Why was he loose in the first place?
Oh, well, it's really the guns that cause crime. The poor girl wouldn't have been shot if it wasn't for that evil gun.
BTW, this last crime was committed in Kansas.
Murderer back behind bars
8 years after release from Colo. prison, man accused of assaulting, shooting Kansas teen
By Sarah Huntley
Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer
The killer of two college students is behind bars again — nearly 21/2 decades after becoming the youngest inmate in the Colorado penitentiary at age 16.
But this time, his alleged victim is alive.
Authorities in Syracuse, Kan., have accused Craig Alan Davenport, who now uses the name Craig Alan Fischer, of gunning down a 16-year-old girl he was trying to rape on a public golf course last week.
Charity Maune, the top player on her high school golf team, was teeing off at the sixth hole at about 5:20 p.m. Friday when Davenport, 39, approached her and threw her to the ground, police say.
Holding her at gunpoint, Davenport tore Maune's shirt and bra and threatened to shoot her, according to court records filed Monday. Somehow, Maune managed to wriggle free. As she fled, Davenport fired his gun, hitting Maune four times, police said.
Maune, bleeding and terrified, ran more than a quarter mile until she found a golf course employee to help her. She was shot in the face, upper right arm and two places near her elbow. She was recovering Tuesday.
Davenport's arrest in Kansas came eight years after he was released from a Colorado prison for shooting two University of Northern Colorado students at a cabin near Tolland in Gilpin County.
Davenport, a Boulder County resident, was convicted in 1977 of two counts of second-degree murder for slaying freshman roommates Laura Almon and Leslie Elmer. The girls, both 18, were murdered in November 1976 while spending a weekend at Almon's family's cabin. Their bodies, one nude and one partially clothed, were found in South Boulder Creek.
Davenport, who had been staying with his family at a nearby cabin, did not testify, and prosecutors were never able to determine a motive for the crime.
He was sentenced to 30 to 35 years in prison but served about 15 years because of sentencing guidelines. That term included extra time imposed after Davenport was accused of choking a prison nurse and attempting to escape.
The sentence was considered far too lenient by Elmer's father, who sparked a statewide debate on juvenile justice when he unsuccessfully lobbied for a law that would change the execution age from 18 to 14.
Davenport was charged Monday as Craig Alan Fischer with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and attempted rape. If he is convicted of all counts, he faces more than 129 years in prison.
Community sentiment against Davenport is running high in Syracuse. On Monday, he appeared in court wearing a bulletproof vest. The court set bail at $1 million.
Jefferson County sheriff's Division Chief John Kiekbusch, who worked as an investigator for the district attorney's office during the 1976 case, had not heard about Davenport's arrest Wednesday.
But he said some of the allegations in Kansas are similar to those made in Colorado years ago.
During the 1977 trial, prosecutors argued that the teen killed the college students after surprising them as they slept. There was testimony, Kiekbusch said, that Davenport had been suspected of "creepy-crawling," or sneaking into a girl's room and leering at her as she slept. He was never charged.
Elmer was shot once in the head, but Almon, like Maune, was shot several times.
"There are some consistencies there," Kiekbusch said Wednesday. "It all seems to fit a pattern."
Davenport was released from prison in June 1992 and moved to Kansas, where he is married to a woman named Minnie Fischer, court records show.
In 1996, he was accused in Kansas of choking a friend's 9-year-old daughter and his 11-year-old stepdaughter until they blacked out. He was sentenced to two years after the parents of the 9-year-old girl, unaware of his murder convictions, agreed to let him plead to a reduced count of aggravated battery.
The Garden City (Kan.) Telegram contributed to this report.
Contact Sarah Huntley at (303) 892-5212 or huntleys@RockyMountainNews.com.
© Copyright, Denver Publishing Co.
[This message has been edited by Oatka (edited September 21, 2000).]
Oh, well, it's really the guns that cause crime. The poor girl wouldn't have been shot if it wasn't for that evil gun.
BTW, this last crime was committed in Kansas.
