<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:geo="http://www.w3.org/2003/01/geo/wgs84_pos#" > <channel> <title>denver Archives - Welcome to Grimming It Up</title> <atom:link href="https://www.grimmingitup.org/tag/denver/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://www.grimmingitup.org/tag/denver/</link> <description>Blog & podcast where the strange, unusual and sometimes true crime collide</description> <lastBuildDate>Sun, 08 Oct 2023 04:46:41 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1</generator> <image> <url>https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/cropped-Grimming-It-Up-Logo-1.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1</url> <title>denver Archives - Welcome to Grimming It Up</title> <link>https://www.grimmingitup.org/tag/denver/</link> <width>32</width> <height>32</height> </image> <site xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">204984751</site> <item> <title>High Flying Murder United Flight 629</title> <link>https://www.grimmingitup.org/united-flight-629/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=united-flight-629</link> <comments>https://www.grimmingitup.org/united-flight-629/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Grim Mama]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sat, 11 Dec 2021 17:34:54 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[true crime]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Bomb]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Colorado]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Colorado History]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Daisy Walker King]]></category> <category><![CDATA[denver]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Domestic Terrorism]]></category> <category><![CDATA[FBI Files]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Flight 629]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Gilbert Jack Graham]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Jack Graham]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Longmont]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mass Murder]]></category> <category><![CDATA[morbid]]></category> <category><![CDATA[morbid history]]></category> <category><![CDATA[murder]]></category> <category><![CDATA[plane bombing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[plane crash]]></category> <category><![CDATA[televised trial]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ture crime]]></category> <category><![CDATA[United Airlines 629]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://grimmingitup.wordpress.com/?p=140</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p> On a cool night on November 1, 1955, the skies over Longmont, Colorado, were aglow with a strangeness. That would grip not only the tiny farming community but also the nation. A bomb blew apart the United Airlines Flight 629, taking thirty-nine passengers and five crew members. The flight originated from Stapleton Airport in […]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.grimmingitup.org/united-flight-629/">High Flying Murder United Flight 629</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.grimmingitup.org">Welcome to Grimming It Up</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full has-custom-border"><img data-recalc-dims="1" fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="1023" height="450" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/image.png?resize=1023%2C450&ssl=1" alt="High Flying Murder Picture if a united airplane from 1950s. It has two propellers on each wing. https://www.motoart.com/studio/airplane-history/aircraft-history-of-the-dc-6 " class="wp-image-2051" style="border-width:18px;border-radius:15px" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/image.png?w=1023&ssl=1 1023w, https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/image.png?resize=300%2C132&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/image.png?resize=768%2C338&ssl=1 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure> <p> On a cool night on November 1, 1955, the skies over Longmont, Colorado, were aglow with a strangeness. That would grip not only the tiny farming community but also the nation. A bomb blew apart the United Airlines Flight 629, taking thirty-nine passengers and five crew members. The flight originated from Stapleton Airport in Denver, Colorado, to Portland, Oregon. It was only eleven minutes into its flight. The tragedy took many lives and changed many more.</p> <p> I would like to take some time to first present this case by telling a little about the victims of this tragedy. The passengers and crew were everyday folks just like you or me. Some could have been our close friends or relatives. In fact, there were some people who were taking their very first airplane trip across the country. Others were returning home, or starting new lives somewhere else. There was a mother and infant son traveling to be with a father serving in Japan. The infant boy’s father had only met his son briefly after he was born. We tragically lost all these lives in this horrific incident.