ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — Metro Denver Crime Stoppers on Sunday announced an increase in the reward to $30,000 for information leading to an arrest in 1970 murder of 15-year-old Marilee Burt.
“The substantial increase to the reward hopefully allows us to collect more information to bring the suspect(s) in the Marilee Burt homicide to justice.” said Arapahoe County Sheriff Tyler Brown in a news release. “We continue the complex work required to follow up on leads in this case for Marilee and her family. The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office is grateful for the commitment from community members to assist in bringing justice for victims of crime and victim’s families.”
> The video above aired in 2017 was about Marilee Burt's murder, as part of the 9NEWS Unsolved Series.
Marilee was last seen walking home from Goddard Junior High School toward her home in the Columbine Valley area on Feb. 26, 1970. It was after a basketball game at Goddard, and she was still in her green cheerleading uniform.
Several witnesses saw Marilee walking a route that included Berry Drive, Bowles Avenue and Middlefield Road. She never made it home.
The next day, road workers found her body in Deer Creek Canyon. She had been stripped of her clothing and was strangled, according to a release from Metro Denver Crime Stoppers.
Her older brother. Ramone, was able to offer police a vague description of a man that Marilee stopped to talk to. He described the man as a 30 to 40 years old and white, with dark brown hair with a receding hairline and long square sideburns.
When Marilee died, her mother, Sherry Burt, spent decades trying to help find her daughter’s killer. She died in 2013 without knowing who took her daughter's life.
“She was just tormented her whole life,” Ramone said in 2017. “I think she’s the one who really felt guilty.”
Police found DNA on Marilees's body but have yet to find a match in any local or federal databases. The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office is still investigating her death.
“This is not a cold case by any means," said Michael Mills, president of the Metro Denver Crime Stoppers board. "Every year, we receive several tips on this case, and we are hoping with the generosity of the anonymous donors that we will finally be able to identify who perpetrated this horrific crime against Marilee.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867 or visit metrodenvercrimestoppers.com. Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.
Metro Denver Crime Stoppers works by assigning a code to people who anonymously submit a tip. Information is shared with law enforcement, and Crime Stoppers are notified at the conclusion of the investigation.
From there, an awards committee reviews the information provided and, if the information leads to an arrest, the tipster will be notified. Rewards can be collected using the code numbers received when the tip was originally submitted.
> More information about Metro Denver Crime Stoppers can be found here.
> Additional Crime Stoppers bulletins can be found here.
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