The murder of Rhonda Marie Fisher
Sedalia, Douglas County County, Colorado · 1987
Overview
Rhonda Marie Fisher, a 30-year-old woman from the Denver area, was last seen on the night of March 31, 1987, walking north on Monaco toward Leetsdale in Denver. The next morning, April 1, 1987, a passing motorist found her body down an embankment in the 3500 block of South Perry Park Road, south of Sedalia in rural Douglas County, Colorado. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled, and one of her hands appeared to have been restrained. The case went cold for nearly four decades. In late October 2025, a CODIS match tied DNA preserved from paper bags placed over Fisher's hands at the scene to Vincent Darrell Groves, regarded as one of Colorado's most prolific serial killers. Groves had died in custody in 1996. On December 2, 2025, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office announced the case solved.
How it was solved
When Fisher's body was processed in 1987, investigators followed standard practice and placed paper bags over both of her hands to preserve any trace evidence, then sealed and stored the items. The case was investigated at the time but never charged, and it went cold. Earlier DNA work in 2017 produced only minimal results, with insufficient male DNA to develop a usable profile. In early 2025 the Douglas County Sheriff's Office Cold Case Unit reopened the file and resubmitted additional evidence for testing. Forensic analysts were able to recover a viable DNA profile from the paper bag that had covered Fisher's right hand and entered it into the FBI's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). In late October 2025 the system returned a match: the profile linked Fisher's murder, through CODIS, to biological evidence from three 1979 Denver homicides attributed to Vincent Darrell Groves, a convicted killer whose profile was in the database. Groves, who died in a Colorado Department of Corrections prison hospital in 1996, was identified as the man responsible for Fisher's death. Because he was already deceased, he could not be prosecuted, but the Sheriff's Office formally announced the case solved on December 2, 2025.
Sources
- Nearly Four Decades Later, the 1987 Murder of Rhonda Marie Fisher Has Been Solved
“Rhonda Fisher was a mother, daughter, sister, and friend. While Vincent Groves cannot be held accountable in a court of law, we hope this long-awaited resolution brings answers and a measure of peace to Rhonda Fisher's family and friends.”
- Cold case solved after DNA from paper bags on victim's hands identifies serial killer
“DNA recovered from the paper bag covering the victim's right hand produced a CODIS match to Vincent Darrell Groves.”
- Sheriff's office: 1987 cold case murder solved, linked to one of Colorado's most prolific serial killers
“The CODIS registered a case-to-case match between DNA recovered from paper bags placed over Fisher's hands and evidence from three homicides committed in 1979 by Vincent Darrell Groves.”
- DNA solves 1987 murder of Colorado woman, linking case to serial killer
“The cold case was reopened in early 2025 and a DNA match was received in late October 2025, linking the case to Vincent Darrell Groves, regarded as one of Colorado's most prolific serial killers.”
- Vincent Groves
“Vincent Darrell Groves (April 19, 1954 - October 31, 1996) was an American serial killer who murdered at least seven girls and women in Denver, Colorado, between 1978 and 1988. In 2025, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office announced that Groves was responsible for the 1987 murder of 30-year-old Rhonda Fisher.”
- Authorities link 1987 cold case murder to one of the most prolific serial killers
“Authorities say DNA recovered from paper bags placed over the victim's hands matched evidence from three 1979 homicides committed by Vincent Darrell Groves.”
- Chasing a Ghost
“In 1982, Groves was convicted of second-degree murder in Woodrum's death. He served five years before mandatory parole in 1987. Groves was convicted in both cases in 1990 and sentenced to life. He died October 31, 1996, at age 42 from hepatitis C complications.”