Victim’s Families: We Felt Ignored

COLORADO SPRINGS – Because they refuse to forget, the organization “Families of Homicide Victims and Missing Persons” is asking for money to keep investigating.

By the organization’s count, there are 1,300 unresolved murders in the state of Colorado – and that’s just since 1970.

Thursday night, dozens of murdered victims’ families gathered for a forum of support and petitioning to stop killers from getting away with murder. Of those in attendance, many clutched photos of their lost loved ones, whose cases have gone cold.

That includes Cynthia Renkel.

Her sister, Mary Lynn Renkel-Vialpando – who was 24 at the time – was murdered in an alleyway in the 2600 block of Colorado Avenue. Vialpando was raped and stabbed June 5th, 1998.

“She was funny, she was determined, strong willed,” said Renkel. “Why they [case leads] are not being pursued is for lack of resources.”

The organization is advocating the $3 Million it takes to maintain the death penalty in the state each year be re-allocated to form a cold-case team operated through the Colorado Bureau of Investigations. Howard Morton, the organization’s president, says the average length of time a convict spends on death row is 12 years.

It’s through the organization that Renkel holds out hope.

“There’s an eyewitness to this case, there’s DNA. This person will be caught. I can’t forget. I think about my sister every single day.”

In Colorado Springs, there have been 86 unresolved homicides since 1970. El Paso County 8; Pueblo 24; Pueblo County 8; Teller County 3.

For more information on the “Families of Homicide Victims and Missing Persons,” click here.