Patricia Louise Smith was 50 when she moved to Lakewood, Colorado, to help her daughter Chery and had begun an interior decorating business and a new life. On January 10, 1984, after grabbing a sandwich for lunch and returning to her home at 12610 West Bayaud Avenue, she was sexually assaulted and bludgeoned to death with a hammer between about 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Her body was later found that day by her daughter and two young grandchildren; the scene had been staged and Patricia’s body was placed on a folded comforter.

For decades the murder remained unsolved until DNA evidence linked her killing to another brutal crime that occurred six days later in Aurora. In July 2018 investigators received a notification identifying a suspect through a DNA match; that individual was later brought to Colorado to face charges. In 2022 a Jefferson County jury returned a guilty verdict and the suspect was sentenced to life in prison.

Do readers have any memories from the Lakewood neighborhood in January 1984 or information that could shed light on Patricia’s final hours?