On May 17, 1986 around 1 am Sonja Rilea, owner of the Grand View Lounge, went home and to sleep. A few minutes later she was awakened by a police call that the lounge was on fire.
Police who are called to the scene discover there were 4 victims to this massacre:
- Deborah Green, the bartender, who was a mother of 2 kids.
- Joanne McNamara, Sonja’s best friend and regular customer.
- James Ruepke, Joanne’s very sweet boyfriend.
- Robert Kuretich, who was shot in the head but survived, ran out of the bar when the killer chased Deborah and Joanne into the bathroom.
All four victims were shot in the head and shot multiple times. He then set the place on fire, but firemen were called to the scene quickly, so there was still evidence on site. There are 20 casings on the floor, all .22 caliber.
James appears to have been the first one shot and was shot three times in the head from behind. He was dead before he hit the floor. Deborah and Joanne ran into the bathroom and tried blocking the door. The killer kicked it in and shot them. Meanwhile, Robert, who was probably shot immediately after James, gets up and stumbles out of the lounge for help.
Joe Kenda Tip #3: Concealment fires are set to cover up crimes and dispose of evidence that would lead to the killer. Look closely.
Twenty yards away is the Kwik Way convenience store. Police quickly discover there are two dead young women inside the Kwik Way. So the killer, after setting the fire at the lounge, went immediately to the Kwik Way.
The two victims are identified as:
- Sandra Howard, 22 year old employee
- Elaine Sandeldecker, her teenage sister who came by to keep her company
Police again find .22 caliber casings on the floor and 3 shots to each of the girls’ heads.
Both the lounge and the convenience store are missing money. A total of $233 was stolen, $46 per person killed. It’s shocking.
The city of Colorado Springs installed cameras in several city businesses to thwart robberies. The way the cameras work is that there is a fake bill in the cash drawer. Once it is pulled, it triggers the hidden cameras to take a photo every three seconds. The camera is hidden right in front of the cash register somewhere, so it should take a photo of the person robbing the drawer. So Lt Joe Kenda calls the officer in charge of those cameras. They are lucky to find a good shot of the killer holding a Ruger Mark 1 .22 caliber pistol in his hand.
Police ask Kay Hazlett, a waitress at Grand View Lounge who got off just before the shooting if she recognizes the man. She does. He sat at the end of the bar and was watching everyone all night. He had severe facial tics.
Joe Kenda Tip #7: Robbers don’t drive to the places they rob. They limit their exposure to people so they are unlikely to be identified or caught. They walk to their crimes and usually live within one mile of the crimes.
Lt Kenda draws a one mile radius around the lounge and Kwik Way. Police go door to door canvassing the area. At a local pizza shop, they find a delivery driver who recognizes the killer. He is 29 year old plumber Gilbert Archebeque who lives in the Berkshire Apartments. SWAT enters the building, evacuates residents, and then outside they call Gil’s apartment. A woman answers which means he now has a hostage. But police speak with him anyway and tell him to surrender. He hangs up and there is a gunshot and screaming. When SWAT enters they discover a half naked woman screaming but uninjured and Archebeque dead in the tub from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Bibliography
Homicide Hunter, Season 2, Episode 3: Last Call for Murder, air date: Oct 15, 2012.
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