Wells, Sidney (“Sid”) Lee

Sid Wells, 22, was a fifth year senior at the University of Colorado at Boulder. His dream was to be a broadcast journalist. Sid worked as a waiter and as an intern at Channel 7. He was real energetic and fun-loving but very serious about his school work and career. Sid’s mother bought a condo at Spanish Towers, 805 29th St. in Boulder as an investment. Sid would live there through college, sharing it with two other young men. But one of the others graduated early so Sid moved upstairs with his girlfriend of three years, Shauna Redford, and advertised for another roommate. Thane Smika answered the ad and moved in. Sid described Thane to his mother as “rather strange, from Akron, CO.” Smika kept to himself and had occasional seizures. Sid had trouble collecting his rent. On August 1, 1983, Sid was to meet his mother for lunch but did not show. At 4 PM Boulder police walked in and asked her “Is there any reason your son would have committed suicide?” Sid had been shot in the back of the head. Smika, a suspect, was found at his parent’s house in Akron. He reportedly asked police “What took you so long?” The shell from the bullet that killed Sid matched the gun found in Smika’s parents’ home. Smika was arrested. Because he believed evidence was mishandled by police, D.A. Alex Hunter refused to take the case to trial. Smika was released and never prosecuted. However in 2012 the new D.A. Stan Garnett, approved the issuance of a warrant for Smika’s arrest. To date, Smika has not been found.