Larimer County's Oldest Cold Case: The Murder of Joseph Allen

There are currently 36 cold, or unsolved, cases combined between Larimer and Weld Counties. Every month, we'll analyze one of them for a special episode of "Tuned In to NoCo."

The oldest cold case in Larimer County centers around Joseph Allen, a police officer who was murdered while patrolling downtown Fort Collins on July 3, 1907.

It may seem ridiculous, but the county still has Allen's case posted on its website.

Anyone with possible information about the case is asked to contact the Fort Collins Police Services (FCPS) at (970)-221-6540.

In order to gather some clarity about Allen's tragic demise, I spoke to Barbara Fleming, a Fort Collins author and historian who has written about the Allen murder.

According to Fleming, Officer Joseph Alle n, 45, had been on the force for about two months when he was patrolling an area in Fort Collins known as "The Jungles."

"'The Jungles' was the area around the sugar beet factory, off of what is now Lemay near Vine," said Fleming. "It was an area with bars, and dance holes, and brothels...there were bootleggers there...not the most upright sort, shall we say."

During his stroll, an attacker ambushed Allen from behind, striking him multiple times in the head with a brick.

Later that night, around 11 p.m., someone found Allen by a bush, unconscious and moaning. He was taken to a hospital, where he died three hours later.

Multiple men were arrested for Allen's murder in the following years. However, they were all released due to a lack of evidence.

Local media soon dropped the story, and the case went cold.

As for Fleming, she believes that the almost 113-year-old case will never be solved.

"Anyone who would have been alive at the time would be long gone by now," said Fleming. "It's still an open case, but it will probably never be solved."

To hear the entire story of Joseph Allen, listen to the full "Tuned In to NoCo" interview with Barbara Fleming below.