Episode Transcript
Amanda: Hey there, all you true crime fans. Welcome back to Colorado Crime. If you're new here, we dig into the darkest stories, the unsolved mysteries, and the chilling truths from right here in Colorado. And this week we're diving into a case that stretches decades and spans across state lines. A case that only came together through an incredible blend of science and sheer detective persistence. I'm Amanda.
Kori: And I am Covid. Corey. Today's story revolves around a man who evaded justice for years, leaving behind a trail of lives shattered by his violence. Joe Michael Irvin's crimes were brutal, senseless, and seemed completely random. What's even more disturbing, you ask? He managed to escape accountability for decades, but thanks to the cutting edge science of genetic genealogy, law enforcement was finally able to uncover the truth behind his crimes long after he was gone.
Amanda: But before we jump into this week's case, I wanted to give you guys an update on the Delphi case. So on November 11, 2024, Richard Allen was found guilty of two counts of murder by a 12 person jury in Indiana. He's scheduled to be sentenced on December 20, 2024, and he faces up to 130 years in prison. While this is wonderful news for some, especially for the girl's family, there's been some discussion about the lack of evidence connecting Allen to the crimes. So the prosecution based its defense on an unspent bullet that was found near the crime scene. Ballistic experts claim that the bullet cycled through Allen's.22 caliber Glock handgun but was never actually fired. None of Allen's DNA was found at the crime scene or on the girls bodies. And the same for the girls DNA. None of their DNA was found at Allen's Delphi home which was located just about five miles from the crime scene. And early on after his arrest, there was a lot of talk about Odinism. And according to gotquestions.org Odinism is a pre Christian pagan polytheistic religion involving the worship of Norse and Germanic gods, especially Odin, who was the chief God. From what I was able to find nowadays, they're a heavily right wing group that's gained the attention and following of white supremacy groups as well as neo **** groups. So Allen's attorneys claim that Allen was not part of the religion, but he did provide them with several names of people in and around Delphi who were connected to it. The defense also claims that the girls bodies were staged in the woods. There were Odinism symbols found drawn on a tree using Libby's blood. And tree branches were placed on the girls bodies depicting other Odinic symbols. Police say they looked into Odinism as early as 2018, but found no basis. And the idea that Odinism was part of this horrific crime was abandoned. So let me be incredibly clear. I am not saying that this was done by someone or someone's connected to Odinism. What I am saying, though, is the case against Richard Allen as far as, like, what's been released to the public, and you have to remember that there is a gag order in place until after sentencing. It just feels very weak. I believe he will begin the appeal process very quickly and that this isn't the end of the case. If Richard Allen is the one who did this to these poor girls, I am so relieved and so happy that he was found guilty and punished for his crimes. But if that's not the case, there's still a killer or killers out there, killers who did horrible, awful, unimaginable things to these two teenage girls. And that's a really scary thought. So that is the update. I will update you guys after sentencing. But let's go ahead and get into today's case.
Kori: Irving's crimes, spanning from Texas to Colorado, are tragic reminders of how some killers can live in the shadows right in plain sight. It's a story that's as frustrating as it is terrifying. A man with a history of violence slipping through the cracks, only to escalate with each attack.
Amanda: So, like we said, this case revolves around genetic genealogy, which is, like, seriously so fascinating to me. So if you guys don't know what I'm talking about. Genetic genealogy uses DNA to identify biological relationships and trace ancestral lines. So think of like 23andMe or Ancestry. Basically, you submit a vial of saliva to these companies and they can trace your lineage and your family back hundreds of years. So I did one a few years ago because my biological dad was actually born in Germany, and so he didn't share much about his life before they immigrated here. Anyway, so I submitted my spit and I got back this whole panel of information, including extended family. And I wanted to know where my family came from, so I was totally okay with submitting my DNA. But there are people out there who don't want the government to have their DNA. And I will say the companies I mentioned are consumer only companies, and those aren't typically used by law enforcement. But anyway, this case hinges on genealogical DNA.
