Hi, Crime Junkies. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers, and I'm Britt.

And the story I have for you today is one of the most terrifying kinds of crime

junkies stories, because it reminds us all that we're all vulnerable, that no

matter who we are, where we are, evil can still come knocking at our door,

or come sneaking through the garage. This is the story of the Denver Hammer

Killer.

January 10, 1984, was cold in Aurora, Colorado, even colder if you're

lingering outside at a bus station waiting for your ride. And that's exactly what

Sherry Lutton was doing. She had just taken the bus back from work that evening,

and she was waiting for her mom Patricia to come pick her up. According to

reporting by Kirk Mitchell in the Denver Post, this was their routine. Every

weekday, since Sherry and her two kids moved to Aurora to live with Patricia

after Sherry's divorce. Sherry kept staring down the road waiting for her mom to

pull up so they could go pick up the kids. Where was she? She tried calling her

mom at home, but no luck. Which to Sherry meant she had to be coming to get her,

yet she never showed. When Sherry could wait no more, she called her

cousin to come get her, and together they rushed to pick up Little Amber and Joe

who were six and four. By the time they pulled up to the complex of townhouses

where they lived, it was dark. And that prickle that had started low in Sherry's

spine trickled up her back because what she saw was all wrong. Kevin Vaughn

for nine news reported on their podcast Blaine that the detached garage door

was open and there was Patricia's car. Also, there was what looked like a TV

...