Timeline of events
Dec. 17, 2016: Evidence was discovered by Cañon City resident Rick Ratzlaff in a storage unit that had belonged to former FCSO Det. Robert Dodd. Ratzlaff obtained the storage unit after buying it in an auction. Evidence included a bloody rope, an ax and boxes of paperwork.
Jan. 14, 2017: The discovery of evidence is reported in the Daily Record and other news reports. At this time it is learned the Colorado Bureau of Investigations has become involved with the situation. FCSO Sheriff Jim Beicker states at this time the FCSO is cooperating completely with the investigation.
Jan. 16, 2017: FCSO Sheriff Jim Beicker holds a press conference at the Fremont County Jail. At this time Dodd was placed on routine administrative leave.
Jan. 19, 2017: The Daily Record submits a Colorado Open Records Act request to obtain a copy of Candace Hiltz’s autopsy. Fremont County Coroner Randy Keller had previously stated to the Daily Record he could not release the autopsy as the case was still considered open. However, under CORA, autopsies have to be released unless their disclosure would cause, “substantial injury to the public interest.”
Jan. 25, 2017: Candace Hiltz’s autopsy is released, revealing Hiltz had been shot seven times, with three types of guns. The autopsy also showed she was shot from the front and back, and, “the paths of the bullets are steeply downward, back to front, and left to right.”
Jan. 26, 2017: The Daily Record submits another CORA request, attempting to obtain any recording and/or transcript from the 911 calls made the day Candace Hiltz was killed.
Jan. 31, 2017: The FCSO denied the Daily Record’s request for the 911 transcripts. In a letter from Fremont County Attorney Brenda Jackson, she states, “the Sheriff determined that disclosure of the records would contrary to the public interest, as the records are part of criminal justice investigatory files and are actively being reviewed by law enforcement agencies in connection with an investigation.”
Feb. 2, 2017: A second CORA request is made, but for all police and incident reports made regarding the murder of Candace Hiltz.
Feb. 3, 2017: The second request is also denied, citing the same reason for the previous request.
April 23, 2017: Robert Dodd retires from the FCSO.
May 4, 2017: The District Attorney’s Office files charges against Dodd, which include two counts of second-degree official misconduct and abuse of public records.
May 18, 2017: Additional evidence, allegedly belonging to Dodd, is discovered in a Penrose landfill.
“Accompanied by a friend, I drove to the landfill. As I reached the front gate, I tried to contact District Attorney Molly Chilson to alert her about the evidence. I got her cellphone voicemail and left a message,” Harmon wrote, continuing later by writing she, Orton and her friend began collecting the evidence found.
Evidence found included a computer, an envelope marked ‘evidence’ that contained a DVD, a videotape labeled as containing a sexual assault investigation interview and a tackle box marked “FCSO Crime Scene Unit Forensic Lights.”
June 6, 2017: Dodd was set to appear for the first time in the Fremont County Court, but was physically absent. Dodd, instead, appeared by phone. Present for the court hearing, however, was Candace Hiltz’s family, including her mother Dolores Hiltz. After this hearing, Dolores Hiltz said she expected Dodd to not show up and that the entire chain of command in the case has been broken.
June 9, 2017: A second investigation by the Colorado Bureau of Investigations is opened against Dodd regarding additional evidence found inside of a Penrose landfill.
Aug. 25, 2017: Family members of Candace Hiltz notify the Daily Record that the District Attorney’s Office would not be considered “victims” as the Dodd case moved forward in court.
Under the Colorado Victim’s Crime Act, victims in a case must be notified about all proceedings and have the opportunity to be heard in court.
“She said because Dodd isn’t being charged with her murder, the Hiltz family isn’t being considered as victims,” Heather Hiltz, Candace Hiltz’s sister-in-law, said.
Oct. 20, 2017: The District Attorney announces that she will be filing additional charges against Dodd.
Editor’s Note: The discovery of murder evidence a decade after the death of Candace Hiltz is the No. 1 story of 2017 for Fremont County.
A decade after her murder, Candace Hiltz again became a familiar name in Fremont County after evidence from her murder file was found in the personal storage unit of a Fremont County Sheriff’s Office detective.
Hiltz was described by family as being outspoken, smart and funny, and would readily tell you what she thought, even if you didn’t like what she was saying. She was 16 years old when she was killed Aug. 15, 2006.
According to the autopsy — obtained publicly through an open records request just this year — Hiltz was shot seven times, six in the head and once in the chest.
The autopsy also reveals that three types of guns could have been used in her murder and that she was shot both in the front and the back.
“The paths of the bullets are steeply downward, back to front and left to right,” the autopsy states, regarding the gunshots from the back.
In a previous interview with Candace Hiltz’s mother, Dolores Hiltz, she implied that the bullets going downward seemed like someone executed her daughter and that there were two shooters.
However, the autopsy doesn’t present evidence that the guns were fired at close range or the order she was shot in.
