Timeline of the Masters case
Rocky Mountain News
Published January 18, 2008 at 9:06 p.m.
Case file
The crime: Peggy Hettrick, above, is murdered Feb. 11, 1987.
The suspect: Tim Masters, 15, who lived next to the field where Hettrick’s body was found.
The delay: Police interrogate Masters for hours but do not believe they have enough evidence to arrest him.
The near arrest: Fort Collins police travel to Philadelphia in 1992 to arrest Masters, but after questioning him realize there are problems with the case.
The break: A forensic psychologist brought into the case in the mid-1990s examines scores of drawings and writings produced by Masters and concludes he killed Hettrick.
The trial: Police arrest Masters in 1998. A jury convicts him in 1999.
The appeals: Colorado Court of Appeals and the Colorado Supreme Court uphold Masters’ conviction.
The problems: Investigators have no DNA, fingerprints, fibers or other physical evidence linking Masters to Hettrick’s death. The murder weapon was never found.
The proceedings: Masters’ attorneys allege that investigators ignored an alternative suspect and withheld information that would have helped prove his innocence.
The tests: Both the defense and prosecutors have recently complete tests showing DNA on Hettrick’s clothing that not match Masters.
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