Her murder went unsolved for decades. DNA from paper bags now points to one of Colorado’s ‘most prolific serial killers’

By Hanna Park, CNN

(CNN) — For nearly 40 years, the identity of the person who sexually assaulted and killed a 30-year-old woman found along a quiet stretch of rural highway south of Denver eluded investigators. Now, small pieces of preserved evidence – a pair of paper bags placed over the victim’s hands – have provided the answer authorities had been searching for: a DNA match to one of Colorado’s “most prolific serial killers,” officials said Tuesday.

“Obtaining a viable DNA profile from paper bags nearly four decades old is exceptionally rare and underscores the extraordinary value of meticulous evidence preservation,” the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

Rhonda Marie Fisher’s body was found on April 1, 1987 off a highway embankment near Sedalia, Colorado, the sheriff’s office said. Fisher had been sexually assaulted and strangled. She was last seen walking on a street in Denver, around 25 miles north.

For years, detectives pursued leads involving acquaintances Fisher had stayed with in the weeks before her death, as well as several serial offenders who were active in the Denver metro area from the 1970s through the 1990s. Despite multiple investigative pushes, including a previous round of DNA testing in 2017 that failed to identify a suspect, the case went cold.

But earlier this year, the sheriff office’s Cold Case Unit undertook a “comprehensive review of all evidence” and decided to test two last items: paper bags officials placed over Fisher’s hands decades ago at the scene of the crime.

“Those paper bags were saved and had not been touched for 40 years, and so the thought is that whatever skin cells were on her hands also transferred to the inside of those brown paper bags,” Shane Williams, one of the forensic scientists who worked on the case, said at a news conference Tuesday.

Williams said at the time, the bags would not have been used with DNA testing in mind.

“DNA was not a science that was being focused on or even known of in 1987 … the corner wouldn’t have been doing it for that purpose, but thankfully they did so that we could solve this case.”

The results pointed authorities to one man: Vincent Darrell Groves, a convicted killer who died in prison in 1996 and who has since been linked to multiple murders in the Denver area.

“Vincent Groves is considered one of Colorado’s most prolific serial killers. His violent criminal activity primarily targeted vulnerable women between 1978 and 1988,” the sheriff’s office said.

Officials said it’s unclear how Groves encountered Fisher, and there’s no indication that they knew one another. Groves had “long been considered a possible suspect in this case, but there was another potential suspect … and we needed the DNA confirmation to be sure,” said Michelle Kennedy, a crime analysis supervisor with the sheriff’s office.

Groves is believed to be responsible for at least a dozen homicides, along with an attempted murder and a sexual assault in the Denver area, the sheriff’s office said, noting the numbers of victims may be higher.

Groves had been convicted of murder in 1982 but served fewer than five years, according to the sheriff. He was later convicted of murdering a woman in Douglas County in 1988 and another victim in a neighboring county the same year.

“While Vincent Groves cannot be held accountable in a court of law, we hope this long-awaited resolution brings answers and a measure of peace to Rhonda Fisher’s family and friends,” Sheriff Darren Weekly said.

Officials said Fisher’s parents and brother died before her murder was solved, but they spoke with one of her cousins who was “very happy to have answers.”

“Rhonda Fisher was a mother, daughter, sister, and friend,” Weekly said. “This case is a testament to our commitment to pursue justice for every victim – no matter how much time has passed.”

In recent years, police across the US have turned to emerging DNA tools – including genetic genealogy and DNA phenotyping, which can predict what a suspect may look like – to revive long‑dormant cases.

The Douglas County sheriff noted that Fisher’s case is the seventh cold homicide solved in the last seven years by his department, crediting advances in DNA analysis and the value of revisiting old evidence.

“As science evolves, so does our ability to uncover the truth,” he said. “Our commitment to these investigations – and to the families who await answers – will never waver.”

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