Earl Ryan, 40, grew up comfortably in Golden as the son of two physicians, attended expensive schools, edited a college publication and appeared on “Nightline” arguing with former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara on whether Congress or the president has the authority to declare war. Most recently, he collected and sold rare books through his online bookstore.
Ryan now is in the Denver County jail, held on suspicion of first-degree murder and attempted murder in the shooting death Sunday of 2-year-old Noah Crookham and the wounding of Noah’s father, Thomas. Police say Ryan was the former lover of Noah’s mother, Angela Crookham, and was firing at her husband during the Sunday morning rampage in Congress Park.
Ryan was the youngest of three sons of Dr. Donald Ryan, a neurologist, and Sonya Ryan, a dermatologist. He attended Jefferson County public schools early on and then graduated from the exclusive Colorado Springs School, where he was valedictorian of his class, said Andrew Milmoe, his best friend in Golden who learned about computers on Ryan’s original Apple II. The school would not confirm his record without his written permission.
Ryan went to Clark University in Worcester, Mass., for one year, then transferred to Rice University, a private university in Houston ranked among the top 20 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. As a senior there, Ryan published a conservative monthly magazine, “The Rice Sentinel.”
Through his writing efforts, he appeared on ABC’s “Nightline,” arguing with McNamara that the president should have full authority to declare war and not Congress.
Later, Ryan moved to the Seattle area, where he ran an online store for rare books, Aventine Booksellers, as part of the Advanced Book Exchange.
He then moved to Cincinnati for several years, where he befriended Crookham. He returned to Colorado this spring to take a room in her basement.
He had no adult arrest record in Colorado.
Mike McPhee: 303-954-1409 or mmcphee@denverpost.com
