Courts
Jury convicts man in 30-year-old murder case
Posted: Jun 18, 2011 12:30 PM by AP Posted by James H Egbert
Updated: Jun 18, 2011 1:06 PM
DENVER (AP) - A 54-year-old man has been convicted of fatally stabbing a woman in Denver three decades ago.
A jury convicted Roderick Elias of first-degree murder Friday after a two-week trial. The victim was 22-year-old Kristen Swanson, who was killed in October 1980. Her body was found in a car outside a disco where she worked.
Swanson died from a single stab wound to the heart. Authorities say a man matching Elias' description was seen leaning into the car the night before Swanson was killed.
The Denver DA's Cold Case Review Project reviewed the case at the urging of a friend of Swanson's. A DNA match was found and Elias was arrested last year in Topeka , Kan. He faces life in prison without parole.
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