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter has-custom-border"><img decoding="async" src="https://grimmingitup.files.wordpress.com/2021/12/image-4-1.png?w=834" alt="" style="border-width:24px;border-radius:15px"/></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full has-custom-border"><img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" width="474" height="379" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/image-2.png?resize=474%2C379&ssl=1" alt=" https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=Awrg0Lvyb8xjrFIj3VujzbkF;_ylu=c2VjA2ZwLWF0dHJpYgRzbGsDcnVybA--/RV=2/RE=1674371186/RO=11/RU=http%3a%2f%2fwww.rarenewspapers.com%2fview%2f566182/RK=2/RS=QeqUtGQPs944Pp4FpRRp91SbY.c- " class="wp-image-2066" style="border-width:25px;border-radius:15px" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/image-2.png?w=474&ssl=1 474w, https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/image-2.png?resize=300%2C240&ssl=1 300w" sizes="(max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px" /></figure> <p> A nation in mourning brought about a pretty amazing timeline of events following the crash. In fact, the FBI was assisting in the investigation the very next day, November 2, 1955. </p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">United Airlines Flight 629 Was National News</h2> <p> The local newspapers, The Denver Post, and Rocky Mountain News were carrying multiple articles on their front pages. The national news stations were also broadcast on TV all across the United States. It was a much different time than we modern folk are accustomed to. News or events back then took time to reach across the nation like days or weeks. Nothing like our instant access to information today. </p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">The Birth ofAirplane Crash Investigations Still Used Today</h2> <p> It was an amazing feat to bring all of these national agencies together. All of them working with local law enforcement. United Airlines personnel and even the plane’s manufacturer, Douglas Aircraft, were bringing new investigative techniques, using new identification methods, and so many other tactics. All before the nation’s eyes. Congress would pass laws within a year after this horrific event. Colorado also saw some of its laws weren’t ready for something of this magnitude. And the state also would enact many changes to its laws because of this tragedy as well.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Side Bar on How Quickly Agencies Came Together</h2> <p> I grew up in a sleepy town in Colorado myself. So, I can relate to the slowness of yesteryear but not everyone can. In farming communities like the one I grew up in, life has a different pace. It can seem there are two rates, slow and slower. Even today, when I am around that area, it is not uncommon to be caught behind a farming tractor. Going down a two-lane highway at only fifteen or twenty miles an hour. </p> <p> If I am being honest, this affects the choices of roads I travel on at certain times of the year. I have spent too much time in cities where people rush here and there. While I appreciate the hard work of farmers and ranchers, I forget it takes time to do what they do. I hope this gives a smidge of an idea of just how amazing it was. </p> <p> That so many folks could come together so quickly. And the importance all the people involved with investigating this must have felt. There was clearly a sense of urgency to get answers. Why did this happen? What caused it? What can we as a nation do to avoid this from happening again? And as the investigation answered some of these questions, it raised new questions.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Digging Back Into the Bombing of United Flight 629</h2> <p> Let’s go back to that yesteryear and try our hand at being gumshoes to see what we can find. Our story is more than just a timeline of events. We will start with the crash. Then move on to the investigation and, conclude with some individual history information about the victims and their lives.</p> <p><a href="https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/mass-murder-sky-john-gilbert-graham-and-united-flight-629#PhotoSwipe1638233570659">https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/mass-murder-sky-john-gilbert-graham-and-united-flight-629#PhotoSwipe1638233570659</a></p> <p><img decoding="async" src="https://grimmingitup.files.wordpress.com/2021/12/image-3.png?w=979" alt=""><em>I have highlighted the approximation of the crash site location today in blue. Plane crash site coordinates in Longmont, Colorado 40°12′0.51″N 104°57′21.96″W</em></p> <p> On November won, 1955, United Airlines flight 629 took off on its flight at 6:52 PM. At approximately 7:03 PM., people saw the first bright light and heard the explosive sounds over Longmont, Colorado. Within only a minute or two, people felt and heard a second explosion. When remnants of the DC-6B fell to the ground on a sugar beet farm near Highway 287 and Highway 66. The local farmer and his two sons rushed to the scene. </p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full has-custom-border"><img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" width="270" height="206" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/image-1.png?resize=270%2C206&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-2065" style="border-width:25px;border-radius:15px"/></figure> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Investigation