CO CO - Patricia Beard, 32, Denver, 27 March 1981

On March 27th 1981, Patricia Beard's body was found in her apartment. An autopsy revealed that she had been strangled to death. Investigators collected a lot of evidence from the crime scene and were able to conclude how the prepertrator entered the apartment. Despite all of this, the case went cold for the next three decades. In 2011, DNA was taken from some of the evidence that had not been destroyed which was entered into the system. Investigators had to wait two more years until they received a match.

In 2013, a DNA match led to the arrest of Hector Bencomo-Hinojos who was charged for the crime

Man arrested in 1981 rape and murder of mentally impaired woman

Denver authorities have arrested a 53-year-old Pennsylvania man in the rape and murder of a woman in a group home for mentally disabled people in 1981.

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Beard, who was partially clothed, was found on her bed. It was apparent that her killer had climbed up a pipe and entered her apartment through a window, according to a court document.

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In April of 2015, Hector pleaded guilty to less severe charges.

Hector Bencomo-Hinojos Pleads Guilty in Murder He Claimed Not to Understand

This week, the first-degree murder charges were dismissed in exchange for Bencomo-Hinojos pleading guilty to one count apiece of second-degree murder and second-degree kidnapping, supplemented by affiliated crime-of-violence charges. The stipulated sentence for the offenses comes to 48 years in prison (24 years for each count) plus one year of mandatory parole per count.

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On June 8th 2015, he was sentenced for his crimes.

Man sentenced in 34-year-old Denver murder case

Denver's district attorney says a man has been sentenced to 48 years in prison after a DNA match led to the solving of a 1981 case.

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