Colorado Springs – Sheila Knapp begged her mother not to go out that night back in August 1976. She vividly recalls the next morning, anxiously calling the hospitals, the jail, anyone who might know the whereabouts of her mother, Sharon Copp.
Two days later her body was found dismembered in two locations 20 miles apart in Pueblo. The murder has never been solved.
“I would have a peace of mind if I knew that the person who did it had either died or been caught,” said Knapp, 39, of Colorado Springs.
After nearly 30 years, Knapp has turned to Group Six, three retired El Paso County sheriff’s detectives who investigate “cold” murder cases. Together, Bobby Brown, Stephen Pease and Tim Shull have 66 years of experience in law enforcement.
Group Six, a corporation named for the Sixth Commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” was formed this spring. The private investigators, who charge between $75 and $150 an hour, enter a case when asked by a family member of a victim. The investigators then ask local police departments for access to the case files. The Pueblo Sheriff’s Office has allowed Group Six to look at its files on the Copp murder.
“They can give it a new perspective,” said Knapp, who was 10 years old when her mother was murdered. She and her sisters were raised by their grandmother.
Howard Morton, executive director for Families of Homicide Victims and Missing Persons Inc., said there are more than 1,000 unsolved murders in Colorado. The group considers a murder “cold” if it has not been solved in a year.
Morton said he appreciates the initiative of Group Six but says solving murders is the responsibility of state and local governments. His group has been advocating the creation of a state-run cold-case team.
“The solution of a murder … it’s not the family’s responsibility. These are well-meaning people, and they can’t work for free. We have a lot of families that cannot afford a private investigator,” Morton said.
Lafayette Police Chief Paul Schultz, president of the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, said “in most cases” it is difficult for departments to find the resources to investigate cold cases.
The association represents 144 of Colorado’s 164 law-enforcement agencies. Eighty-five percent of the member departments have fewer than 10 sworn members, said executive director Karen Renshaw.
Brown said Group Six will turn over any hot leads or new evidence to police so that charges might be filed.
“We’re not trying to usurp anybody’s authority. We want one thing: We want to solve these homicides,” said Brown.
Pease said the group works with each client, depending upon his or her ability to pay.
“The goal here is to get the killers arrested, not to make money,” Pease said. “We do have certain expenses, though, that have to be covered, and we will charge a reasonable amount to cover those expenses.”
For people like Knapp, who has spent a lifetime wondering who killed her mother, there is new hope that someone may be apprehended.
“It’s difficult. Over the years, it’s gotten easier to deal with, and it has become easier not to dwell on it. But I need to find out who, why, when and where,” she said.
Staff writer Erin Emery can be reached at eemery@denverpost.com or 719-522-1360.