Begins of United Flight 629</h2> <p> The local authorities were called to the area shortly thereafter. Within only a few hours, the searchers organized themselves. Inspected several miles, where they determined the area of wreckage and discovered there was no evidence of survivors. The next morning on November 2, the FBI fingerprint experts arrived from Washington D.C. And joined the Denver Field Office of the FBI, the Civil Aeronautics Board, United Airlines officials, and local law enforcement to begin their investigation. They set a temporary morgue up in Greeley at the National Guard Armory. The FBI started the identification of all passengers. Investigators gathered all the wreckage from the plane. And took it to a large warehouse at Stapleton Airport from November 2 through November 7, 1955. </p> <p> Four teams went out into the local community and conducted over two hundred interviews with locals and documented them. Each of the four teams of interviewers comprised a Civil Aeronautics Board member, United Airlines official, or employee. Some teams also had help from local law enforcement or a member of the FBI. Of the two hundred interviews, only thirty-seven were of value to the investigation.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Victim Identification With Finger Prints?</h2> <p><img decoding="async" src="https://grimmingitup.files.wordpress.com/2021/12/image-10-1.png?w=802" alt=""><em>Image of National Guard Armory in Greely from Wikimedia Commons</em></p> <p> In Greeley, the identification of the victims began. The fingerprint experts found that relatives and friends had already been identified and removed from the armory nine people. Passenger’s personal effects made some of the identifications. The FBI used fingerprint analysis from various files to positively identify twenty-one of the remaining thirty-five bodies.</p> <p> Stop and think about this a second Grim folk. This was 1955, and they had over sixty percent of the victim’s fingerprints on file. I have to shake my head at this. It just seems unreal to me. This alone is pretty amazing, but within forty-eight hours of the crash, they identified every victim.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Pioneering Techniques of Crash Investigation</h2> <p><img decoding="async" src="https://grimmingitup.files.wordpress.com/2021/12/image-6-1.png?w=1024" alt=""><em>Image from </em><a href="https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/jack-gilbert-graham" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/jack-gilbert-graham</em></a></p> <p> In the warehouse, the airplane investigation was no less impressive. This was only the second case of domestic terrorism (our modern term) in US history. The investigators reassembled the plane to help determine what brought it down. This was a new technique then and is still used today to investigate plane crashes. And they managed this in a week! Y’all I have spent that long working on a 3,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. Yeah, for me, this speaks volumes of the investigator’s determination and passion to find answers. Once the plane was reassembled, the investigators determined the explosion had originated in the luggage compartment. Which was in the underbelly of the plane.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full has-custom-border"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1000" height="505" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/image-3.png?resize=1000%2C505&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-2067" style="border-width:25px;border-radius:15px" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/image-3.png?w=1000&ssl=1 1000w, https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/image-3.png?resize=300%2C152&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/image-3.png?resize=768%2C388&ssl=1 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure> <p> So many things happening at once, wow!</p> <p> On November 7, 1955, the investigation turned to the passengers. Digging into their lives, their families, friends, and business dealings to see who might have planted a bomb on the plane. They left no stones unturned. These officials had a mission. Investigators ultimately ended up interviewing Daisy Walker King’s son Gilbert Graham. Who was ultimately found to be responsible for bringing down flight 629.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">The Focus Moves to Jack Gilbert Graham</h2> <p> The FBI file on “Jack” Gilbert Graham goes into great detail about his motivations for making the bomb. His volatile relationship with his mother, his psychological abandonment issues, and his laundry list of previous crimes. </p> <p> I am only going to briefly summarize these. If anyone would like further details, there will be links to the references at the end of this blog post. I want to focus on other aspects of this case. Having said all of this, let’s get back to our story, shall we?