The police arrested Smika in connection with the killing two months after it occurred, on Aug . In 1997, a police officer posing as a journalism student talked to Smika's mother, who said her son had changed his name because he was afraid for his life because he knew who the real killer was. The FBI is currently offering a reward of $10,000 for information that results in Smika's capture and conviction. , updated stream Please enable JavaScript on your browser and try again. Wells was found shot to death in his Boulder apartment on Aug. 3, 1983. Last updated: July 17, 2020 Denver, CO Police released his 1983 mugshot and an age-progressed image of what he might look like today. An additional 149 homes and 30 other buildings were also damaged. Thayne Smika is wanted for the 1983 slaying of his roommate, who was dating Robert Redford's daughter at the time. The trail has been frozen, but Boulder police said they haven't given up. What Happened To Nia From Real World Portland? Marshal Walsh shines a light on the current search for Jihad Ramadan, who is . But Sid was rarely home, according to friends, and was often with Shauna when he wasnt working or at school. Hayes graduated from a joint Boulder Police Department-Boulder Sheriffs Office Academy and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in criminology and political science from Metropolitan State University of Denver. He should be considered armed and dangerous. One of the most high-profile murders in Colorados history remains unsolved after nearly 34 years, but police and prosecutors know who their suspect is and have an active warrant for his arrest. In December 2012, a judge signed an arrest warrant for Smika after Boulder police developed more evidence in the case. Detective Tom Dowd may be reached at 303-441-3385. 11 reviews. He worked through college at the Boulderado Hotel. A grand jury convened to investigate the homicide, but failed issue an indictment in 1985 after Hunter made a clandestine deal with Smikas public defender. 15:04 GMT 09 Aug 2014. His longtime girlfriend, Shauna, was the daughter of actor Robert Redford, which was a major reason the story attracted so much attention when Wells was murdered. stream In 2010, armed with more sophisticated forensic and ballistic evidence, he says he was once again able to pinpoint Thayne Smika as the likely killer. The documents detail several personal timelines from people interviewed by detectives that investigators say show Smika was his killer. Shauna, the daughter of Robert Redford and his first wife, Lola Van Wagenen, whom he divorced in 1985, dated Sid Wells for three years, and in his obituary she was listed among his survivors. The guy who you believe has done it has never been brought to justice, Robert said. The following week, Smika's mother posts a $100,000 bond, and. Copyright 2017 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Smika, who shared an apartment with Sid Wells in the plush Spanish Towers condominium complex near the CU campus, was arrested late Thursday at his mother's home in the eastern Colorado farming. Source: CNN. For his first date with Shauna Redford, the two went to an ROTC dance, the site Daily Camera reported. Darlene Smika the mother of the missing suspect, who vanished in 1986 refused to speak with detectives, police reported. Investigators are still looking for Thayne Smika and are asking anyone with information about Smika or where he might be living to contact . However, Smika was never prosecuted because the district attorney at the time, Alex Hunter, declined to take the case. "Maybe somebody will see something, maybe they'll remember something and they'll call us up and give us some information," Boulder Police Detective Commander Thomas Trujillo said. 2. Or, keep up-to-date on the latest news and weather with the Denver7 apps for iPhone/iPads, Android and Kindle. Police said a possible motive was that Smika owed Wells $300 for rent that day. He is passionate about what he calls constitutional policing. Most of what we do is not police work, it is community safety. Smika would be off scot-free for the time being, which infuriated the still-grieving Wells family. Smika's bail was set at $5million after the warrant was issued. It would be unusual for someone to absent themselves from contact with any and all known family members for such an extended period of time, Detective Traci Cravitz wrote in an affidavit supporting the departments request for phone records, which was made public Wednesday. Reply. Honorary U.S. But as long as theyre not giving up, we have hope.. One man who lived across the street from Spanish Towers told detectives he was certain hed seen Smika walking quickly and strangely across the parking lot with something long and stiff shoved up his sleeve. In 1986 his abandoned car, a Dodge Aries, was found in Beverly Hills wiped clean of prints. Oct. 6, 1983: Police arrest Thayne Smika, who was living with Wells at the time of the crime, at his family home in Akron. Smika, who was also once an AMW web-exclusive, will be the first ever fugitive from 'The Hunt' to get an In Pursuit profile as well. - DNA Not from a Single Intruder: In 2016 Boulder's Daily Camera and Denver's 9News obtained the crime scene DNA report and their undisputed analysis found that in two of the three DNA specimens, the "a 3rd person's . The FBI speculated that Thyane Smika might also reside in California. