Published January 13, 2015
The killings of three people shot at a campsite in the forest west of Flagstaff remain unsolved 14 years later, but Coconino County cold-case investigators haven't forgotten.
Several people were interviewed soon after the shooting deaths of Richard Barnes, Lynn Patrick and Michael Alexander, but no solid suspect information developed at the time.
Fingerprint and DNA evidence from the October 1999 killings are being analyzed and witnesses are being re-interviewed, The Arizona Daily Sun reported Friday.
Sheriff's cold-case unit investigator Chuck Jones said there are no leads and the motive isn't known.
"I have an idea what may have happened," Jones said. "But I've got to let the evidence take me where it's going."
Jones said the case still will be difficult to prove in court even if suspect information is developed.
Some of the shots were fired after the victims were dead.
"They wanted these people dead," Jones said.
The victims' bodies were found by a neighbor in the forest near Bellemont off Forest Road 171.
Barnes was found in a trailer at the campsite, while Patrick was found outside. On the edge of the campsite, the body of Alexander was face up on pine needles of the forest floor.
Alexander was Patrick's boyfriend, and Barnes was a friend of the two.
Jones said that it is likely more than one person was involved in the killing.
"It's just a very dynamic scene," Jones said.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/1999-cold-case-killings-in-arizona-forest-get-new-look