Searching for answers five years after slayings

Shootings at a Littleton bowling alley leave three families hurting, police puzzled

Marilyn Robinson, Special to the News

Published January 29, 2007 at midnight

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J.D. and Devin Springer were still in diapers when a killer robbed them of their father in a burst of gunfire at a Littleton bowling alley.

Five years later, their mom - a 25-year-old widow - is determined to keep her husband's memory alive.

Each winter, on the anniversary of the slaying, Jenni Springer sits down with the boys, now 6 1/2 and 5, and their crayons. She has them draw pictures, which she sends to Jim Springer's family in Utah to post on his grave.

"The boys know - they've always known what happened," Jenni Springer said. "I've never hidden anything from them."

Three lives lost

Jim Springer, 29, was one of three to die that night.

He was killed Jan. 27, 2002, along with co-worker Erin Golla, 26, and expert bowler Robert Zajac, 23. The three were gunned down late in the evening in the office at AMF Broadway Lanes, 5485 S. Broadway.

The case remains unsolved.

All three worked for AMF - Springer and Golla at Broadway Lanes and Zajac at an AMF bowling alley in Highlands Ranch.

Springer and Golla were closing the bowling alley after seeing most of the customers head for home. Zajac, who spent a lot of time at the bowling alley on Broadway, was waiting for a ride.

The bodies were discovered when a friend of Golla's came to pick her up.

The friend parked by the door and heard noises. She waited a few minutes and saw a man come out of the bowling alley, get into a dark pickup truck and drive off.

Golla's friend then walked into the bowling alley, calling Erin's name. There was no answer.

As she rounded the counter, she saw her friend, dead, in the office. Another body was nearby. She called 911. Officers found the third body.

The bowling alley's safe, damaged during a burglary attempt the week before, was open and money was missing.

Police have checked out hundreds of leads, said Littleton police Detective Russ Hoffman.

"We received a lot of tips," said Hoffman. "Some people we were told were responsible were in jail, so obviously they were not responsible. Some we checked out and they had good alibis."

Twice, the bowling alley killings were featured on America's Most Wanted TV show.

Trail runs cold

But these days there aren't many tips.

"We have not had any for a while, maybe six months," said Hoffman.

Detectives reviewed the case with some veteran officers this month to get "some fresh eyes," Hoffman said.

Police know the type of weapon and have some DNA evidence, Hoffman said.

For Hoffman and his partner, Detective Daphne Baca, the murders are never far from their thoughts.

"We think about the case all the time," Hoffman said.

He's convinced there's an answer somewhere.

"Somebody knows something," he said. "They're just not telling us."

For the families, there's sadness and frustration.

"It's been a tough time," said Ron Golla, Erin Golla's father.

He remains hopeful the case will be solved.

"I kind of have my doubts that it will be in my lifetime," he said. "But I have my hopes."

Erin Golla had worked at the bowling alley only a short time.

Her two daughters, Chelsea, 11, and Courtney, 7, went to live with their father in Montrose after she was killed. Golla sees them occasionally. He hoped to visit his daughter's grave at Chapel Hill on Saturday, but the snow prevented him from going.

The weather also stood in the way of the Zajac family's tradition. Every Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthday and on the anniversary of his death, Zajac's family visits his grave at Littleton Cemetery.

Roy Zajac, Robert's father, is discouraged that the killer hasn't been caught.

"If I knew who did it, I would look for them myself," he said.

'A safe place'

Springer, a manager, had moved from Utah to Littleton to work at the bowling alley only seven weeks earlier.

"He wanted to own his own bowling alley," said his mother, Sharon Springer.

AMF offered him jobs in New York City and in Salt Lake City, but he was concerned about safety in New York after the 9/11 bombings and in Salt Lake City because of the Olympics.

He picked Littleton, his mother said, because "it sounded like it would be in a safe place."

Springer's parents and sister live in Las Alamos, N.M.

His mother has many questions and frankly begs for answers.

"What was the price for three lives?" she asks the killer. "Whatever you purchased with that money, do you still own it? What was it that cost my son his life?"By Marilyn Robinson, Special To The News

Triple murder case still a mystery

Five years later, Littleton police are still looking for the killer of three people at AMF Broadway Lanes, 5485 S. Broadway. The murders happened Jan. 27, 2002, at closing time. Investigators have a few clues:

• Police sketch 1 A friend who had come to pick up one of the victims saw this man come out of the bowling alley minutes before she discovered the bodies. The man climbed into a dark pickup truck and sped away.

• Police sketch 2 Witnesses saw this man talking to the victims before the business closed for the night.

• Left at the scene Two jackets, along with harmonicas and a tube of Neosporin, were found at the crime scene.

• Information Call Detective Russ Hoffman at 303-795-3896 if you were at the bowling alley and haven't been contacted, or thought of new information.

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