Vincent Darrell Groves (April 19, 1954 – October 31, 1996) was an American serial killer who, between March 1979 and July 1988, murdered at least seven girls and women in Denver, Colorado. His guilt was conclusively proven in four murders with the help of DNA profiling in 2012, 16 years after his death, as a result of which his total victim count remains unknown. According to the Denver Police Department, based on circumstantial evidence and a number of testimonies, Groves could have been responsible for more than 20 murders.
Early years
Vincent Groves was born on April 19, 1954, in the family of a postman and a teacher, the eldest of three sons. The family lived in the western Denver suburb of Wheat Ridge, which was mainly inhabited by members of the upper middle class. Vincent's parents were law-abiding, average citizens who took good care of their children. Groves attended Wheat Ridge High School, which he graduated in 1972, the only black student from his class. One of his classmates was Dave Logan, who would later become a prominent professional football player and coach.
With a tall and athletic physique, Vincent spent his high school years as a member of the school's basketball team, achieving outstanding results on the court. In 1972, his team reached the final in the annual interscholastic basketball championship in the state, with Groves being recognized as the team's star player, thanks to which he was popular and had many friends and acquaintances. After school, he entered Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he played for the local basketball team. However, he quickly lost interest in studying and sports, and in 1974, due to his chronic absences, he dropped out of college and returned to Denver. He moved in with his grandmother and found a job as an electrician at the Gates Rubber Company. In his free time, Groves was fond of drinking alcohol and visiting the red-light districts, as a result of which, in the late 1970s, he spent a lot of time surrounded by pimps and prostitutes, and subsequently began leading a criminal lifestyle.
Criminal career
In late 1977, Groves met 17-year-old Jeanette Baca, whom he persuaded to engage in prostitution and became her pimp. On June 11, 1978, Baca's naked body was found in the woodland in Jefferson County. During the investigation, police interrogated Groves, but since there was no evidence of his guilt, he wasn't charged. A few months later, he met 21-year-old Norma Jean Halford, from San Jose, California, who became his cohabitant. On August 24, 1979, a soldier from the army discovered Halford's empty car parked on a mountain road outside of Georgetown. Neither Halford, nor her body, have been located to this day. At the end of 1979, Groves became addicted to drugs. During this period, he met Janett Hill, whom he married in March 1981. Due to his addiction, Vincent began to exhibit volatile behavior, quitting his job at the Gates Rubber Company and finding employment as a janitor with irregular working hours, from which his relationship with Janett became strained. On August 14, 1981, Groves killed 17-year-old Tammy Sue Woodrum while out camping. On the advice from his wife, after committing the murder, Groves surrendered himself at the police station and gave a full confession. He insisted that the girl had died from an overdose, but the autopsy later established that Woodrum had been raped and strangled, and that there were no traces of drugs in her blood. Vincent was charged with second-degree murder, and in the summer of 1982, he was found guilty and received a 12-year sentence. During his imprisonment, he divorced his wife, finished college and went through several programs for rehabilitation of sex offenders. On February 13, 1987, he was paroled and released from prison.