FILE 134 / 29 August 2019 / 152 MIN / full

Some People Just Don't Mix

Byers, ColoradoListen

The town

N ↑Public placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

We're going to Byers, Colorado, about 50 minutes northeast of Denver, in Arapaho County. about 0:06:30

History, in brief

2009

The community was named for William Byers, the newspaper editor who started the Rocky Mountain News, the first newspaper printed in Colorado; it ran until 2009.

about 0:08:39

1854

Byers started out in Iowa in the 1850s, moved to Omaha in 1854 and was the first deputy surveyor in the Nebraska territory.

about 0:09:06

1859

He moved to Denver in 1859 for the gold strikes, taking printing presses west by ox cart.

about 0:09:52
All 13 history facts

2009

The community was named for William Byers, the newspaper editor who started the Rocky Mountain News, the first newspaper printed in Colorado; it ran until 2009.

about 0:08:39

1854

Byers started out in Iowa in the 1850s, moved to Omaha in 1854 and was the first deputy surveyor in the Nebraska territory.

about 0:09:06

1859

He moved to Denver in 1859 for the gold strikes, taking printing presses west by ox cart.

about 0:09:52

Town note

He and another man wrote a handbook to the gold fields for newcomers.

about 0:10:18

1863

In 1863 he bought hot sulfur springs in northern Colorado from a Minnesota woman in what the episode calls a shady deal; the Ute tribe sued unsuccessfully.

about 0:11:03

1928

He planned to turn the springs into 'America's Switzerland', but the railroad did not arrive until 1928.

about 0:11:18

Town note

In Denver he built several mansions, including the Byers-Evans House, now a museum next to the Denver Art Museum.

about 0:12:36

Town note

He and his wife moved to South Denver and organised a dry community there.

about 0:12:49

Town note

During the 1860s the area was cattle range and sheep country, and the gold rush did not last long.

about 0:13:22

Town note

Joseph Farmer ran the biggest catalogue operation in Byers.

about 0:14:09

Town note

Homesteaders arrived in the early 1900s and lived in sod houses called soddies, built from three-foot strips of buffalo grass sod.

about 0:15:12

1889

The Kansas Pacific Railroad received federal land grants of odd-numbered sections for 20 miles on each side of the track, earning 20 square miles of land for every mile of track, and towns including Byers were created from this in 1889.

about 0:17:05

The figures, as told

Religious

34.5%

Biggest faith: Catholic, 13%

about 0:19:55

Who lives here

White 92% · Black 0.5% · Asian 0.0% · Hispanic 5.9%

Ethnicity can overlap race.

Crime / national average

Property crime
▼ about one third lower

about 0:30:11

Violent crime
▼ about half

about 0:30:11

Money

Median home value$369,900
Two-bedroom rent$1,310
Median household incomealmost $65,000

For sale

$279,900

Three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,232 sq ft house

about 0:24:19

For sale

$399,900

Three-bedroom, two-bath, 3,672 sq ft house

about 0:24:40

For sale

$534,900

Three-bedroom, three-bath, 2,550 sq ft house on 39 acres

about 0:25:00
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2019

Property crime

"about one third lower"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2019 about 0:30:11

Violent crime

"about half"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2019 about 0:30:11

Population

"1,212"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:18:27

Population growth

"up 14%"

Comparison: "since 1990". Direction: above.

As told in 2019 about 0:18:31

Median age

"about 47"

Comparison: "about ten years older than the national average". Direction: above.

As told in 2019 about 0:18:36

Married residents

"63%"

Comparison: "normally 50-50". No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:18:53

Single with no children

"3%"

Comparison: "usually 10%". No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:19:06

White residents

"92%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:19:13

Black residents

"0.5%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:19:17

Asian residents

"0.0%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:19:17

Hispanic residents

"5.9%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:19:53

Unemployment

"3.1%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:22:58

Household income

"almost $65,000"

Comparison: "usually about $58,000". No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:23:03

Cost of living

"142"

Comparison: "100 is the regular average". No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:23:18

Housing cost index

"203"

Comparison: "100 is the regular average". No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:23:30

Democrat voters

"about 53%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:20:44

Republican voters

"about 38%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:20:44

Independent voters

"8.6%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:20:52

Religious residents

"34.5%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:19:55

Muslim

"1.9%"

Comparison: "high for a small mountain town". Direction: above.

As told in 2019 about 0:20:38

Median home cost

"$369,900"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:23:33

Average two-bedroom rental

"$1,310"

Comparison: "usually about $1,250". No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:24:09

Three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,232 sq ft house

"$279,900"

Comparison: "about as cheap as it gets here". No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:24:19

Three-bedroom, two-bath, 3,672 sq ft house

"$399,900"

Comparison: "needs a lot of help". No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:24:40

Three-bedroom, three-bath, 2,550 sq ft house on 39 acres

"$534,900"

No direction stated.

As told in 2019 about 0:25:00

The reviews

No rated reviews

No reviews recorded.

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The story

Byers is a small town in Arapahoe County, Colorado, about fifty minutes north-east of Denver, with a population of 1,212. Virginia's father, Rod McClellan, and her brothers Scott, Dan and Dave were ranchers, and the family were church-going people. The es lived in the ranch-hand house closest to the Mays' home.

He joined the Marine Corps in 1961, married Tania Ann Tatum after boot camp and had two sons. Stationed in Okinawa he drank heavily, threatened to bayonet an officer and was diagnosed with homicidal tendencies and an emotionally unstable personality with schizoid trends. The Marines discharged him on medical grounds. In 1974, aged thirty, he married Leona Coates, who was seventeen, and they had four children.

