The identities of three members of the same family whose bodies were found in different locations in southwest Colorado yesterday have been released.
The bodies of Robert D. Decker, 40, and his uncle William Klatt Decker, 69, were found on a farm near the New Mexico border. The body of Robert Decker’s mother, Billie Decker, 67, was found in a Durango home.
The remains of the three persons were discovered on Friday afternoon, said Dan Bender, spokesman for the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies were called to a home along Colorado Highway 140 about a half mile north of the New Mexico border and five miles south of Red Mesa, Bender said. The caller reported “suspicious activities.”
The deputies discovered the body of a man hanging in a barn on the property around 1:40 p.m., he said. Officials believe the man committed suicide.
Deputies later saw a foot protruding from a shallow, freshly dug grave along a river bank.
Both men had lived at the farm, Bender said.
“That area is sparsely populated,” he said. “Red Mesa has a few churches, a general school and about 30 houses. If you blink it’s gone.”
Information found at the residence prompted investigators to check on a woman, who they then found dead in her home in Durango. The woman lived about 30 miles northeast of the farm.
Durango police and the La Plata Sheriff’s Office are doing separate investigations.
While the three deaths are still under investigation, they appear to be connected and authorities do not think the person responsible is at large, Bender said.
He said autopsies will be performed either Sunday or Monday.
Bender said authorities are not looking for other makeshift graves.
“We don’t think think there are any other victims,” he said.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or or