Kori: Okay, so before we get into the details of this case, a quick question for all of you listening. How do you feel about genetic genealogy? We've all seen it advertised, but would you ever submit your DNA to help law enforcement catch a killer, even if it meant your family connections might be exposed. How do you feel about it? I submitted mine because I wanted to know where I was from. I don't care.
Amanda: I don't care either. I think the government has enough information on me. Like you can have my DNA, right?
Kori: If it kept, if it, if it comes back and helps catch a killer, I don't really give a flying rat.
Amanda: That's what I think. But I mean, it is something to think about, right? For the families of Joe Michael Irvin's victims, genetic genealogy finally gave them answers after years and years of wandering and waiting. So with that, let's go back to the beginning of Irwin's story. A story that starts in Texas but would end in a Colorado jail cell taking with it secrets only DNA would eventually reveal.
Kori: Joe Michael Irvin was born on June 25, 1951 in Fort Worth, Texas and attended Kirkpatrick High School where he played football. He would go on to commit his first murder in Texas before he even reached the legal drinking age. Finding information about Joe, aside from those horrible crimes he committed was a little tricky. And really what is there to say about a man who killed six people?
Amanda: On August 9, 1969, Rodney Jean Bonham and his friend Larry Holt, who were both 21 years old, were sitting in their vehicle out front of the Barry Bull Bowling Alley in Fort Worth, Texas where they were approached by Joe Michael Irwin and an unidentified accomplice. Joe leaned into the driver side window and asked Rodney if they were waiting on friends or if they were planning on going inside. When Rodney said they were going inside, Joe shot him in the neck. Joe then began threatening to do the same to Larry Holt if he didn't comply. After a few minutes, when Larry felt that it was safe enough, he slammed the driver door, climbed over to the passenger side and ran inside the bowling alley to call for help.
Kori: Joe and his friend fled the scene. Rodney was taken to the nearby St Joseph's Hospital but succumbed to his injuries four days later. Initially, the police had no suspects and believed that the killing was completely random. On the same day police announced this on the news, Joe called Rodney's home and confessed to being sorry for killing their son. Detective Lv Le Fils, who was assigned to the case, spent several weeks interviewing people in unrelated cases until Joe Irvin was named as a suspect. He was eventually charged with the murder and a 650 reward was issued for his arrest.
Amanda: By the time he was named a suspect, Joe had fled to my home state. Of Colorado and settled in Denver. He changed his name from Joseph Michael Irvin to Joseph Michael Irwin. And surprisingly, that did work. So from 1970 to 1977, he was charged with several different crimes, Ranging from burglary to rape to sexually abusing children, as well as assault with a deadly weapon. Each time he faced the judge, though, he was found not guilty due to diminished responsibility. Basically, he wasn't mentally stable enough to be charged with the full extent of the crimes, but he also didn't meet the standard for him to be found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Kori: It's always interesting and honestly kind of terrifying when someone is deemed to be not guilty by diminished responsibility. It's like the system is acknowledging that this person is mentally unstable, but not insane enough to be held fully accountable. It leaves a lot of room for dangerous individuals to slip through the cracks. And as we're seeing with Joe Irvin or Joe Irwin or whatever his name is.
Amanda: Exactly. And he even served several different stints in Pueblo's state mental hospital, but was released. And it was announced much later on that at least two of Joe's releases were due to typographical errors pertaining to his name. That's shocking, right? And this is when Joe's real reign of terror began. A reign that went unconnected to him for far too long. On December 7, 1978, Joe knocked on the door of 33 year old Madeline Fury Lavoitis. She was a housewife and was home at the time with her two young daughters. When she had the misfortune of meeting Joe. She opened the door and. And Joe forced her into a bathroom where he repeatedly stabbed her and left her to die on the bathroom floor While her girls played in another area. From what I can tell, Joe didn't touch the children and just left. Madeline's body was discovered by her unsuspecting husband when he returned home from work. Joe struck again on August 10, 1980, when he attacked 53 year old Dolores Barajas while she was walking to her job in the cafeteria at the Fairmont Hotel. Dolores had actually just recently moved to Denver from El Paso, Texas. Jo stabbed her multiple times and left her in the middle of the road to die. There are some discrepancies in our source material regarding Dolores. Some reports say she was walking home from work, Some say she was walking to work. Some say that Joe actually dragged her body behind an apartment complex, and some say that Dolores was left in the middle of the road. Either way, what she endured was horrendous. But Joe wasn't done.
