Who killed Joseph? In the summer of 1907, Fort Collins was a town grappling with its own brand of frontier justice, a place where the lines between law and lawlessness could blur in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains. It was in this setting that Joseph Allen, a 45-year-old police officer, found his life cut tragically short, becoming a chapter in the city's oldest unsolved mystery.
Having been on the force for only about two months, Officer Allen was tasked with patrolling some of the rougher parts of the city.
On the evening of July 3, 1907, Allen was making his rounds in an area known as 'The Jungles,' a district of bars and brothels. He was last seen alive engaged in what appeared to be a friendly conversation. Later that night, around 11 p.m., he was discovered lying unconscious by a bush, his skull crushed. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but succumbed to his injuries three hours later, never regaining consciousness. Investigators at the scene found a bloody brick, believed to be the murder weapon. His gun and club were missing.
The investigation into Officer Allen's murder led to the arrest of multiple men in the years that followed. However, a lack of sufficient evidence meant that all of them were eventually released. Despite the efforts of law enforcement, the case grew cold, and the story of the slain officer faded from the headlines. No one was ever convicted for the murder of Joseph Allen, and his death remains the oldest cold case in the history of the Fort Collins Police Services. The identity of his killer or killers remains a mystery to this day.
