Forty-three years after University of Colorado Boulder student Sid Wells was shot to death inside his Spanish Towers condo, the FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the man accused of killing him, and Wells' brother is putting together a podcast aimed at cracking the case wide open. The reward targets 67-year-old fugitive Thayne Alan Smika, who has been missing since 1986.
The FBI Denver Field Office announced the reward in a recent post on X, in which it noted that Robert Wells, Sid's surviving brother, is putting together a podcast about the case to raise awareness, and that FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Koldjeski appears in a Denver7 report covering Robert Wells' project, according to FBI Denver
. The Casebook Files is expected to launch later and would feature the unsolved killing of his brother first, as reported by
SignalNewsAI
.
At the time of his death on August 1, 1983, 22-year-old Sid Wells was a senior studying journalism and participating in Navy ROTC at the University of Colorado Boulder, while also interning at Denver television station Denver7, according to the FBI Denver Field Office. The FBI and Boulder Police Department also released updated age-progression illustrations in late July, showing what Smika might look like today with various combinations of facial hair and eyewear.
A Suspect Who Slipped Away
A possible rent dispute was considered a motive, with rent due on the day Wells was murdered. Smika had moved into the Spanish Towers condo after answering a roommate advertisement, and investigators considered him the prime suspect almost immediately.
Smika was initially arrested shortly after the murder in 1983, but then-Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter declined to file formal charges, citing insufficient evidence. Smika later vanished in 1986, leaving his car abandoned in Beverly Hills, California, with stolen license plates attached, per the same account.
It took until December 2010 for a Boulder County District Court judge to issue a first-degree murder arrest warrant against Smika, with bail preset at $5 million. A federal unlawful-flight warrant followed shortly after, the FBI notes.
A Trail That Led South of the Border
Federal investigators say Smika does not hold a valid U.S. passport, and they have obtained leads suggesting he may have lived for several years prior to 2007 in Yelapa, a coastal town in Mexico, according to the FBI Denver Field Office. FBI Denver continues to offer the $10,000 reward for information leading to his capture and conviction.
The case drew unusual national attention in part because Sid Wells was dating Shauna Redford, daughter of actor Robert Redford, at the time of his death. Robert Redford attended Wells' funeral.
A Family's Decades-Long Push for Justice
Sid Wells' mother, June Menger, was a founding member of Families of Homicide Victims and Missing Persons. Her son Robert Wells later took on leadership roles within victim advocacy groups himself, a throughline that now culminates in his new podcast project.
For now, investigators are counting on renewed public attention, updated forensic sketches, and Robert Wells' own storytelling effort to shake loose a tip that could finally close one of Boulder's longest-open murder files.