Kori: On December 21, 1980, around 10:45am Police began receiving calls of a woman laying in the middle of the street in a Mont Bellow neighborhood where my wife is from. Not far from Joe's own apartment. Gwendolyn Harris was stabbed so aggressively and so many times that she could not be identified on scene. Her identity would come after her autopsy. She was just 27 years old. On January 21, 1981, Joe attacked again. This time he killed 17 year old Antoinette Parks. She is the youngest known victim and it was discovered that she was also six months pregnant when she was found stabbed to death in a field in Adams County. It was until June 27, 1981 when Joe was stopped by 26 year old police officer Deborah Su Cor Aurora for a dui. As she attempted to arrest him, a fight broke out and Joe managed to gain control of Deborah's gun. He then shot and killed her. Joe then began shooting at 19 year old explorer Scout Glenn Spies who had been driving by, saw the scuffle and tried to help. Glenn was injured in the gun battle and Joe managed to leave. Joe went back to his apartment where he was tracked down by officers. When they arrived, Joe was actively trying to saw off the one handcuff that Deborah had placed on him. He was taken into custody and charged with Deborah's murder and the attempted murder of Glenn Spies.
Amanda: This is the part of the story where you hope it all connects and he's charged with every single one of his heinous crimes. But those charges wouldn't come for some 40 years. Instead, on July 1, 1981, Joe Michael Irvin hanged himself inside his jail cell as he awaited trial for the murder and attempted murder days prior. Deborah's murder case was closed. The Texas murder case was closed. Glenn's spies made a full recovery and life went on. The years ticked by and police were nowhere closer to finding who killed Madeline, Dolores, Gwendolyn or Antoinette. The cases weren't even connected until the late 2010s. Between 2013 and 2018, the women's cases were linked by DNA. In 2019, the Denver Police Crime Lab began investigating the cold cases. In the summer of 2021, police discovered a familial DNA match in Texas. That DNA led investigators right back to Joe Michael Irvin, who just happened to be buried in Arlington, Texas. Police submitted a warrant to have his remains exhumed and his DNA confirmed he and he alone were responsible for the murders of the four women.
Kori: After more than 40 years, the haunting and brutal crimes of Joe Michael Irvin were finally brought to light thanks to the power of genetic genealogy and the relentless dedication of law enforcement. For the families of Madeline Fury Lavois, Dolores Barajas, Gwendolyn Harris, Antoinette Parks, and Officer Deborah Corr, justice came slowly. Yet through this technology, their stories were not forgotten. And Irving's name was rightfully tied to each of these women he so tragically stole from the world. These cold cases are a reminder that progress, no matter how delayed, still brings hope. With the support of technological advancements and public databases, we are witnessing a new era in criminal justice, one where genealogy helps give voice to the voiceless and brings closure to those who have waited far too long.
Amanda: As we close this chapter, let's reflect on the families and friends affected by these crimes and on the officers and scientists who pursued the truth with unyielding dedication to those victims and their loved ones. We see you, we remember you, and we honor you. Thank you for joining us this week. If you're as fascinated by genetic genealogy as I am, let us know in the comments. And remember to tune in next week as we continue to uncover the stories and mysteries that haunt Colorado. Stay safe out there.
Kori: Okay all you podcastians have the day you deserve.
