The Spider Man of Denver

Police said “You’d have to be a spider to live up there that long.”

Phillip and Helen Peters were a married couple in their early 70’s, living at 3335 West Moncrieff Place in Denver, Colorado. They had been in this home for over 40 years now, raising their son, Phillip Jr., and watching him grow up, move out, and start a family of his own. Of course with all the free time of retirees, they certainly had some hobbies of their own. Music was a passion of the two. Helen enjoyed teaching guitar and mandolin while Phillip was a member of a local musicians club, even putting on concerts for the neighboring communities. It’s definitely safe to say that in 1941, Helen and Phillip lived a very comfortable American lifestyle.

That September, Helen suffered a bad fall inside the home. She broke her hip and was asked by St. Anthony’s hospital to stay for a while and recover under their care. It was good for Helen and her recovery, but it left Phillip quite lonely in this big empty home. He passed the time by visiting Helen daily and the neighborhood residents were very thoughtful of their 71 year old neighbor as well. They took turns pitching in to keep an eye on Phillip, helping him out around the house, and even opening their homes to him for a home cooked dinner every night. Then, they would send him home with leftovers for lunch the next day and do it all again tomorrow. Phillip was very well taken care of in Helen’s absence.

On Friday, October 17th, Phillip was supposed to have dinner down the street with the Ross Family. They waited for about an hour and Phillip never turned up, which was significant because Phillip had always been a highly punctual guest. Mrs. Ross decided to head down the road to go check on him and see if he forgot about their plans. When she got to the front door as the sun set, all of the inside lights were off and her knocks went unanswered. She knew Phillip wouldn’t be at the hospital at this hour, so she got a hold of another neighbor, Doris Berke, to help her get inside the house. Once they got through the backyard fence, they broke into the house through the locked back door and the ladies had no idea what they were walking into. The moment Mrs. Ross flicked on the kitchen light, she saw a room covered in blood. Blood spattered up the walls and trailed through the…