Worse than BTK and Ted Bundy - Colorado serial killer victim count rises even after his death

Vincent Groves, a serial killer who died in prison in 1996, is still being identified as the perpetrator in new cold cases from the 1970s and 80s due to advancements in DNA technology. Police recently confirmed his link to Rhonda Marie Fischer's 1987 murder, bringing his confirmed victim count to seven, with estimates suggesting it could exceed 20.

Groves died in prison nearly 30 years ago from terminal illnesses. Cold case detectives are still connecting him through advancements in DNA to the series of women he raped and murdered in the 1970s and 1980s. In October, Colorado investigators obtained a match between Groves and DNA preserved in a nearly 40-year-old homicide cold case, bringing police up to seven confirmed murders committed by Groves. (0:54, 3:08)

Vincent Groves is considered potentially the most prolific serial killer in Colorado history, with a suspected victim count that could be much higher than widely known figures like BTK (10 victims) or Ted Bundy (30 confessed, potentially more). The host notes Groves' crimes haven't received as much attention despite their potential scale.

The number is thought to be as high as 20 victims by the time Groves was 36 years old, although that number could actually be much much higher. For context, Dennis Rader (BTK) admitted to killing 10 people, and Ted Bundy confessed to murdering 30 women. (1:29, 1:46, 2:01)

Groves primarily targeted vulnerable women, including sex workers and female hitchhikers, often on Denver's Kfax Avenue. A notable pattern emerged where the series of strangulation murders in the Denver area appeared to stop during his five-year incarceration from 1982 to 1987, only to resume quickly after his parole.

Groves terrorized Denver for a decade when he preyed on vulnerable women, mostly sex workers. Police also knew him to target female hitchhikers. During the 5 years that Groves was incarcerated, the series of seemingly related Denver area strangulation murders, they appeared to stop. But now paroled, Groves was quickly back on the streets of Denver. It was just all of a month and a half later when Fischer disappeared. (2:33, 5:19, 5:30)

The ability to link Groves to cold cases decades later is a direct result of early police work that, in some instances, meticulously preserved evidence, even when DNA technology was nascent. This foresight, combined with the persistence of cold case detectives, allowed for matches to be made years later, sometimes even requiring obtaining DNA from Groves' relatives since he was already deceased.

In their infinite wisdom, some police thought, 'hey, we need to save some of this stuff because it might yield something down the road.' They had the DNA in some bags like in storage. They actually thought about exhuming him at one point, but they didn't need to. They were able to get his DNA, maybe from a relative. (16:13, 17:09)