A Denver jury convicted a man of second-degree murder this week in the 2020 killing of Denver guitarist Zackary Smith.
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Smith was found dead in a rolled-over car in an alley near Quince Street and East 17th Avenue in the East Colfax neighborhood. He had been shot in the head.
For three years, the case went unsolved. Then in 2023, following a “community tip,” Lakewood Police arrested Patrick Apostol, who was 45 at the time, and he was charged in the homicide.
Officers had interviewed Apostol, who lived in the area of the crash, on the day of the incident. Later, the black robe he was wearing during that conversation tested positive for gunshot residue.
Investigators later uncovered that Smith, who was 31 at the time, had been in a relationship with Apostol’s then-girlfriend, according to an article from Westword magazine.
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“(Smith’s) murder on a September night over five years ago was a terrible tragedy, for everyone who knew him and loved him both in Denver and beyond. It was a night when the music died,” said Denver District Attorney John Walsh in a video statement.
Apostol is the half-brother of Grammy-award-winning bluegrass performer Billy Strings, whose legal name is William Lee Apostol. After a Westword article made that connection public, Strings commented on a Facebook post of the article, saying he didn’t have much of a relationship with the man.
“He is my half-brother, much older. I met him when I was like 12 years old, and I went to Florida to meet my dad’s side of the family. We didn’t grow up together. I’ve probably seen him 50 times in my entire life,” he wrote.
Apostol had reportedly used his connection to Strings as part of his defense, according to the Westword article.
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Apostol will be sentenced Sept. 14.
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