Why Hasn’t the Colorado Cold Case of Joshua Maddux Been Reopened?

Colorado's Joshua Maddux was 18 years old when he mysteriously disappeared back in 2008. Then, in 2015, his body was found stuffed in a chimney in a vacant cabin roughly a mile from his Woodland Park home.

While the coroner determined Maddux's death to have been accidental, there have been numerous reports suggesting that not only was foul play involved, but evidence also suggests what many would call a prime suspect.

What really happened to Joshua Maddux and why does the case remain cold?

What Happened to Colorado's Joshua Maddux?

Joshua Maddux was a talented, outdoorsy 18-year-old kid who was loved by many. On May 8, 2008, Maddux went for a walk in the nearby woods and after not coming home for five days, a missing persons report was filed.

Fast forward to August of 2015, Maddux is still missing, but while demolishing a cabin near the Maddux's home, crews discovered human remains in the chimney that dental records would later confirm to have belonged to the missing 18-year-old.

The coroner determined that Maddux's death was accidental and theorized that he tried to climb into the chimney head-first and got stuck. However, evidence collected from the scene as well as information from witnesses suggest something much more grim.

Was Colorado's Joshua Maddux Murdered?

Maddux's body was reportedly found wearing only a shirt with the rest of his clothes folded in the cabin. In addition, a large piece of furniture was somehow placed in front of the chimney's opening, a task seemingly impossible in the coroner's scenario.

Friends and family of Maddux have spoken out claiming that he had befriended a classmate named Andrew Richard Newman who later was found guilty of a slew of crimes and even admitted to committing murder.

In fact, not only has Newman admitted to murdering a woman in Taos, New Mexico, and a disabled man in Albuquerque, but he's also allegedly claimed that he "put Josh in a hole."

However, when the information regarding the Taos woman came to light, police did not pursue the case as they'd already convicted someone else for the crime.

In addition, prior to Maddux's remains being found, friends of his pushed local authorities to investigate Newman as a suspect, but the police insisted that he was still alive.

The owner of the Woodland Park cabin in which Maddux's remains were found, Chuck Murphy, insists that his death was not accidental, and many others involved in the case in various ways insist that Newman was responsible for ending the 18-year-old's life, but he has still yet to be charged or even investigated further.