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The district attorney's office in Boulder County . Boulder police are asking for help finding Smika, suspected of killing Sid Wells, a 22-year-old. Sam Wells had gone on an overnight camping trip and was set to return around 1:30 p.m. With the FBIs help, they established new forensic and ballistic evidence linking Smika to the murder. We heard Thayne Smika had been arrested, we were elated, and I thought, Oh, you know, got the family settled down and law enforcement did their job. BOULDER, Colorado (AP) Investigators are asking for help finding a man suspected of killing Sid Wells, a 22-year-old college student who was dating actor-director Robert Redford's daughter when he was shot to death three decades ago. You are just minutes from Greenwood & Myers Mortuary is the first choice for many families when they are seeking funeral services in Boulder. . By Vicky Collins, Dateline NBCIt's an unsolved mystery involving a beautiful college town, a picture-perfect young couple and even a movie star.It all started with this classified ad in the Boulder Daily Camera, January, 1983.SPANISH Towers Luxury Condominiums. Thayne Smika has been missing since 1986 after his mother posted a bond for the 1983 murder of his roommate Sid Wells. John Walsh is looking for a man suspected of killing his roommate and has been on the run since 1986. Call 1-866-THE-HUNT (In Mexico: 0188000990546) or click here. One of the most high-profile murders in Colorado's history remains unsolved after nearly 34 years, but police and prosecutors know who their suspect is and have an active warrant for his arrest. But Sid and a friend confronted him about the missing drugs, andSmika blamed their disappearance on another man. Detectives couldnt be reached Wednesday to comment on whether they obtained any leads from the family members phones. Wells' mother, June Menger, said that Boulder investigators have been dogged in their work to solve the case. A grand jury was derailed by Hunter two years later, according to the Camera. A. Greg First Name: Thayne Alan. One of the doctors in his fathers practice, Zdenka Kalendovsky, a neurologist who had immigrated from Czechoslovakia, was shot to death in the clinics parking lot. Momentarily the information will appear next to your cursor. LinnyT. You all made up your own stories.. 348 Whether movers in Fort Collins are helping you Windows are often overlooked when designing or purchasing home decor. Shauna showed up a few minutes later. Smika stayed up until around 6:30 a.m. before he was seen by a neighbor moving a trash can outside and back inside, locking the apartment door and falling asleep. "Smika's relatives have not provided any helpful information to the Boulder Police Department," police spokesperson Kim Kobel said in a statement. So he started putting together another arrest warrant for Smika, which Boulder County District Court Judge Roxanne Balin approved on Dec. 2, 2010 more than 27 years after Sids murder. For 30 years hes been doggedly trying to solve this cold case. The police said that new evidence and advances in forensic technology had convinced them to refocus on the only suspect ever named, Thayne Alan Smika , now . An abandoned car registered to his father, who said he gave the car to Smika before he left town, was found in Beverly Hills, California in 1986, but there was no sign of Smika. Police and the family believe he changed his name and disappeared. www.officer.com is using a security service for protection against online attacks. Wells was dating the daughter of Robert Redford, Shauna Redford, at the time of the shooting. How can a district attorney actually handle his grand jury in such a manner? Shauna woke up that morning and left for work just before 11 a.m. She woke up Sid, reminding him that he was to have lunch with his mother at noon. Whether movers in Fort Collins are helping you Windows are often overlooked when designing or purchasing home decor. Smika's family says the last time they heard from him was in 1986, when he said he was leaving town. I hope its solved, he said. Furnished living room. It's like a partially opened door with a very dark room behind it, he said. The Smika family name was found in the USA in 1920. But he was perhaps best-known around town in 1983 for being the guy who was dating Robert Redfords daughter, Shauna, who was also a student at CU at the time. Neitzel, who has seldom spoken publicly about the case after his 1990 retirement, says he believes Smika is Sids killer, saying theres not a doubt in his mind that is the case, and that he hopes to see Smika arrested. June Menger, who is suffering from a terminal illness, is hoping to see Smika brought to justice for the murder charges against her son. Police in 2011 issued a first-degree-murder arrest warrant for Thayne Smika, 54, . endstream Police arrested Wells roommate Thayne Smika but the Boulder County District Attorney at the time did not think there was sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial. . TRAITS & CHARACTERISTICS: Height: 5 feet 11 inches Weight: 140 pounds at the time of the incident Sex: Male Race: White Eyes: Hazel Place of Birth: North Dakota Hair: Brown, could be sun-bleached Smikas family members were informed at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 12 that authorities had obtained a warrant to arrest Smika on suspicion of first-degree murder, and all of them except his mother denied knowing anything about where Smika might be hiding, according to police. Police ask anyone with information about Smika or where he might be living to contact them. Wind gusts were clocked at 70 to 100 mph. 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