In the summer of 1982, the community of Boulder, Colorado, was shaken by the discovery of a young woman's body. On July 1st, fishermen in Boulder Canyon came across the remains of 20-year-old Susan 'Susie' Becker. An investigation revealed she had suffered a violent death, having been stabbed 13 times in her torso and neck.
Susan, who was last seen by a friend on the morning of June 20, 1982, was described as a free spirit who had grown up in the Boulder area. She was known to frequent the Pearl Street Mall. At the time of her disappearance, she had plans to travel to Idaho for a gathering of the Rainbow Family. Near her body, investigators found a backpack containing her identification, but a knife also found at the scene was determined not to be the murder weapon.
For decades, Susan Becker's case remained a painful cold case for Boulder County. However, advancements in technology and further investigation into other crimes eventually shed light on her presumed killer. Investigators identified John Agrue, a man with a violent past, as the primary suspect. Agrue had a prior conviction for killing his teenage sister-in-law in Illinois in 1966 and had moved to Boulder after being paroled in 1982.
The pieces of the puzzle began to come together when DNA evidence linked Agrue to the 1982 murder of another individual. Although no usable DNA evidence was available from Susan's case, the similarities between her murder and other crimes connected to Agrue were striking. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Behavioral Analysis Unit reviewed the case and concluded that it was highly probable Agrue was responsible for her death. In 2013, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office announced that if John Agrue were still alive, they would pursue murder charges against him. Agrue had died in 2009 from an accidental prescription medication overdose. With the identification of a suspect, the investigation into Susan Becker's death was officially closed, with the status of 'death of offender.' The FBI has also investigated the possibility that Agrue may have been a serial killer involved in other homicides.
