Ep 15. Killer on Campus/The Bow Hunter
- January 1, 1970
- 44 min
In episode 15 of season 5 of Cold Case Files Classic titled "Killer on Campus/The Bow Hunter," the focus is on two separate cases. The first case takes place on a university campus in Denton, Texas, where a female student named Laura Welch is found brutally murdered in her dorm room.
The investigation starts off with few leads, but eventually, detectives discover that the victim's roommate, Christine Smith, may have information about the killer. Christine tells detectives that she heard what sounded like a struggle coming from Laura's room in the middle of the night. After the noise stopped, Christine fell back asleep, not realizing the severity of the situation.
The investigation leads detectives to a man named James McWhorter, who was previously arrested for assaulting a woman in the same dormitory the year before. McWhorter had followed Laura home from a party and attacked her, leaving her beaten and strangled. In 1997, McWhorter was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Laura Welch.
The second case involves the death of a Bow Hunter in Colorado. In 1985, the body of Tom Rayburn was found in the mountains near Aspen. Tom had been shot while hunting and left to die. The case went cold for years until a witness came forward in 1998 claiming he had overheard a conversation between two men discussing Tom's murder.
After a thorough investigation, detectives discovered that the two men were Greg Smith and Richard Merritt. Greg was the one who had fired the fatal shot, and Richard was the one who had recruited him to help steal Tom's car and kill him. The two men were arrested and charged in 1999, and Greg was sentenced to life in prison. Richard was given a plea deal in exchange for his testimony against Greg and was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
"Killer on Campus/The Bow Hunter" showcases the tireless work of detectives who never give up on solving a case, no matter how much time has passed. With new evidence and witness testimony, they are able to bring justice to victims and their families.