In the autumn of 1970, the life of 18-year-old Marianne Weaver was tragically cut short in a crime that continues to haunt the city of Denver. On October 13th, the young woman was found murdered in her friend's apartment, the victim of a fatal gunshot wound. There is no information available regarding her ethnicity. The grim discovery was made inside a sprawling mansion that had been converted into tenement-style apartments, a building that would later become known as the Lumber Baron Inn.
On that fateful day, Marianne had gone to visit her 17-year-old friend, Cara Knoche. It is believed that Marianne tragically walked in at the worst possible moment, interrupting a violent assault against her friend. The unidentified assailant, caught in the act, then turned his aggression on Marianne to eliminate her as a witness. While Cara was found strangled and hidden under her bed, Marianne lay dead on the floor from a gunshot wound.
The double homicide sparked an extensive investigation by the Denver Police Department. Detectives pursued every available lead, attempting to piece together the events that led to the brutal slayings of the two young women. Despite their efforts, the case grew cold. No suspects were ever publicly identified, and no arrests have ever been made in the decades since the murders. The identity of the man responsible for ending the lives of Marianne Weaver and Cara Knoche remains a mystery.
The case has left a lasting scar on the community and is remembered as one of Denver's most infamous unsolved crimes. The story of Marianne's untimely death is one of a horrific convergence of circumstances, a young woman who was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Her life, and that of her friend, were extinguished in a moment of violence that has yet to see justice. The file on their murders remains open, a silent testament to a crime that has gone unpunished for over fifty years.
