Candace Anita Walters, a 48-year-old woman known for her gentle and trusting nature, was a devoted mother, a lover of animals, and someone who found immense joy in the natural beauty of her Colorado home. She had moved to the state 25 years prior to be close to her parents and had built a life centered around her family, especially her daughter, Holly Jo. In the last years of her life, Candace worked for Holly’s business, processing loan applications.
Her ex-husband remembered her as the "most generous person" he knew, recalling a time after their divorce when she used a small inheritance to buy him a houseful of furniture.
Her love for life was evident to all who knew her. "I just can't express in words how much she wanted to experience life," Holly said. "She loved life more than anyone I know." Candace was a petite woman, but she possessed a spirit for adventure, capable of hiking 20 miles through the woods. She held a deep affection for animals and was a frequent visitor to the Denver Zoo. Nearly every evening after work, she would drive through Red Rocks Park, where she knew the favorite spots of the local deer herds and a silvertail fox she loved to watch.
In December 1997, Candace met a charismatic man named William Lee Neal, who went by "Cody." Over time, he manipulated her financially, borrowing money under false pretenses. In early July 1998, Candace told her daughter she was excited to be going on a July Fourth weekend trip to Las Vegas with Neal. He had promised to pay back the money he owed her and more. It was the last conversation Holly would ever have with her mother. A couple of days before she left, Candace sent a fax to her daughter's office that read, "Life is wonderful. Aren't we all fortunate to have each other?"
Instead of a trip to Las Vegas, Neal lured Candace to the Lakewood townhouse of another woman he was manipulating, Rebecca Holberton. On July 2, 1998, inside the home, he murdered Candace by bludgeoning her with a splitting maul. Her death was part of a brutal, week-long rampage. Neal had already murdered Rebecca Holberton on June 30 and would go on to kill a third woman, Angela Fite, on July 5 in the same location. The horrific crimes were discovered on July 8, when police conducted a welfare check at the townhouse after Rebecca’s coworkers reported her absent from work. Officers discovered the bodies of all three women inside.
The investigation quickly led to William "Cody" Neal, a con artist also known as "Wild Bill Cody" and "Charmin' Billy." The case took a horrifying turn when a fourth woman came forward, telling police Neal had abducted her, tied her to a bed in the townhouse next to the bodies of his previous victims, and forced her to watch as he murdered Angela Fite before he sexually assaulted her. Neal later confessed to the three murders and a multitude of other crimes during a phone call with investigators before he was arrested.
In February 1999, Neal pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree sexual assault, two counts of second-degree kidnapping, menacing, and felony theft. During his sentencing, a three-judge panel heard the chilling details of his calculated cruelty. The court noted that Neal showed no conscience and, after each murder, would go out socializing and planning his next crime. On September 29, 1999, he was sentenced to death. Upon hearing the sentence, Candace's daughter Holly expressed a sense of relief. "The crime definitely justifies the penalty," she said. "It feels good. I am glad it is done."
The families of the victims supported each other through the legal process. However, in 2003, Neal's death sentence was commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the state's death penalty sentencing procedure was unconstitutional. William Lee Neal remains incarcerated, serving a life sentence for the brutal slayings that cut short the lives of three women, including the gentle and loving Candace Walters. Her family chose to remember her by scattering her ashes in Red Rocks Park, the place where she had found so much peace and beauty.
