In a bid to finally close a decades-old murder case, the Boulder Police Department and the FBI on Friday released new age-progression images of the man long suspected of killing a University of Colorado journalism student in 1983.
The images show what suspect Thayne Alan Smika may look like now at the age of 67, more than 40 years after he’s believed to have shot and killed his roommate, 22-year-old Sidney Lee Wells, a journalism student at CU Boulder who was dating the daughter of actor Robert Redford.
Wells was found dead of a gunshot wound in his Boulder apartment on Aug. 1, 1983.
It’s not the first time that authorities have attempted to reignite public awareness of the case. An earlier round of age-progression images were distributed in 2011, and last year, the FBI announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to Smika’s arrest after the case drew renewed attention in the wake of Redford’s death.
“It is never too late to hold a murder suspect accountable,” FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Amanda Koldjeski said in a statement. “The FBI is unwavering in our determination to deliver justice for victims’ families. We will work with Boulder police to pursue this fugitive until he is found and brought into custody to face the consequences of his actions.”
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Smika was 24 years old at the time of the murder and would now be 67. He was identified as a suspect initially, though he was not charged. Three years after the shooting, his car was found abandoned in California with stolen license plates, the FBI said.
Authorities issued warrants for his arrest in December 2010, and he was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
In a follow-up email, FBI spokeswoman Vikki Migoya said law enforcement had little information about Smika’s current whereabouts or status, which is why they released new images. Smika might have lived in Yelapa, Mexico, prior to 2007, though Migoya said the FBI does not know if he is still in Mexico.
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