Vincent Darrell Groves

Serial Killer

Vincent Darrell Groves: Denver Serial Killer

Vincent Darrell Groves was an American serial killer whose crimes stretched across the Denver, Colorado, metropolitan area during the late 1970s and 1980s. Born on April 19, 1954, Groves grew up in the Denver area and had once been a successful high-school basketball player. His later life was dramatically different. He became involved with drugs, prostitution, and violence, and investigators eventually connected him to a series of murders in which young women were strangled and their bodies left in homes, alleys, fields, culverts, and other isolated locations. Groves was convicted during his lifetime of murdering three women. Years after his death, improvements in DNA testing linked him conclusively to several additional killings. In December 2025, authorities announced another major development when preserved DNA evidence identified Groves as the killer of Rhonda Marie Fisher, a woman found dead in Douglas County in 1987. Investigators have long believed that Groves may have been responsible for substantially more murders than those that could ultimately be proved.

Early Murder and Imprisonment

One of the most important crimes in establishing Groves as a violent killer was the murder of 17-year-old Tammy Sue Woodrum. On August 14, 1981, Groves left on a camping and fishing trip that included Woodrum. She was subsequently strangled. Groves eventually went to police but attempted to portray her death as the result of a drug overdose. The physical evidence contradicted that explanation. Investigators determined that Woodrum had been sexually assaulted and strangled and that the supposed drug overdose did not explain her death. Groves was convicted of second-degree murder in 1982 and received a 12-year prison sentence. Despite the seriousness of the crime, he was paroled on February 13, 1987, after serving approximately five years. His release later became particularly significant because a new group of women began dying in the Denver metropolitan area during 1987 and 1988.

Murders After His Release

After returning to Denver, Groves again spent considerable time around areas associated with prostitution and drug activity. Investigators began noticing similarities among several killings. Women were disappearing or being found strangled in scattered locations around Denver and neighboring counties. Groves knew or had contact with a number of women in this environment, and investigators sometimes learned that he had been among the last people seen with a victim. In 1988, authorities focused increasingly on Groves. Evidence from the murders of Juanita Lovato and Diane Montoya Mancera proved especially important. Both women were found outside central Denver, and forensic evidence eventually connected Groves to their deaths. He was arrested on September 1, 1988. The cluster of similar killings that investigators had been examining stopped after he was taken into custody. ...

Confirmed Victims: (8)

Tammy Sue Woodrum Age: (17), Date of Death: 1981-08-14

Vincent Groves - Wikipedia