On the evening of December 5, 1985, 24-year-old Dennis Sleater was found shot twice in the head in the basement of Junction Creek Liquors, 2300 Main Avenue, Durango, Colorado. Sleater, a Fort Lewis College student working there as a part-time clerk, was discovered facedown by friends who had come to the store and found it unattended; the open cash register and missing money pointed to a robbery motive. The Durango Police Department opened a homicide investigation.

Investigators soon noticed possible links to another recent Durango death. On November 10, 1985, 36-year-old business owner David Tyler was found dead in the back of a truck outside his auto shop. Reports from the time said the men were acquainted and shared aspects of their personal lives, prompting police to consider a connection between the two killings.

One person who drew law enforcement interest was Eli Stutzman, a former member of the Amish community who was reportedly in Durango at the time of both deaths; witnesses later said they saw a man resembling him near the liquor store and believed he had attended a party with Tyler. No conclusive evidence has tied anyone to Sleater’s murder, and no arrests have been made. Did anyone who knew Dennis, David, or Eli have information then that could help resolve these linked cases?