In the late summer of 1990, the life of Shirley Ann Lacks, a 27-year-old Caucasian woman, was cut tragically short in Colorado Springs, Colorado. On the evening of September 5th, she was with a male friend, parked in his white 1977 Lincoln Continental Mark V near the intersection of Rio Grande and Nevada streets. The night took a violent turn when an unknown assailant approached their vehicle.
The suspect, described as a Black male, was reportedly driving a Mazda RX7. He fired two shots through the open driver's side window of the Lincoln. While one bullet missed the man, the other struck Shirley in the arm. The bullet then tragically penetrated her heart, inflicting a fatal wound. In the chaotic moments that followed, the injured woman stumbled out of the car and was helped into her friend's vehicle. He rushed her to Saint Francis Hospital, but despite medical efforts, she succumbed to her injuries that same day.
The Colorado Springs Police Department launched an investigation into the homicide. They learned that just days before the shooting, on September 2nd, officers had responded to an altercation at a residence on Sheldon Street where a woman, later identified as Lacks, appeared to have been assaulted. However, she was not interviewed at the time. The investigation into her death brought to light her involvement in prostitution and narcotics, with several prior arrests.
Despite identifying several potential suspects and receiving a tip from an informant that the assailant drove a gray Mazda, which was consistent with the witness's description of a Mazda RX7, the case grew cold. The male friend who was with Shirley at the time of the shooting could not provide a detailed description of the assailant. Lacking sufficient evidence and a clear identification of the shooter, no arrests have ever been made in connection with Shirley Ann Lacks' murder. The case remains an open and unsolved homicide with the Colorado Springs Police Department, a painful chapter in the city's history that has left a family without answers for decades.