The only suspect ever named in Candace Hiltz’s murder was her brother, James Hiltz. He never was formally charged with her murder, and many of Candace Hiltz’s family members have rejected that idea.
At this time, Candace Hiltz’s murder investigation is still considered “open.”
Candace Hiltz’s autopsy being made public and her family being able to tell her story again may never have occurred if her murder evidence was not found inside of a storage unit belonging to former Fremont County Sheriff’s Office detective Robert Dodd.
The evidence was discovered Jan. 19 by Rick Ratzlaff of Cañon City after he purchased the storage unit in an auction.
Evidence included a bloody rope, an ax and boxes of paperwork.
Candace Hiltz’s sister-in-law, Heather Hiltz, said in January that everyone in the family has had a wound reopen.
Since the initial discovery in January, Dodd has been charged with two counts of second-degree official misconduct and abuse of public records following one of two investigations conducted by the Colorado Bureau of Investigations.
One investigation by CBI was in regards to the evidence found in the storage unit and the other investigation was in regards to additional evidence discovered May 17 in a Penrose landfill.
The newer evidence appears to be unrelated to Hiltz but was believed to have been thrown out by Dodd and his wife.
Charges filed from CBI’s first investigation were filed May 4 by District Attorney Molly Chilson.
An additional misdemeanor charge accusing him of criminal possession of an identification document was filed Nov. 20. No charges have been regarding CBI’s second investigation.
According to the original complaint, between Dec. 25, 2016, and Dec. 30, 2016, Dodd knowingly altered a public record even though he had not been authorized as a custodian of the record. The details of what Dodd altered were not disclosed.
The complaint also states that between and including Aug. 15, 2006, and Dec. 20, 2016, “Dodd, a public servant, unlawfully, knowingly, arbitrarily and capriciously refrained from performing a duty imposed upon him by law.”
In a new complaint, which further detailed what the DA’s office is alleging Dodd did in regards to the charges he faces.
According to that document, for one count of abuse of public records, Chilson is alleging Dodd altered a public record between Dec. 25, 2016, and Dec. 30, 2016.
“The defendant altered and manipulated the investigative file to make it appear that evidence he had personally appropriated and never documented was in fact documented,” the response states.
The investigative file Chilson referred to is allegedly Candace Hiltz’s file and the evidence reportedly pertains to evidence found in Dodd’s storage unit.
Dolores Hiltz, Candace Hiltz’s mother, repeatedly has said throughout this year that all of the items discovered were evidence collected after her daughter’s death. She said the shirt found was a shirt identified in 2006 as belonging to Candace.
Dolores Hiltz also has maintained that investigators did not take all of the evidence back then; that bullet casings were left behind, as well as the blanket her daughter was wrapped in.
Chilson also states in her response that as a certified peace officer, Dodd had a duty to follow basic peace officer protocol, such as properly collect, document and preserve evidence.
“The defendant had a duty to preserved evidence, which could reasonably be believed to contain DNA,” Chilson’s response stated, adding that Dodd failed to do so.
Further, Chilson stated that Dodd accessed the investigative file on more than one occasion to “edit” it. Chilson is alleging Dodd did this between Dec. 25, 2016, and Dec. 30, 2016.
“It’s all very suspicious,” Dolores Hiltz said earlier this year, referring to the way her daughter was killed, the investigation and the discovered evidence.
“I never thought I would experience this type of corruption ever before in my life,” Dolores Hiltz said.
For the charge filed Nov. 20, the amended complaint alleges that between Aug. 15, 2006, and Dec. 30, 2016, Dodd “unlawfully and knowingly had in his possession or under his control an actual driver’s license, actual government-issued identification card, actual Social Security card, or actual passport of Heath Hyman, knowing that the defendant (Dodd) did so without permission or lawful authority.”
Hyman lived in the Copper Gulch neighborhood and was camping behind the hill of her neighbor’s home at the time of the homicide, Dolores Hiltz said.
Dolores Hiltz said she suspects Dodd may have collected some items from Hyman’s campsite during the search for James Hiltz, Candace Hiltz’s brother who was considered a person of interest at the time of Candace Hiltz’s murder.
It is uncertain when Dodd’s case will be resolved, or if investigators are looking into Candace Hiltz’s file again to possibly solve it.
But after the discovery of evidence in Dodd’s storage unit, the development of this story has prompted scrutiny of the FCSO and the DA’s Office from the public.
An attempt to gather enough signatures for a recall election was underway at one point to oust FCSO Sheriff Jim Beicker. The recall attempt failed, and it appears Beicker does not intend to run for sheriff in 2018.
Heather Hiltz, Candace Hiltz’s sister-in-law, has said the entire investigation was sloppy and that the police did not do their jobs.
She said the family realizes they may never get a murder conviction, but they all know and want Dodd to pay for whatever part he played in Candace Hiltz’s death and the investigation.
The next hearing for this case has been scheduled Feb. 7, as Dodd’s defense attorney has requested more time to file a motion that would dismiss all charges against Dodd.