The letters became sexual. In 1984 she visited, he proposed and they were married over the telephone by a minister.

They told anyone who asked that it was for shooting snakes.

On 18 July 1986, at a farm about ten miles outside Wiggins, a man and a woman in a green four-door sedan with Kansas plates pulled into the driveway. The woman asked Tammy Bauprez for directions to Byers and, oddly, whether her husband was home. When the husband came out, the man got back into the car and they drove off in a cloud of dust.

Between 6.20 and 7pm the es drove to the May ranch. Virginia came out with Krista. When they had finished, he hit Virginia in the head with the butt of the rifle hard enough to fracture her skull and cause bleeding on the brain. She did not lose consciousness. He then shot her, first in the head and then in the torso and groin, fourteen shots in all. Gunpowder residue on her hands showed she had raised them defensively. She had begged to be let go and offered them thousands of dollars in cash. The couple covered the body with bales of hay and drove back to the May house to fetch their beer cooler.

He found Brandon and Krista frightened and alone. Virginia's purse and other belongings were still there. He telephoned his in-laws and the family began searching. Sue McClellan told them about the earlier visit and the missing clothes, and the family called the sheriff's department. He spotted a car's lights in the distance and pulled over the es as they drove in. They said they knew nothing about Virginia being missing, that they had drunk a case of beer and had been fishing.

A deputy overheard him say, 'the ball game's over, babe,' and her reply, 'Don't tell him shit, we'll get a lawyer.' The next morning relatives came to the ranch and questioned them; they repeated that Virginia had been home when they left to go fishing. He told them where to find her; she was dead under the hay bales. The court later found that he had known she was dead when he made the deal, voided it and allowed the prosecution to seek death.

He told one correspondent that he had raped fifteen women and that he had enjoyed every one. He claimed his stepbrothers had sexually abused him as a child, but also said it had nothing to do with his behaviour.

A clemency request to the governor was refused. His last meal was chocolate and vanilla ice cream in little cups, as much as he wanted. Virginia's father said afterwards that compassion had been given and justice done.

The case

Murder of Virginia May

Victims

Virginia May. ranch wife and mother of Brandon, 7, and Krista, 4; known as Ginny

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 29 August 2019.

Accused

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Brandon May. Virginia's seven-year-old son
Krista May. Virginia's four-year-old daughter
Rod McClellan. Virginia's father, a rancher
Scott McClellan. Virginia's brother, a rancher
Dan McClellan. Virginia's brother, a rancher
Dave McClellan. Virginia's brother, a rancher
Sue McClellan. Virginia's sister-in-law
Tania Ann Tatum. first wife, mother of two sons
Leona Coates. second wife, married him at 17
Bradley Garrett. son, serving 45 years in Texas for a murder committed two weeks after Virginia's
Tammy Bauprez. farm woman near Wiggins approached by the es on July 18, 1986
Truman. defence lawyer
Bob Grant. Adams County district attorney
Alan Prendergast. Westword journalist who wrote about

The timeline

  1. 1944 is born Lee Garrett in Wichita, Kansas.about 0:47:28
  2. about 1952 His mother remarries a man named and he takes the surname .about 0:48:23
  3. 1961 He joins the Marine Corps.about 0:53:26
  4. 1961 He marries Tania Ann Tatum after boot camp; they have two sons.about 0:55:26
  5. 1964 Stationed in Okinawa, he drinks heavily and threatens to bayonet an officer; he is diagnosed with homicidal tendencies and an emotionally unstable personality with schizoid trends.about 0:56:47
  6. 1964 He is medically discharged from the Marines and sent home.about 0:57:19
  7. 1965 He suffers a head injury in a car accident.about 2:06:13
  8. 1974 He marries Leona Coates; he is 30 and she is 17.about 1:02:50
  9. 1984 visits and he proposes; they are married over the phone by a minister.about 1:17:11
  10. late 1985 He and manage an apartment house in Aurora and are fired after about six months for stealing from tenants. (Aurora apartment house)about 1:29:59
  11. February 1986 Virginia May helps him get hired as a ranch hand on a neighbouring ranch. ( ranch hand house)about 0:38:49
  12. May 1986 He and buy a .22 calibre semi-automatic rifle at a store in Fort Morgan. (Fort Morgan store)about 1:32:01
  13. July 18, 1986 At a farm near Wiggins, a man and woman in a green sedan ask Tammy Bauprez for directions and whether her husband is home, then leave when he appears. (Tammy Bauprez farm)about 1:34:28
  14. July 18, 1986 calls Sue McClellan about dropping off used children's clothes; they visit but leave without the clothes and without attempting an abduction because a ranch hand is present. (Sue McClellan's house)about 1:37:05
  15. July 18, 1986 Between 6.20 and 7pm the es drive to the May ranch after calls Virginia about children's clothes. (May ranch)about 1:37:32
  16. July 18, 1986 Virginia comes out with Krista; walks her to the tool shed and sends Krista inside, then punches Virginia and drags her into the car. (May house tool shed)about 1:38:53
  17. July 18, 1986 In a secluded area he leads Virginia out by a rope around her neck and at knifepoint forces her to perform oral sex on . (Secluded murder site)about 1:40:27
  18. July 18, 1986 He strikes her head with the rifle butt, fracturing her skull, and fires 14 shots into her head, torso and groin. (Secluded murder site)about 1:42:05
  19. July 18, 1986 They cover her body with hay bales and drive back to the May house to collect their beer cooler. (Secluded murder site)about 1:42:22

Last meals

Places and phrases

N ↑Public placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode