DENVER (KDVR) — As tributes and memories of Hollywood legend, actor and director Robert Redford pour in, one tragic Colorado link has never been resolved.
Redford, 89, passed away surrounded by loved ones on Tuesday at his home at Sundance in Utah. The famous actor was once a student at the University of Colorado Boulder with a baseball scholarship, although he lost the scholarship and was kicked out of school. Later, he was given an honorary degree.
His children, Jamie and Shauna, both attended CU, and while attending in 1983, Shauna was dating 22-year-old CU senior Sid Wells. He had a bright future ahead of him, but police say a temporary roommate moved in with him and murdered him.
The murder happened 42 years ago in August 1983 at the Spanish Towers condos on 29th Street in Boulder. Wells’ brother reportedly found him shot in the head.
Police arrested the roommate, Thayne Smika, two months later, but the Boulder District Attorney at the time felt there was not enough evidence to convict Smika.
Redford attended his daughter’s boyfriend’s funeral in Longmont, stopping his production of “The Natural” to be there for his daughter. Redford told FOX News in 1997 that the cold case is “like a partially opened door with a very dark room behind it.”
FOX31 interviewed Wells’ mother in 2013.
“Somebody knows something about every case, and about Sid’s as well,” Wells’ mother said at the time.
The FBI has released an age-progressed photo of Smika showing what he may have looked like in his 50s, along with changes to his identity, such as shaving his beard and wearing glasses.
Smika’s car was found abandoned in Beverly Hills in 1986, and he’s not been seen since. The FBI says Smika may have lived in Mexico for years leading up to 2007, and may be residing in California.
The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest or conviction in the case.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
