The Case of the Bennett Family Murders

Bruce Bennett, his wife Debra and their seven-year-old daughter Melissa were murdered inside their Aurora home on 15 January 1984. Their three-year-old daughter Vanessa survived a brutal attack. The case remained unsolved for more than three decades until DNA evidence linked Alex Ewing to the crime. Ewing was convicted of the three murders in 2021 and received three consecutive life sentences.

The Bennett family had recently moved into their Aurora home. Bruce Bennett, 27, had served in the U.S. Navy as a sonar analyst and was working in the family's furniture business while studying to become an air traffic controller. Debra, 26, worked with the family business. Their daughters, Melissa and Vanessa, were seven and three years old. On the night of 15 January 1984, the family was attacked inside their home. Melissa was only two days away from her eighth birthday. The following day, family members became concerned when the Bennetts failed to answer their telephone and did not arrive at the family business. Bruce's mother, Connie Bennett, went to the house and discovered the horrific scene.

Bruce, Debra and Melissa were found dead inside the family home. Investigators determined that the victims had suffered severe blunt-force injuries, with a claw hammer believed to have been the primary weapon. Melissa had also been sexually assaulted. Three-year-old Vanessa was found severely injured but alive. She had suffered major head injuries and required emergency medical treatment. Her survival provided investigators with a crucial link to the attack, although she was too young to identify the perpetrator.

Investigators collected extensive physical evidence from the home, including biological material and other evidence associated with the attacker. Despite the severity of the crime, the case remained unsolved for decades. The investigation was periodically revisited as forensic technology developed. In 2018, DNA evidence from the crime scene was entered into law-enforcement databases and matched to Alex Christopher Ewing, who was already serving a prison sentence in Nevada. Ewing was extradited to Colorado and charged with the murders of Bruce, Debra and Melissa. At trial, prosecutors argued that Ewing had used a hammer and knife during the attack. The defence challenged the prosecution's evidence and argued that the case had been compromised by the passage of decades. On 6 August 2021, an Arapahoe County jury found Ewing guilty on all counts relating to the three deaths.

Alex Christopher Ewing was convicted of the murders of Bruce Bennett, Debra Bennett and Melissa Bennett in August 2021, more than 37 years after the killings. On 17 August 2021, he was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences. Because the murders occurred in 1984, the sentences carried the possibility of parole after 20 years under the sentencing laws in effect at the time. However, the consecutive sentences effectively ensured that Ewing would spend the remainder of his life in prison.

Connie Bennett, Bruce's mother and Melissa's grandmother, said following Ewing's conviction that she was relieved the case had finally been resolved after decades of waiting.