In the heart of Denver, Colorado, a story of intrigue and unresolved justice unfolded in the autumn of 1894. Lena Tapper, a woman of French origin, was found strangled to death in her bed on Market Street on September 3rd. Her life in Denver was complex; she was known to be a sex worker and was entangled in a relationship with a man named Richard Demady.
Both were associated with a shadowy organization known as the 'Macquereaux' or 'Les Cavaliers d'Amour', a group suspected of being involved in human trafficking.
The discovery of Lena's body set off an immediate investigation that quickly focused on those closest to her. Three men were arrested the very day she was found: Richard Demady, John Callahan, and Charles Schoten. Demady was considered a prime suspect due to his tumultuous relationship with Lena, which had reportedly ended in rejection. The authorities built a case against him, and by December 17th of that year, he was formally indicted for her murder.
Despite the indictment and the suspicion surrounding him, the path to justice was not straightforward. When Richard Demady's case went to trial, he was ultimately acquitted of Lena Tapper's murder, leaving the question of her killer unanswered. The investigation also briefly entangled John Callahan and Charles Schoten, who were connected to another murdered woman, Marie Contassot, but they were not convicted in connection with either crime.
Lena Tapper's death was one of three similar strangulations of women in Denver around that time, including Marie Contassot and Kiku Oyama, suggesting the possibility of a serial killer or a wider conspiracy. One theory floated involved another man, Alphonse Le Mair, who was accused in a drunken confession by an acquaintance of being the murderer in all three cases, with robbery as the motive. However, Le Mair was never convicted, and with no one held responsible, the murder of Lena Tapper officially remains an unsolved crime, a chilling tale from the city's past.
