WESTMINSTER, Colo. — Thanks to DNA, investigators in Westminster, Colorado, were finally able to identify a suspect they believe killed a woman in December 1975.
The Westminster Police Department said the suspect was identified as Thomas Martin Elliott, who died in 1991.
Police said that Elliott was linked by DNA to the death of Teree Becker, 20, who was last seen on Dec. 4, 1975. She hitchhiked to see her boyfriend, who was at the Adams County Jail in Brighton, Colorado. She disappeared after her visit, police said.
Her remains were discovered two days later. Police said a couple riding motorcycles in a field found her body near 100th Avenue and Lowell Boulevard in Westminster. To investigators, it seemed like she was dumped with personal items and clothing. During an autopsy, it was learned that Becker was raped and she died from asphyxiation.
Her case was looked at over the years, according to KUSA.
“There’s been a lot of ups and down in this case,” said AC Stutson, commander in investigations with Westminster Police, according to the news station. “… We were so close so many times, and it would slip away.”
In 2003, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation extracted DNA from some evidence and uploaded it to a database, but there was no match.
Ten years later, an unknown DNA profile that the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department submitted matched the Westminster DNA sample, police said. The Las Vegas police were investigating a cold case from 1991 where a woman was found raped and dead in her apartment. Investigators determined that whoever killed Becker also killed the Las Vegas victim.
In 2018, authorities took the genetic genealogy route, according to NBC News. The process was led by the Colorado Bureau of Investigations, the genetic DNA lab Parabon Nanolabs and Solved By DNA, a Denver genealogy company. The process involved using DNA to create a family tree where they could link possible relatives.
It took about five years and eventually, the suspect was identified as Elliott, according to police.
Last October, his body was exhumed. His bones were collected so they could be analyzed, police said. In December 2023, Elliott was officially identified as the suspect in both Becker and the Las Vegas case.
Police said Elliott spent a lot of time in and out of prison, according to NBC News.
Before Becker was killed, Elliott committed a burglary in Lakewood, NBC News reported. In that case, he was convicted and sentenced to six years in prison.
He was later released from a Las Vegas prison in 1981. Soon after his release, Elliott “proceeded to commit a crime against a child” and was given a 10-year sentence, police said, according to NBC News. He was released from prison in 1991, which is when the Las Vegas murder happened.
“Not long after this homicide, for unknown reasons, Thomas Elliot committed suicide on October 30, 1991,” police said. “We are thrilled we were able to solve this cold case and hopefully bring closure to the friends and family of Teree Becker. We would also like to thank the Vegas Justice League who voluntarily paid for police to exhume the remains of Mr. Elliott for this case.”
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