A Colorado man has been convicted of first-degree murder and other charges in the cold case slayings of two women whose bodies were found near the mountain resort town of Breckenridge, Colorado, in 1982.
Alan Lee Phillips, 71, was convicted by a jury Thursday after a two-and-a-half-week trial. Jurors deliberated for five hours, according to reports.
Phillips was arrested last year in the mountain hamlet of Dumont, west of Denver, after local, state and federal authorities using DNA evidence identified him as a suspect in the killings of Annette Schnee, 21, and Barbara “Bobbi Jo” Oberholtzer, 29.
“Bobbi Jo was a fighter and is a hero. She fought back and because of that, we were able to get DNA evidence to convict Annette and Bobbi Jo’s killer after all this time,” said 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley reported stated in a news release.
Phillips was convicted of eight counts, including first-degree murder after deliberation and first-degree murder involving felony kidnapping and robbery, Rob McCallum, a spokesman for the Colorado Judicial Department, said.
Authorities said the two women, whose bodies were found in separate locations, had no connection to each other. Both were believed to be hitchhiking outside Breckenridge, a ski resort town about 60 miles southwest of Denver, when they disappeared on Jan. 6, 1982.
2 SMALL PLANES COLLIDE MIDAIR IN COLORADO, 3 KILLED
Investigators said Phillips was rescued from the top of Guanella Pass after his truck got stuck during a snowstorm the same night the two women disappeared, KUSA reported.
Oberholtzer’s body was found a day later about 10 miles from Breckenridge on the summit of Hoosier Pass, which stands at more than 11,000 feet elevation. She died of a single gunshot wound to the chest.
Schnee’s body was found six months later on July 3, 1982, in rural Park County, Colo., about 20 miles south of Breckenridge. She was fully clothed and lying face down in a stream. She died of a single gunshot wound to the back.
Phillips faces life in prison when he is sentenced at a hearing set for Nov. 7.
Local, state and federal authorities used DNA testing to help identify Phillips as a potential suspect. A miner and automobile mechanic, Phillips had lived in the area over the past four decades.
Fox News’ Stephen Sorace and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
