At the Timber Tavern, a businessman shook his head and murmured, "What a shame! Things like this are terrible for our town."

At the university, talk about the murder ran a poor second to discussion of plans for the spring vacation, starting after Friday's classes.

INTEREST DULLED
Repetition perhaps had dulled interest. But the death of the beaten girl found Thursday had the touch of the fantastic that characterized previous killings.

Most notorious was the case of Theresa Catherine Foster, CU coed who was raped, bludgeoned and strangled in November, 1948.

Dozens of volunteers helped in the search for her body, and the subsequent hunt for clues. Boulder intimately was involved in that murder, and nothing else was talked about for days.

Joe Sam Walker is serving 80 years to life in Canon City for her murder.

BEATEN TO DEATH
Seven months later, Ray Spore, a sophomore, was beaten to death defending his date from attack. His killer is still at large.

His death caused less stir in Boulder. There were fewer volunteers, less talking. The case was allowed to slip into oblivion.

Two subsequent killings which took place farther from the town carried the mark of the bizarre.

In April 1950, John Rice of Rollinsville was arrested after his wife of a few months disappeared.

He tried to commit suicide in jail by cutting his throat. Then he said he had killed his wife and thrown her body into the Rio Grande near Albuquerque.

After the river had been searched unsuccessfully, he told the truth. He led officers to an abandoned mine near Boulder where he had thrown her body after shooting her in the head. Rice is serving 50 years to life in the penitentiary for that crime.

DENVER BOY SLAIN
The latest county tragedy before the discovery of the girl's body Thursday took place last February.

Howard McCoy, a 13 year old Denver boy, was shot in the head and killed by Frank Graves, an 80 year old watchman of a mine. The boy was on an outing with his Boy Scout Troop.

Graves said he fired his rifle to scare the boys away. He was found insane, and committed to the State Hospital at Pueblo.