Polly Sullivan, 44, was found beaten and stabbed to death in her apartment at the Crooked Tree housing project in Denver on December 26, 1998. A lawyer of Irish and Muscogee Creek heritage, she directed the project and lived there among the residents; her apartment was noted for a window display of lighthouses whose lights comforted other tenants. She had spent Christmas Day with her parents and returned to prepare a holiday dinner for several women at Crooked Tree. Neighbors noticed her window lights went dark that afternoon and she was discovered dead the next day.

Investigators focused on a 48-year-old resident, ex-convict Willie Safford, who faced eviction and whom Polly had described as volatile in letters to building administrators and his parole officer two weeks before her killing. Safford was arrested and charged but prosecutors later dropped charges for lack of sufficient evidence, and no other suspects have been identified. The case went cold; in 2012 Polly’s sister asked the Vidocq Society to review the file to seek new leads.

Anyone who knew Polly, lived at Crooked Tree in 1998, or has information about that Christmas period is asked to share what they remember.