Marie Contassot, a French immigrant described as wealthy, was found strangled in her bed in Denver on the morning of October 28, 1894. Tony Sanders, the man she lived with and described as her lover, said he had fallen asleep while reading and woke to find her dead; marks from a cord were noted on her neck. Police initially suspected robbery because only 25 cents remained on her person, suggesting her assailant had taken her valuables.

Contassot’s killing was one of three similar strangulations in the same area around that time; Lena Tapper and Kiku Oyama were also found strangled, prompting fears of a pattern. A drunken man named Victor Manchenaint accused Alphonse Le Mair of involvement and said robbery was the motive, but Le Mair was never convicted. The three murders remain unsolved; Marie was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Denver.

Does anyone have family memory, old documents, or local research that could shed light on these 1894 killings?