On December 23, 1995, the body of a young Black male was discovered at the back of the Coal Creek Arena and Rodeo Grounds in Aurora, Colorado. The man, later identified as 24-year-old Craig Anthony Bridges, had sustained numerous gunshot wounds. The Arapahoe County Coroner's Office determined that his death occurred between 2:00 and 5:00 a.m. It took five days for authorities to identify him through his fingerprints, which connected him to an address in Los Angeles, California.
Investigations into Bridges' background revealed that he was a suspected member of the Crip gang. His mother informed detectives that she had put him on a plane from Los Angeles, believing he was headed to Kansas City, Missouri. It is unclear how he ended up in Aurora. Further investigation revealed that Bridges had been staying at the Travelers Motel on East 6th Avenue.
He was reportedly sharing a room with two other individuals: a Black male who had provided a California driver's license that may have been counterfeit, and an unidentified Black female with blonde hair. The identities of these two individuals, who are considered persons of interest in the case, have never been established. To date, no arrests have been made in connection with the homicide of Craig Anthony Bridges, and his case remains an unsolved cold case with the Aurora Police Department.
