DECEMBER 19, 2019
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DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
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Suspect arrested 40 years after slaying Genetic genealogy, ‘old-school’ police work led to break in cold case, according to authorities BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Nearly 40 years after a woman’s body was found bound and dumped in a Douglas County field, authorities believe they have caught the victim’s killer. Helene Pruszynski, 21, was found on Jan. 17, 1980 near Daniels Park Road in an undeveloped field in present-day Highlands Ranch. She’d been raped and murdered the day before, then left with her hands tied behind her back, partially naked and stabbed to death. Authorities on Dec. 11 arrested James Curtis Clanton, 62, near his home in Florida on felony murder charges. They extradited him to Colorado, where he is being held in the Douglas County jail. Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said during a Dec. 16 news conference that Clanton was taken into custody without incident. Clanton was scheduled to appear in court later that afternoon for formal advisement of his charges. “This was a young girl who was just starting her life,” Spurlock said. “She wanted to be in journalism. She wanted to be part of a bigger story.” SEE COLD CASE, P4
Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock speaks during a Dec. 16 news conference announcing the arrest of a suspect in the 1980 death of Helene Pruszynski. JESSICA GIBBS
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PO Box 9 | 488 Main Street | Black Hawk, CO 80422
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Metro district plans to begin construction on disc golf course in February P6
The Highlands Ranch Metro District’s 2020 budget was recently approved. Find out what impact it will have on you on Page 8.
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HighlandsRanchHerald.net
VOLUME 33 | ISSUE 4