</p> <p class="has-text-align-center"><img decoding="async" src="https://grimmingitup.files.wordpress.com/2021/12/image-12.png?w=197" alt=""></p> <p>image from <a href="https://murderpedia.org/male.G/g/graham-john-gilbert-photos.htm">murderpedia.org</a></p> <p> When the FBI first interviewed Jack and his wife, they were initially just trying to gather background on his mother. Verifying he and his family had seen her off on her flight from Denver. And what the nature of her trip was. Jack’s answers seemed to differ a bit from his wife’s. This caused a further investigation into his history, and, well, they turned up with more questions. </p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Jack Gilbert Graham Brought Down United Flight 629</h2> <p> These investigators were sharp. Noted there were some inconsistencies around Jack adding a “gift” to his mom’s luggage. In addition, he purchased a life insurance policy at the airport in which he was the sole beneficiary. The FBI scrutinized Jack and found he had quite the history. So they dug deep and found his criminal history included forgery, theft, and allegations of arson. And reports of domestic violence against his wife, reported by his sister. As well as a potential insurance fraud on a newly purchased truck. </p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter has-custom-border"><img decoding="async" src="https://grimmingitup.files.wordpress.com/2021/12/image_editor_output_image-1971860449-1639630294671.png?w=446" alt="" style="border-width:21px;border-radius:15px"/></figure> <p> The FBI noted the volatility between mother and son from employees of the restaurant Daisy owned and Jack managed. There were statements they fought like cats and dogs reported in various Rocky Mountain News articles published in November 1955. Eventually, all this ended up with an in-depth questioning of Jack. I found some conflicting information on what exactly led up to his confession. I am going to go with the FBI documentation. Soon after his confession, Jack transferred all his possessions to his wife and sought a public defender from the state. Once the authorities officially arrested him, three lawyers took on his representation.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">The Legalities of the Bombing of United Flight 629</h2> <p> The arrest was an item of interest for the state of Colorado. The prosecutors wanted to charge Jack with multiple murders. Something for bringing down the plane, but none of these laws existed. All the state of Colorado could charge Jack with was a single murder for that of his mother, Daisy.</p> <p>Let this sink in Grim folk, seriously. There is a confession that includes making a bomb out of 25 sticks of dynamite. His motivation was insurance money ($37,500 then which is roughly $354,293 today). He wanted to get his mother out of his life. He understood clearly and acknowledged that in the commission of his mother’s murder, others would die. This man had serious issues, which are unquestionable. I just have the hardest time with the limitation on Jack’s charges. I am questioning if justice was truly served. This case clearly showed the need for change. New laws were desperately necessary to address this level of destruction and tragedy. </p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Jack, There is no Easy Way Out for You</h2> <p> Jack attempted suicide on February 10, 1956. However, a guard at the Denver Jail foiled his attempt. From this point, they took Jack to four different psychiatrists. He was evaluated at the Colorado State Hospital. To verify if he was mentally sane and competent to stand trial. The court cleared him, and they set the trial to begin on April 16, 1956.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">First Televised Trial in Colorado</h2> <p> The judicial system had to face other firsts before the trial could begin. This would be the first televised trial for the state of Colorado. In addition, there were telephone wires to record the audio to be broadcast for immediate coverage by newspapers. In our modern lives, we routinely watch court TV, but this was truly a first for Colorado and the nation. Nineteen days after the trial began, the jury came back with a guilty verdict after only sixty-nine minutes of deliberation. The jury had found Jack guilty of the murder of the first degree, punishable by death.</p> <p> “Jack’s defense team filed an appeal. Jack took the stand and said he did not wish for a new trial. He also stated he didn’t want his case reviewed by the Supreme Court. His defense team filed the appeal without his consent. The judge sentenced Jack to be put to death the week of August 26, 1956. The day, the hour, and the minute to be selected by the warden of the Colorado State Penitentiary.” This was a direct excerpt from the FBI report on their website.</p> <p> Again, Jack’s defense lawyers filed another appeal that was later denied. A new execution for the week ending January 12, 1957. They executed Jack in the gas chamber at the Colorado State Penitentiary on Friday, January 11, 1957. Jack died just twelve days before his twenty-fifth birthday. He was cremated and, in a bit of irony, they scattered his ashes around his mother’s grave in Denver. </p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large has-custom-border"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Flight-629-1-of-4.