Murderer back behind bars
8 years after release from Colo. prison, man accused of assaulting, shooting Kansas teen
By Sarah Huntley
Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer
The killer of two college students is behind bars again — nearly 21/2 decades after becoming the youngest inmate in the Colorado penitentiary at age 16.
But this time, his alleged victim is alive.
Authorities in Syracuse, Kan., have accused Craig Alan Davenport, who now uses the name Craig Alan Fischer, of gunning down a 16-year-old girl he was trying to rape on a public golf course last week.
Charity Maune, the top player on her high school golf team, was teeing off at the sixth hole at about 5:20 p.m. Friday when Davenport, 39, approached her and threw her to the ground, police say.
Holding her at gunpoint, Davenport tore Maune's shirt and bra and threatened to shoot her, according to court records filed Monday. Somehow, Maune managed to wriggle free. As she fled, Davenport fired his gun, hitting Maune four times, police said.
Maune, bleeding and terrified, ran more than a quarter mile until she found a golf course employee to help her. She was shot in the face, upper right arm and two places near her elbow. She was recovering Tuesday.
Davenport's arrest in Kansas came eight years after he was released from a Colorado prison for shooting two University of Northern Colorado students at a cabin near Tolland in Gilpin County.
Davenport, a Boulder County resident, was convicted in 1977 of two counts of second-degree murder for slaying freshman roommates Laura Almon and Leslie Elmer. The girls, both 18, were murdered in November 1976 while spending a weekend at Almon's family's cabin. Their bodies, one nude and one partially clothed, were found in South Boulder Creek.
Davenport, who had been staying with his family at a nearby cabin, did not testify, and prosecutors were never able to determine a motive for the crime.
He was sentenced to 30 to 35 years in prison but served about 15 years because of sentencing guidelines. That term included extra time imposed after Davenport was accused of choking a prison nurse and attempting to escape.
The sentence was considered far too lenient by Elmer's father, who sparked a statewide debate on juvenile justice when he unsuccessfully lobbied for a law that would change the execution age from 18 to 14.
Davenport was charged Monday as Craig Alan Fischer with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and attempted rape. If he is convicted of all counts, he faces more than 129 years in prison.
Community sentiment against Davenport is running high in Syracuse. On Monday, he appeared in court wearing a bulletproof vest. The court set bail at $1 million.
Jefferson County sheriff's Division Chief John Kiekbusch, who worked as an investigator for the district attorney's office during the 1976 case, had not heard about Davenport's arrest Wednesday.
But he said some of the allegations in Kansas are similar to those made in Colorado years ago.
During the 1977 trial, prosecutors argued that the teen killed the college students after surprising them as they slept. There was testimony, Kiekbusch said, that Davenport had been suspected of "creepy-crawling," or sneaking into a girl's room and leering at her as she slept. He was never charged.
Elmer was shot once in the head, but Almon, like Maune, was shot several times.
"There are some consistencies there," Kiekbusch said Wednesday. "It all seems to fit a pattern."
Davenport was released from prison in June 1992 and moved to Kansas, where he is married to a woman named Minnie Fischer, court records show.
In 1996, he was accused in Kansas of choking a friend's 9-year-old daughter and his 11-year-old stepdaughter until they blacked out. He was sentenced to two years after the parents of the 9-year-old girl, unaware of his murder convictions, agreed to let him plead to a reduced count of aggravated battery.
The Garden City (Kan.) Telegram contributed to this report.
Contact Sarah Huntley at (303) 892-5212 or huntleys@RockyMountainNews.com.
© Copyright, Denver Publishing Co.
[This message has been edited by Oatka (edited September 21, 2000).]
). The guberment has effectively created unarmed (with either gun, pepper spray, taser, etc..) young population. Heck, why do you think more rapist and murderers are targetting younger people.. cause they KNOW they won't (because they were TAUGHT to be a victems) and can't (see above) fight back. Should I arm my six year old daughter or son (if I had one).. no, but I would be there and well armed to protect them. Should I arm my 16 year old son/daughter (if I had one)... damn skippy! A taser works well (such I can't give em the .38) but I would prefer the .38.