The bodies of Stewart Simmons and Margaret Walden were found in the fall of 1982 on the banks of the San Juan River, right where Colorado meets New Mexico. For years they went unidentified and were even buried without names to mark their graves. When a Colorado detective decided to find out who they were, he would go on to find out even more … uncovering their names, their stories and the likely truth behind their murders, decades after they were killed.
Courtesy of Colorado Bureau of Investigations
Courtesy of Colorado Bureau of Investigations
Episode Info
If you or someone you know has information about the murders of Stewart Simmons and Margaret Walden, please contact the Archuleta County, Colorado Sheriff’s Department at 970-264-8430.
Margaret Walden and Stewart Eric Simmons were included in a Colorado unsolved playing card deck. When the deck was issued, Walden had not yet been identified through DNA so she appears as Jane Doe. Their photo reconstructions were used in absence of actual photos of the victims. Photo Courtesy: Colorado Bureau of Investigations
Margaret Walden and Stewart Eric Simmons were included in a Colorado unsolved playing card deck. When the deck was issued, Walden had not yet been identified through DNA so she appears as Jane Doe. Their photo reconstructions were used in absence of actual photos of the victims. Photo Courtesy: Colorado Bureau of Investigations
Margaret Walden. Photo Courtesy: Archuleta County Sheriff's Office
Stewart Eric Simmons. Photo Courtesy: Archuleta County Sheriff's Office
U.S. Navy portrait of Stewart Simmons. Photo Courtesy: Joanne Simmons
Stewart and his parents in 1979. Photo Courtesy: Joanne Simmons
Police respond to the San Juan River near Pagosa Springs, Colorado after a body is found. A few weeks later, another body was discovered nearby. Photo Courtesy: Detective George Barter, Archuleta County Sheriff's Office
Detectives salvaged the shirt and shoes from one of the bodies, hoping they would help lead to its identification. Photo Courtesy: Detective George Barter, Archuleta County Sheriff's Office
Detectives salvaged the shirt and shoes from one of the bodies, hoping they would help lead to its identification. Photo Courtesy: Detective George Barter, Archuleta County Sheriff's Office
Trying to identify Simmons and Walden meant two separate exhumations and new DNA testing. Photo Courtesy: Detective George Barter, Archuleta County Sheriff's Office
Photo reconstructions of Walden and Simmons were released in an effort to identify them. Photo Courtesy: Detective George Barter, Archuleta County Sheriff's Office
Photo reconstructions of Walden and Simmons were released in an effort to identify them. Photo Courtesy: Detective George Barter, Archuleta County Sheriff's Office
Investigators dig up an old car near the likely murder scene. Photo Courtesy: Detective George Barter, Archuleta County Sheriff's Office
It took several court orders and four different digs to find Margaret Walden’s remains, because she was buried in an unmarked grave in New Mexico as a Jane Doe decades before. Photo Courtesy: Detective George Barter, Archuleta County Sheriff's Office
The bus, which investigators believe is where Simmons and Walden were murdered in August of 1982, still sits on some land near Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Photo Courtesy: Detective George Barter, Archuleta County Sheriff's Office
Investigators found blood and other evidence in the bus years after the murders and sent it off for DNA testing. Photo Courtesy: Detective George Barter, Archuleta County Sheriff's Office
Mugshot of Antoinette Palmer aka Tina Madrid. Charges against the defendants were later dismissed. Photo Courtesy: The Albuquerque Journal
Mugshot of Martin Martinez. Charges against the defendants were later dismissed. Photo Courtesy: The Albuquerque Journal
Stewart’s loved ones at his eternal reef memorial. Photo Courtesy: Simmons Family
A close-up of Stewart’s burial plaque from his eternal reef. Photo Courtesy: Joanne Simmons
Joanne Simmons looks over her son’s final resting place in Pensacola Bay. Photo Courtesy: Joanne Simmons
Stewart poses with his sisters Pam and Marjie. Photo Courtesy: Joanne Simmons
Episode Source Material
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The Pagosa Springs Sun: Victim of 1982 homicide identified, by staff writers
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The Pagosa Springs Sun: Second victim in 1982 double homicide identified, by staff
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The Denver Post: Archuleta County detective reopens 1982 murders, by the Associated Press
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The Albuquerque Journal: Colorado detective tries to break ‘80s cold case, by Vic Vela
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The Albuquerque Journal: 33-year-old cold case finally leads to two arrests, by Nicole Perez