Dennis Yaklich, a 38-year-old narcotics detective, was fatally shot in the driveway of his Avondale, Colorado farmhouse in December 1985. Early suspicion fell on his undercover work, but a later tip led investigators to two teenagers, Charles and Edward Greenwell, who confessed to the killing and implicated Yaklich’s wife, Donna, as the person who arranged the hit.

According to the brothers’ statements, Donna promised payment to have her husband killed; the prosecution said a $250,000 life insurance policy provided the motive. At trial Donna Yaklich testified that she had been the victim of domestic abuse and that her husband’s alleged steroid-fueled aggression had driven her to hire the men out of fear for her and her children.

The jury acquitted Donna of first-degree murder but convicted her of conspiracy to commit murder; she received a 40-year prison sentence. The Greenwell brothers were also convicted and given prison terms for carrying out the shooting.

If anyone knew the Yaklichs or the Greenwell brothers in Avondale in the mid-1980s, does anything from that time shed light on the relationships or motive?