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Colorado hammer killer, aka Alex Ewing, was found guilty in the Bennetts' and Patricia Smith's murder cases in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Although it took authorities nearly four decades to convict the perpetrator who terrorized Denver, Colorado, and neighboring areas in 1984, justice was eventually served.
People Magazine Investigates will recount the infamous stories of the gruesome crimes committed by Ewing in the upcoming Season 6 episode 6, titled The Colorado Hammer Killer, which will air on Monday, July 11, 2022.
Reports state that amongst the serial killer's victims were a family of four (the Bennetts) consisting of two young girls, one of whom was sexually assaulted and murdered while the other nearly escaped a harrowing fate and came out as a survivor.
Colorado hammer killer claimed he was treated "unfairly" and refused to testify during trial
Alex Ewing, dubbed the hammer killer, was found guilty in the 2021 trial of the Bennett murders. Ewing was never a suspect in the gruesome 1984 Colorado murders. However, when DNA evidence linked him to both the Bennett and Smith murder cases, prosecutors finally found a way to reopen the cold cases after three decades.
After the evidence surfaced, it was a rather straightforward task for the authorities to bring the perpetrator to justice. He was already in police custody for an attempted murder case in Nevada, not long after the Aurora murders. It was later discovered that his DNA was present at both the crime scenes, which made him the prime suspect in the eyes of investigators.
The killer reportedly sexually assaulted two of his victims - 7-year-old Melissa Bennett and interior designer Patricia Smith. All his victims were murdered inside their homes. Subsequently, the investigators uncovered a common pattern. However, it was only in 2018 that authorities discovered they had a serial killer on their hands when Ewing's semen was discovered at the crime.
The hammer killer aka Alex Ewing's ultimate trial
Following this ground-breaking discovery, Ewing first went on trial for the Bennett murders in 2021, in which he was found guilty of first-degree murder and received three life sentences. The same year, the hammer killer was also tried for Patricia Smith's murder, which resulted in a mistrial, and the victims' families had to wait till 2022 for justice.
Earlier this year, during Smith's murder trial, Alex Ewing denied all charges made against him and stated
"I’ve been treated so unfairly even before I was dragged to this state. The unfairness when I’ve given information out that could possibly lead to an alternate suspect, I’m told basically to be quiet. Prosecutors here and in Arapahoe are going to just twist it around."
The accused refused to testify, saying
"I already said I’m not going to testify. I just don’t like the idea that if I do say something, the attorneys will twist it around."
He further added
"You guys don’t want the people who actually committed the crimes, you just want the conviction. That’s actually the way I see it."
The Colorado hammer killer, who was already serving a 110-year long sentence in Nevada following his detention after the attempted murder incident, is now serving four life sentences after being found guilty for not only the Bennett murders but also that of 50-year-old Smith.
People Magazine Investigates' will air on Investigation Discovery on Monday, July 11, at 9:00 pm ET.
