Lieutenant Cecilia M. C.c. Cipriani-Benefiel, 32, was found shot to death inside her Colorado Springs home after failing to report for duty. The El Paso County Sheriff’s deputies entered her Ivywild neighborhood residence on November 18, 1990, and discovered her on the floor in uniform with multiple gunshot wounds. Several rooms were ransacked and valuables gathered, though it is unclear whether anything was taken.

Evidence suggested she may have surprised an intruder but the absence of forced entry led investigators to conclude she likely knew her assailant and had admitted them. Neighbors reported no unusual activity; the area had experienced a series of residential burglaries around that time. No eyewitnesses ever came forward and the case remains unsolved.

Her husband, Colorado State Patrol trooper Robert Benefiel, was treated as the prime suspect because he had no alibi for the night and reportedly failed a polygraph, but prosecutors declined to charge him. The couple was in the process of a divorce that was to be finalized days after her death. Does anyone have information about Cecilia, her last shift, or contacts who might shed light on who entered her home that night?