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-2056" style="border-width:25px;border-radius:15px" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Flight-629-1-of-4-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Flight-629-1-of-4-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Flight-629-1-of-4-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Flight-629-1-of-4-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Flight-629-1-of-4-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&ssl=1 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large has-custom-border"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Flight-629-3-of-3-1.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-2062" style="border-width:25px;border-radius:15px" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Flight-629-3-of-3-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Flight-629-3-of-3-1-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Flight-629-3-of-3-1-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Flight-629-3-of-3-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Flight-629-3-of-3-1-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&ssl=1 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large has-custom-border"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/IMG_0892.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-2064" style="border-width:25px;border-radius:15px" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/IMG_0892-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/IMG_0892-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/IMG_0892-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/IMG_0892-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/www.grimmingitup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/IMG_0892-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&ssl=1 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure> <div style="height:39px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <p>Thank you for spending time with us today! We have several other true crime stories if you would like. Such as <a href="https://www.grimmingitup.org/true-crime-lovers-guide-to-forensic-dna/">True Crime Lover’s Guide to Forensic DNA</a> or <a href="https://www.grimmingitup.org/twisted-trail-of-murder/">Twisted Trail of Murder</a>. </p> <div style="height:44px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Sources:</h2> <p><a href="https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/mass-murder-sky-john-gilbert-graham-and-united-flight-629#PhotoSwipe1638233570659">https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/mass-murder-sky-john-gilbert-graham-and-united-flight-629#PhotoSwipe1638233570659</a></p> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-colorado-martini wp-block-embed-colorado-martini"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://coloradomartinis.com/2020/05/09/ua-flight-629-facts-a-crime-to-remember-colorado-history/ </div></figure> <p><a href="https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/a-scene-of-death-and-horror-the-night-a-son-blew-up-his-mothers-flight-over-colorado">https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/a-scene-of-death-and-horror-the-night-a-son-blew-up-his-mothers-flight-over-colorado</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/jack-gilbert-graham">https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/jack-gilbert-graham</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.findagrave.com/virtual-cemetery/507898?page=1#sr-125631387">https://www.findagrave.com/virtual-cemetery/507898?page=1#sr-125631387</a></p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.grimmingitup.org/united-flight-629/">High Flying Murder United Flight 629</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.grimmingitup.org">Welcome to Grimming It Up</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.grimmingitup.org/united-flight-629/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">140</post-id> </item> <item> <title>Denver’s Spiderman Is Definitely Not Marvels</title> <link>https://www.grimmingitup.org/denvers-spiderman-definitely-not-marvels/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=denvers-spiderman-definitely-not-marvels</link> <comments>https://www.grimmingitup.org/denvers-spiderman-definitely-not-marvels/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Grim Mama]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sat, 13 Nov 2021 10:44:11 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[true crime]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Attic Ghost]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Bluggened]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Canon City]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Coneys]]></category> <category><![CDATA[creepy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[denver]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Denver's Ghost House]]></category> <category><![CDATA[morbid]]></category> <category><![CDATA[murder]]></category> <category><![CDATA[spiderman]]></category> <category><![CDATA[strange]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://grimmingitup.wordpress.com/?p=90</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>    Gather around grim folk, we have a story to tell about a strange, strange drifter. Let’s get to know a little about the victim, Phillip Peters.     