DNA evidence helps Colorado Springs police ID dead man as being responsible for teen’s 1972 slaying

Colorado Springs police say their cold case unit has used DNA evidence to identify a dead man as the person responsible for killing a
19-year-old woman in 1972.

January 19, 2017

Colorado Springs police say their cold case unit has used DNA evidence to identify a dead man as the person responsible for killing a 19-year-old woman in 1972.

Craig Brame, who was then serving in the U.S. Army out of Fort Carson, is believed to have fatally stabbed Deborah Lynn May.

"Recent advances in DNA technology led the Colorado Springs Police Department's Cold Case Homicide Unit to re-submit DNA evidence belonging to the alleged suspect for testing," police said in a Thursday news release. "DNA testing identified the person as Craig Brame."

Investigators say Brame was an acquaintance of May's boyfriend who was stationed alongside him at the Mountain Post.

Brame died on April 29, 2004, but police say DNA evidence, together with decade's worth of investigative work, convinced investigators and the El Paso County district attorney that he was responsible for May's slaying.

Police say May had recently moved to Colorado Springs from Kansas City, Mo., when she was stabbed to death. She was found dead in a bed at her apartment on the 700 block of North Cascade Avenue, just south of Colorado College's campus.

Authorities say during their investigation into the killing, biological samples were collected from over a dozen people and numerous polygraphs were conducted. One unidentified person was even charged, police say, though the allegations were eventually dropped because of a lack of evidence.