THE COLD CASE FILES: World War I vet left for dead, 1980

Each victim is a face frozen in time, haunting investigators whose job it is to bring their killers to justice decades after the trail has gone cold.

The Gazette in cooperation with the Colorado Springs Police Department runs a weekly feature called “The Cold Case Files.” The Colorado Springs Police Department Homicide Cold Case Unit is currently responsible for approximately 90 unsolved homicide cases dating back to 1949. CSPD considers a case to be cold if it remains unsolved for more than one year. If you have any information that would be of assistance in these investigations, please contact 719-444-7613, by e-mail at CSPDColdCase@springsgov.com or you may remain anonymous and could earn a cash reward by calling Crime Stoppers at 634-STOP (7867).

The Victim: Artie Borden, 83, World War 1 veteran fatally injured in assault. Borden ran a rooming house in the 200 block of East Fountain Boulevard.

File Number: 80-10474

The Crime: Responding to an emergency call on May 28, 1980, a police officer found Borden lying on the kitchen floor of his East Fountain Boulevard rooming house. Borden had been beaten and was partly conscious, but was unable to identify his attacker. He died of his injuries later that night at St. Francis Hospital.
For nearly two decades, Borden ran a rooming house for the poor, providing a meal and a temporary place to stay. The tenant who called police said he heard what sounded like an argument. When he went to investigate, he found Borden beaten and lying on his kitchen floor.

The Investigation: Detectives interviewed current and previous tenants and followed up on numerous leads on people who had contact with Borden in the days before the fatal assault. No suspects were named and no arrests made.