Peggy Hettrick Cold Case Breakthrough: Bombshell Evidence Revives Infamous Colorado Murder Mystery

The 1987 murder of Peggy Hettrick in Fort Collins, Colorado, is back in the national spotlight this week after true-crime juggernaut Crime Junkie released a two-part podcast episode examining the long-unsolved case. The fresh coverage has reignited public interest, sparking new calls for anyone with information to come forward and prompting renewed scrutiny of the original investigation that famously led to the wrongful conviction—and 2008 exoneration—of Tim Masters. Cold-Case Surge Fueled by True-Crime Media Sportskeeda reports that Crime Junkie’s multipart deep dive went live on May 26, 2025, instantly pushing the Hettrick case into social-media trending charts as listeners dissected forensic missteps and investigative blind spots. With an audience topping 20 million monthly downloads, the show routinely drives major audience spikes to the cases it profiles. Comment threads on Reddit’s r/TrueCrime and TikTok crime communities now feature thousands of new posts debating suspects, timeline details and the potential for advanced DNA testing. Decades-Old Evidence, Twenty-First-Century Tools Although the original crime-scene evidence is nearly four decades old, forensic technology has advanced dramatically since 1987. Investigators confirmed to Denver’s KDVR that biological samples preserved from Hettrick’s clothing could qualify for modern genetic-genealogy analysis, the cutting-edge technique that cracked the Golden State Killer and hundreds of other cold cases. Former lead detective Jim Broderick—whose work was criticized in later legal reviews—told 9NEWS he remains “hopeful” that new DNA tools will finally identify Peggy’s killer but added that chain-of-custody gaps may complicate retesting. Tim Masters’ Wrongful Conviction Re-examined The renewed focus also revives lingering questions about the prosecution of Tim Masters, who was 15 at the time of Hettrick’s death and lived near the vacant lot where her body was found. Masters spent nearly a decade in prison before DNA evidence excluded him and exposed withheld defense material, leading to a $10 million civil settlement with Larimer County. Legal analysts note that the case remains a cautionary tale about tunnel vision and forensic bias, themes Crime Junkie’s hosts highlight extensively. Community Vigil and Tip-Line Activity Fort Collins residents are planning a candlelight vigil at Sheldon Lake—the site of several earlier memorials—to honor Hettrick’s life and keep pressure on authorities. According to the Fort Collins Police Services public-information office, the department’s cold-case tip line logged “an unusually high volume” of calls in the 48 hours after the podcast release. Detectives are triaging the influx for credible leads. What Happens Next • DNA Retesting: The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is reviewing whether remaining samples meet standards for genetic-genealogy databases. • Case File Digitization: Larimer County officials aim to digitize 30,000 pages of reports to streamline public-record requests and modern forensic review. • Podcast Impact Study: Colorado State University criminologists are launching a study on how true-crime media influences cold-case solvability, using the Hettrick case as a primary data set. Why the Story Resonates Peggy Hettrick’s murder intersects top-of-mind issues such as wrongful convictions, advances in forensic science and the power of crowd-sourced sleuthing. As the podcast episode climbs the Apple and Spotify charts, SEO traffic for key phrases like “Peggy Hettrick murder,” “Fort Collins cold case” and “Tim Masters exoneration” has surged, signaling sustained public fascination. Whether that attention will finally yield the breakthrough investigators have chased since 1987 remains the question—but for the first time in years, optimism feels warranted in Fort Collins.