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Latest on murder investigation in Manitou Springs

Posted at 6:16 PM, May 10, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-13 09:31:39-04

MANITOU SPRINGS – El Paso County Sheriff’s Office has now charged two men with first-degree murder in the death of a man in Manitou Springs – all while the community pays tribute to the victim.

Freddie Joseph Crespo (left) and John Robert Swinehart (right).

Suspects John Robert Swinehart and Freddie Joseph Crespo are being held without bond, as those charges were upgraded from attempted murder.

They will remain in jail until their next court appearance on May 20.

Police say Swinehart and Crespo assaulted the victim and left him unconscious in a kiddie pool in Manitou.
According toarrest documents, the man’s head “was partially submerged under water,” “his face was bloody,” and he was “unresponsive.”

The man was taken to the hospital, where he later died.

The crime scene in the 600 block of Manitou Avenue has been turned into a memorial this afternoon for the victim.

Friends wrote out cards to a man named “Jimmie Baker” but the coroner’s office has not identified the victim at this point, nor has the sheriff’s office.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is now the lead investigative agency, taking the case from the Manitou Springs Police Department.

This is the first murder investigation out of Manitou since 2013.