Welcome back to Unsolved, everyone. This week we’re taking a bit of a detour to Colorado, not the most expected destination for a high profile serial killer.

The Denver Strangler was suspected to be active from the years 1894 to 1903, and he was presumed to have killed three to five women by, you guessed it, strangulation. This killer had far fewer victims than our last, but this makes his actions no less attention-worthy. He was also never identified and very few suspects were even found, but all were released.

His story starts with his first victim, Lena Tapper. Her body was found on her own bed soon after her murder. Not much was known about her except that she was a prostitute and the mistress of a man named Richard Demady. Both of them belonged to a French organization called the Macquereaux, which was essentially the French underground that trafficked humans. Because of his suspicious ties and clear connection to the victim, Demady was the first suspect for the case. He was only considered for Tapper’s death and was not at all connected to the other murders, so he was eventually released after it had been proposed that the murders were serial. After his trial he relocated to Brazil, which was suspicious, but not enough to cause any further investigation of him.

The second victim was a woman named Marie Contassoit, another prostitute with ties to the Macquereaux. She was also found on her own bed, strangled with a cord. This time, there was evidence that burglary was involved, whereas for Tapper’s murder, no motive was found. Contassoit was known as a wealthy woman, but at the time of her death she only had what is equivalent to 75 cents on her person. In her case, five suspects were arrested, but again they were released quickly due to a lack of evidence.

The final positive victim was Kiku Oyama. She was also a prostitute connected to a French business. This particular case differed from the rest in that she was discovered alive, but unfortunately she died before she could receive medical attention. She also suffered injuries to the head and throat during the attack. The Strangler’s second victim had minor throat injuries, but Oyama’s case showed signs of a much larger struggle. No specific suspects were arrested for her case, however over time there were a handful of later suspects that may have been involved

There were two possible other victims, but nothing was ever proved for sure. One was actually a woman who claimed to be a clairvoyant and said that she knew who the killer was, so it was suspected that after she was found strangled, it must have been the Strangler trying to keep himself from being found out.

With all the time that has passed from the murders to today, there is no more suspense to see what is coming next, but the fact that a killer was never able to be identified even when given the opportunity to be reexamined with current technology is still frightening. It is likely that for several years the people of Denver, including those who lost loved ones to Denver Strangler, were walking among him without even knowing it.