Alex Ewing (The Hammer Killer)

Alexander Christopher Ewing was 25 years old at the time of the 1984 Colorado murders. Public information about his childhood, family background and education is limited, but his criminal history was already developing by the time he arrived in the western United States.

Ewing was living a transient lifestyle and had become involved in burglary and violent offending. In 1984, he was arrested in Arizona after entering a home in Kingman and attacking a man with a large rock. While being transported for a court appearance, Ewing escaped custody in Nevada and subsequently entered a home in Henderson, where he attacked Christopher and Nancy Barry with an ax handle. He was eventually captured and later convicted in Nevada, receiving a lengthy prison sentence.

Ewing's confirmed Colorado murder series began on January 10, 1984, when Patricia Louise Smith was attacked inside her Lakewood townhouse. Smith, 50, was sexually assaulted and beaten to death with a hammer. The weapon was left at the scene, and investigators collected biological evidence that would eventually become crucial decades later.

Six days later, on January 16, Ewing attacked the Bennett family at their home in Aurora. Bruce Bennett, 27, his wife Debra, 26, and their seven-year-old daughter Melissa were murdered with a claw hammer. Their three-year-old daughter Vanessa survived the attack but suffered serious injuries.

The murders were part of a wider series of violent home invasions that terrorised the Denver metropolitan area during January 1984. Investigators also examined Ewing in connection with other attacks involving hammer assaults and sexual violence, although he was not convicted of those additional incidents.

Ewing targeted people inside their homes, using surprise and physical violence to overpower his victims. The confirmed Colorado murders involved hammer attacks, with Patricia Smith being sexually assaulted and beaten in her home before the Bennett family was attacked six days later.

The Bennett family attack demonstrated an escalation in violence against multiple victims inside a residence. Bruce and Debra Bennett and their seven-year-old daughter Melissa were killed, while three-year-old Vanessa survived despite suffering severe injuries. Investigators later identified strong similarities between the separate crime scenes.

DNA evidence recovered during the original investigations eventually connected the Smith and Bennett murders. The evidence established that the same offender was responsible for both attacks and ultimately linked the crimes to Ewing.

Ewing was already incarcerated in Nevada when investigators revisited the Colorado murders decades later. Advances in forensic DNA technology allowed biological evidence from the crime scenes to be compared with modern DNA databases.

In 2018, investigators obtained Ewing's DNA while he was serving his Nevada sentence. A database comparison produced a match linking him to evidence from the Colorado murder scenes. The breakthrough identified Ewing as the suspect investigators had been seeking since 1984.

Colorado authorities subsequently pursued his extradition from Nevada. After a lengthy legal challenge, the Nevada Supreme Court rejected his appeal against extradition in November 2019, allowing him to be returned to Colorado to face the decades-old murder charges.

Ewing was tried separately for the Bennett family murders and the killing of Patricia Smith. In August 2021, an Arapahoe County jury convicted him of the murders of Bruce Bennett, Debra Bennett and seven-year-old Melissa Bennett. He was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences, effectively ensuring that he would remain imprisoned for the rest of his life.

Ewing subsequently faced trial in Jefferson County for Patricia Smith's murder. His first trial ended in a mistrial in November 2021 after questions arose concerning his competency to stand trial. He was later found competent and a second trial proceeded in 2022.

In April 2022, a Jefferson County jury convicted Ewing of first-degree murder after deliberation and two counts of felony murder in connection with Patricia Smith's death. The court sentenced him to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 20 years, reflecting the sentencing law applicable to the 1984 murder.

The three consecutive life sentences imposed for the Bennett murders remain the most significant part of Ewing's punishment and ensure that he will remain incarcerated for the remainder of his life.

Ewing's identification became a significant example of how advances in DNA technology can solve decades-old homicide cases. Biological evidence collected after the 1984 murders had remained preserved for years, and improvements in forensic testing and access to inmate DNA databases eventually produced the match that connected Ewing to the crimes.

Ewing was already serving a substantial Nevada prison sentence when the Colorado investigation identified him. His Nevada conviction arose from an unrelated 1984 sequence of crimes in which he escaped custody and subsequently attacked Christopher and Nancy Barry with an ax handle in their Henderson home. He was eventually convicted of attempted murder and related offences and sentenced to a lengthy term of imprisonment.

The Colorado investigation also examined several other unsolved attacks from January 1984, including assaults on people who survived. Investigators identified similarities in the attacks, particularly the use of a hammer and sexual violence, but Ewing was ultimately prosecuted and convicted for the four murders of Patricia Smith and the Bennett family.

Sources:

• Aurora Police Department
• Lakewood Police Department
• Colorado Bureau of Investigation
• Arapahoe County District Attorney's Office
• Jefferson County District Attorney's Office
• Nevada Department of Corrections
• CBS Colorado
• Associated Press
• Denver Gazette
• Sentinel Colorado