He was said to be a steady, kind man and was well respected. Phillip also was an avid mandolin player and had attended a Denver area mandolin […]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.grimmingitup.org/denvers-spiderman-definitely-not-marvels/">Denver’s Spiderman Is Definitely Not Marvels</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.grimmingitup.org">Welcome to Grimming It Up</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjv2sbhQC5JBE1DreGtZ7yppnB3nOTwtdYiJAqk0aJnb3kP5q0xQv36TCIDzEZrBuCUWbLrnwU0mhbTOoX8lFHx9GwL4ePFCzv1SOh1kKJJP0jD5TqP4o0S2xLTUHh95tBeqKWBgEMlhx9Pjxqonr-GNOQH2RA3ADXF2ruDGUyWnaVRkNB2lNUTP80A" alt="" width="625" height="352" /></figure> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjv2sbhQC5JBE1DreGtZ7yppnB3nOTwtdYiJAqk0aJnb3kP5q0xQv36TCIDzEZrBuCUWbLrnwU0mhbTOoX8lFHx9GwL4ePFCzv1SOh1kKJJP0jD5TqP4o0S2xLTUHh95tBeqKWBgEMlhx9Pjxqonr-GNOQH2RA3ADXF2ruDGUyWnaVRkNB2lNUTP80A=s320"></a></p> <p> Gather around grim folk, we have a story to tell about a strange, strange drifter. Let’s get to know a little about the victim, Phillip Peters. </p> <p> He was said to be a steady, kind man and was well respected. Phillip also was an avid mandolin player and had attended a Denver area mandolin club with his wife Helen. This mandolin club is where Phillip and his wife met and befriended a young man named Theodore, they would have the younger man over for dinner regularly. The trio would play mandolins to pass the time together until young Theodore would move away from Denver. They all lost touch and life went on for all of them. </p> <p> Phillip retired after 40 years with the Denver Rio Grande Western Railroad in 1930. Phillip and Helen had one son together, that married and moved his family to Grand Junction Colorado. Now we are going to fast-forward to 1941. Helen had fallen and been hospitalized for a broken hip and Phillip was making daily visits to his wife in the hospital and his neighbors were having him over for dinner at night. This speaks well of his respectability, as in those days injuries like Helen’s broken hip took months to recover from. What a nice community Phillip and Helen must have lived in. </p> <p> On October 17, 1941, Phillip didn’t arrive at his neighbors for his dinner date. The neighbors grew more and more concerned for their 73-year-old neighbor, so they went to his home and found the front door locked but when they went around to the back door which they broke a glass to gain entry into the kitchen they then made their way to Mr. Peters bedroom where they found a very disturbing sight, Mr. Peters had been murdered. Mr. Peters was bludgeoned to death. Mr. Peters broken walking stick, a bloody stove poker, and a broken butt of a pistol near his body. The neighborly couple quickly called the police.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQCdRtxv3Co4ZnQ0E8g8ff6tTAzNMy8iA5ycLGwTClxxsuBJlJHa64nozfMgN4-f8ZfLIuvEnksNP3k9_gKz-Fi1oTppCv5MQzLTR0-JUcfECimb4TwzY544YUq3NGDsDxHuFS8iDZuzDyflLkeQ1HQlQTZhpAFqSf6zs4K3kuZ51ppuus-0ho8BRI=s300"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQCdRtxv3Co4ZnQ0E8g8ff6tTAzNMy8iA5ycLGwTClxxsuBJlJHa64nozfMgN4-f8ZfLIuvEnksNP3k9_gKz-Fi1oTppCv5MQzLTR0-JUcfECimb4TwzY544YUq3NGDsDxHuFS8iDZuzDyflLkeQ1HQlQTZhpAFqSf6zs4K3kuZ51ppuus-0ho8BRI" alt="" width="608" height="340" /></a></figure> <p> During the police’s investigation, they didn’t find any evidence of a robbery or a break-in. The police noted, nothing had been stolen and what further confused them was the fact, all the windows and doors were locked from the inside, aside from the back door which the neighbors reported to have used to gain entry. The police were struggling to come up with a motive for this violent crime, of such a well-respected man. After the murder, the house remained vacant, until February 1942 when Helen was released from the hospital. She ended up going back into the hospital within a few days of her release, for another hip injury where she stayed until April 1942. </p> <p> The next time Helen was released, she required the help of a housekeeper due to being bedridden. Mrs. Peters struggled to find and keep housekeepers, many would start and then quit shortly after. One housekeeper left while yelling about how she refused to work in a haunted house. Another housekeeper quit after reporting seeing a ghostly boney pale hand sliding around an open door. Since Helen was having such a hard time finding and keeping reliable help she went to stay with her son and daughter-in-law in Grand Junction.