Bizarre Western Colorado Murder Story Reemerges 77 Years Later

In 1949, a 16-year-old boy in Colorado confessed to murdering two women and injuring one man, according to a news clipping that was recently shared on social media.

77-Year-Old Western Colorado Murder Story Reemerges

The story was shared on a Facebook page called Colorado: Rust and Revival on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, and included a photo of a newspaper article showing the boy who carried out the murders sitting in a pair of overalls.

The boy, then-16-year-old Richard Pruitt, was a farmer who lived in Delta County and was said to be a fan of crime-related radio programs. However, when his half-brother, George Morris, his wife, Laura Morris, and her sister, identified as Edythe Javorina, refused to let him listen to the programs one day, Pruitt snapped.

The story goes that Pruitt ended up murdering the two women and injuring his half-brother, crimes that he admitted to. He was subsequently arrested and taken to the jail in Delta, Colorado, where he read and signed a statement admitting to the murders.

Who Were the Colorado Boy’s Victims?

Besides the newspaper clipping, little is known about the case, but we do have some information regarding the two women who were killed.

Research shows that they both passed away on January 4, 1949, in Hotchkiss, Colorado. Laura Morris was born Laura Delilah Blank on November 11, 1899, in Salida, which would have made her 49 years old at the time of her death.

Her sister was born Edythe Marie Blank on March 14, 1888, in Buena Vista, which, like Salida, is also located in Chaffee County, which would have made her 60 years old at the time of her death.

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Check out the news clipping from Colorado: Rust and Revival here.