tested, said the investigator. Merrily's friends and family hope that the DNA will lead investigators to her killer, but said the process of excluding suspects has also brought some peace. Since the slaying, Marilee's mother, Sherry Burt, has devoted her time to working with victims programs, particularly Courthouse Inc. Which provides court ordered housing for young girls, many of whom are the victims of sexual assault. One of the homes is named after Merrily, Bruce Isaacson and Rick Falstad, the Arapaho sheriff's investigators who were assigned to work Merrily's case. After the DNA samples were analyzed, their job was to call through the list of 140 men mentioned in the initial reports. Some were listed as witnesses rather than suspects. But they all needed to be revisited. By 2002, they had already contacted 100 of the 140. Here's a little more from that Rocky Mountain news. This was the friend, Cheryl Cook, the friend whose home Merrily left the night that she was killed. She said that she was pleased to hear that authorities haven't given up on solving the crime. She said that that would be so great for Merrilee's mom. It was just such an awful, awful time. I would love for her to be able to know even if the person is dead. She went on to say that sometimes she dreams about the day her friend disappeared, adding, you are 15 years old. Your girlfriend leaves your house and you never see her again. Everything just kind of changed after that. I'm going to be 47 this year, she said. I think, my God, we were 15. Look at all the years she didn't get.

[The Captain]

Sadly, Marilee's parents have passed away without having any closure or answers to who did this to their daughter. But this is a very solvable case.

[Nick]

With technology and we were hearing as late as 2019 here, Captain, that this is from the investigators from the authorities working the case saying that it's the, the second oldest unsolved case in the area. It's, it's probably the most notorious unsolved case from yesteryear. They did go on record saying that the case still draws about a half dozen or so tips each year. In 2021, the Arapaho County Sheriff's office undertook yet another big push to attempt to solve the now 51 year old case accompanied by a massive increase in the reward money, jumping it up to $30,000. This was funded by donations. Sheriff Tyler Brown said the substantial increase in the reward hopefully allows us to collect more information and bring the suspects in the Merrily Burke case to justice. It is not a cold case by any means. Every year we receive several tips on this case. More tips were called in after the 2021 publicity push, but here we are in 2025 today and nothing has been resolved. There's got to be someone out there who knows something, said Merrilee's nephew, Trevor Burt. It really seems that if someone knows anything about Marilee's case, they would have come forward by now. It's been 55 years. If anyone had found her cheer uniform or her book bag or books, police would almost certainly have said as much. Police have said no tip ever led them to the truck. It remains unidentified. The $30,000 reward has gone unclaimed. A case breaking tip seems very unlikely at this point, but luckily, as you said, Captain, we have the DNA. Of course, knowing that they have DNA, we all hope that the sheriff's office is using forensic genealogy to attempt to solve Merilee's case. It seems likely that this is the only way Marilee's case will be solved at this point.

[The Captain]

Want to thank everybody for joining us here in the garage each and every week. We love you. Hugs and kisses. Cheers mates and colonel do we have any recommended reading for the beautiful listeners?

[Nick]

This week we are recommending In Light of All Darkness by New York Times bestselling author Kim Cross. This is a fantastic true crime book. Paced like a thriller and full of insider information, this book embeds listeners in one of the most famous true crime stories of our generation, the Kidnapping of Paulie Class. You can find that great title and many more on our recommended page on our website, truecrimegarage.com and until next week.

[The Captain]

Be good, be kind and don't litter.