Five years after three people were shot to death inside a Littleton bowling alley, police Thursday said they have sampled a man’s DNA to compare to evidence collected from the scene.
Police, however, did not call the development a breakthrough.
“The person that we got the samples from is not any more of a suspect than anyone else,” said Littleton police Sgt. Trent Cooper. “In reviewing the case, we realized we did not have his DNA.”
The sample was collected from 29-year-old Robert Cessor of Arvada on Wednesday, according to Kevin Farrell, an attorney for Cessor’s mother, Linda. Robert Cessor could not be reached for comment.
Over the years, detectives have taken DNA samples from dozens of people, Cooper said.
“This case is different from a lot of homicide cases where we have a direction to go in,” he said. “This one is just a stone- cold whodunit, and we are trying to cover every angle. Because of that, we have requested evidence from a lot of different people.”
In January 2002, AMF Broadway Lanes employees Erin Golla and James Springer and bowler Robert Zajac were shot and killed at closing time amid a robbery.
A grand jury investigation into a methamphetamine ring that was launched months after the slayings turned up connections to Golla, police said.
“There is a connection, but we are not able to talk to her, so we can’t fully explore what her involvement was,” Cooper said. “There is some indication that she was involved with meth to some degree. We can confirm that. We don’t know if she was a recreational user or something more.”
Linda Cessor and her husband, William Cessor, were indicted by the grand jury that investigated the drug ring in 2002, and they received probation.
Farrell, Linda Cessor’s attorney, said he could not discuss the investigation but said the Cessors have been cooperative with police.
“I think Linda and the Cessors want everything everybody else does – to have the killer or killers brought to justice,” Farrell said. He said the Cessor family was friends with Golla.
Cooper said that the meth angle is just one of many theories police have considered.
The murder cases have never been closed, but recent media coverage and the new assignment of a detective sergeant brought a fresh look to the case, Cooper said.
“It’s one of those things as a police agency – it is a black mark,” Cooper said. “We are interested in getting this solved.”
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