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEieO3JUPgnWlIL_LOR_nZJk7dcGQ9BdiVx1sb-LMnBo5EQzDYuEsERXfVkwkQlKQLwj756SXFThtNX2n6CCqt6lCz1dumdw7TUr1Sk_ambJ4W2Z9Kc_Ah-8_4E66Gq5u6UnBN3_J5zeZFjniC6WyypJ-RNrXYlTZIhKKVzzi1XE-b9_viubzXFbLlKi=s252"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEieO3JUPgnWlIL_LOR_nZJk7dcGQ9BdiVx1sb-LMnBo5EQzDYuEsERXfVkwkQlKQLwj756SXFThtNX2n6CCqt6lCz1dumdw7TUr1Sk_ambJ4W2Z9Kc_Ah-8_4E66Gq5u6UnBN3_J5zeZFjniC6WyypJ-RNrXYlTZIhKKVzzi1XE-b9_viubzXFbLlKi" alt="" width="557" height="703" /></a></figure> <p> Again the house was vacant but, the reports of strange happenings continued. With all the high strangeness continuing this seemed to support the idea of a mischief ghost being real indeed. The murder case had grown cold, the police had still continued to check on the home from time to time. Neighbors were reporting oddities and weird things happening on a fairly regular basis to the police. One day in late July, the officers driving by noticed a curtain move so, they turned their patrol car around and got out to investigate further. The police busted open the front door and upon entering they began following noises through the house and into a narrow room where they observed a skinny leg vanishing through a small opening in the ceiling. The officers scrambled and grabbed then pulled on the foot hard. This was not a paranormal ghost, instead what the officers found before them was an emaciated, smelly man dressed in rags. </p> <p> The man had fainted when he was pulled down, an ambulance doctor was called to the scene. The doctor had stated, “this was the worst case of malnutrition he had ever seen.” The patient, Theodore, was about six feet tall and only weighed 75 pounds.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwpYdjpfNZIYBGY8t5ljOOpHwIusvqlQKw8LV_V43HRUZmiIVUpe7mW36DOV0Lkuq01IbwkWyUIyQdJDsl7RiEDbp1MSKVj6Q8smuqLp__sbODnwHPtc9_xb6uop5Wi2E-AZiOlC52VyI2o88RuKXrjKCLwN4wfwF2OPZ2z6dl0rRAgbbck9CMqZIg=s800"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwpYdjpfNZIYBGY8t5ljOOpHwIusvqlQKw8LV_V43HRUZmiIVUpe7mW36DOV0Lkuq01IbwkWyUIyQdJDsl7RiEDbp1MSKVj6Q8smuqLp__sbODnwHPtc9_xb6uop5Wi2E-AZiOlC52VyI2o88RuKXrjKCLwN4wfwF2OPZ2z6dl0rRAgbbck9CMqZIg=s320" alt="" width="611" height="407" /></a></figure> <p> After a meal and a bath Mr. Coneys then gave his name as Theodore Edwards Coneys and stated he was 59 and he had been born in Petersburg, Illinois, next he then relayed his story and his subsequent confession. Mr. Coneys was a sickly child, he was frail, so he spent most of his childhood inside. He learned to play the mandolin, when Mr. Coneys was 17 his family moved to the Denver area. After the move, to Colorado. Mr. Coneys met the Phillips at a mandolin club. </p> <p> Mr. Coneys had a few jobs but they didn’t last long. In 1917 he started drifting across the US. Mr. Coneys came back to Denver in 1941 and went to the home of the Peters since they had been kind to him in the past. When he arrived at the Peters home, Phillip was away visiting Helen in the hospital but he had left the back door unlocked so Mr. Coneys let himself in.</p> <div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter is-resized"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOmc5zyunWrEi9FIE2zzTTGDbr9O57UbiOqdAwUa2nqr3XxMaQbAQ2c1QjAAW6UIRenRWXWFwdJN3ogtEJ5TFNqDvbKPcaUNPp2SwIwl06hqtordovQBve-m4YywRfDeSBJwmj6G0lBmgQ464Tpm5siZvwGnoDWU52L93A5LNi1-HphUZwEEJ5SLx6=s670"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOmc5zyunWrEi9FIE2zzTTGDbr9O57UbiOqdAwUa2nqr3XxMaQbAQ2c1QjAAW6UIRenRWXWFwdJN3ogtEJ5TFNqDvbKPcaUNPp2SwIwl06hqtordovQBve-m4YywRfDeSBJwmj6G0lBmgQ464Tpm5siZvwGnoDWU52L93A5LNi1-HphUZwEEJ5SLx6=s320" alt="" width="270" height="643" /></a></figure></div> <p> Coneys slipped in and grabbed some food then hatched a plan to hide in the attic, and come down at night after he had heard the Peters snoring to get bits of food. The plan had been working out well until one night when Mr. Peters awoke and found a tattered stranger raiding his fridge. “Peters didn’t recognize me, I guess I’ve changed a lot in 30 years,” said Coneys. </p> <p> Coney’s confession began with his grabbing an old pistol that had been hanging off of the kitchen wall and hitting Mr. Peter. During the scuffle, moving from room to room, Mr. Peters threatened to call the police so, Coneys grabbed the stove stoker and kept hitting Mr. Peters until he stopped moving. Then Coneys grabbed some food and returned to the attic, where he stayed through the winter. Coneys stated he nearly froze to death in the unheated house. For water, he would sneak out and gather snow from the roof and let it melt. For food, he had found cornmeal, preserves, and other canned goods from the Peters basement.</p> <p> Coneys were sentenced to life in prison and served his time in the Colorado State Penitentiary in Canon City. Upon Coney’s death on May 16, 1967, at the age of 85, his final resting place is in an unmarked grave in Mountain Vale Memorial Park also in Canon City (plot 71-C-4).</p> <p><br>There were numerous sources for our information since this is quite a popular tale, however; there are YouTube videos and various podcasts one of the better ones we found was on Dark Histories. Some of the newspapers we referenced were the Daily Record & The Denver Post. </p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.grimmingitup.org/denvers-spiderman-definitely-not-marvels/">Denver’s Spiderman Is Definitely Not Marvels</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.grimmingitup.org">Welcome to Grimming It Up</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.grimmingitup.org/denvers-spiderman-definitely-not-marvels/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">90</post-id> </item> </channel> </rss>