Police believe murder suspects committed arson to hide clues
Police say they believe the five people found dead in Fero's Bar and Grill in Denver were killed before a fire was set there.
October 18th, 2012
12:35 PM ET

Police believe murder suspects committed arson to hide clues

[Updated at 2:25 p.m. ET]  Three men accused of killing five people at a bar and then setting a fire to cover their tracks are in custody, Denver police said Thursday.

Officers arrested Dexter Lewis, 22; Joseph Hill, 27; and Lynell Hill, 26, late Wednesday night in connection with the deaths, Police Cmdr. Ron Saunier said.

The case seems straight out of a TV crime drama.

When firefighters arrived at the burning Fero’s Bar and Grill early Wednesday morning, they found five bodies inside - four women and a man.

But as investigators checked the corpses, they began to suspect the fire probably hadn’t killed the victims. Each body showed obvious signs of trauma, which police said prompted them to think someone set the blaze to hide evidence of murders.

The three men face five counts each of first degree murder, felony murder, aggravated robbery and arson, and could face more charges, according to Saunier.

Police believe the three in custody were the only ones involved, and robbery was their motive, Saunier said.

CNN affiliate KDVR reports that Lewis just finished a three-year prison term in June after pleading guilty to robbery and assaulting a police officer in 2009.

The incident is still under investigation, with officers following up on more search warrants, Saunier said.

Fero’s Bar and Grill sits in a high-profile location on Colorado Boulevard, a six-lane state highway that runs north-south through east Denver.

The Denver Medical Examiner released the names of the victims Thursday. They were identified as: Daria Pohl, 22, of Denver; Kellene Fallon, 45, of Denver; Terease Beesley, 45, of Denver; Ross Richter, 29; and Young Fero, 63, who local media said owned the bar.

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Filed under: Colorado • Crime
soundoff (16 Responses)
  1. Mary

    Wow! That was fast. I read this story yesterday. Well done Denver PD!

    October 18, 2012 at 12:43 pm | Report abuse |
  2. Ben

    Three people are murdered in cold blood and you bring up politics? You sir are worthless

    October 18, 2012 at 12:50 pm | Report abuse |
  3. John

    I Agree with Ben, Dwight you have no heart and you seem to be very inmature, show some respect

    October 18, 2012 at 12:52 pm | Report abuse |
  4. JoeJoe

    Why are these people so violent? 6% of the population are 40+% of Homicide victims.

    October 18, 2012 at 12:53 pm | Report abuse |
    • Realist

      Actually it's less than 6% of the population and they're committing >50% of the murders and violent crimes.

      October 18, 2012 at 1:56 pm | Report abuse |
  5. Hide Behind

    The perps have names, the dead are patrons.
    Down the street a little ways another bar finds itself busy with added patrons. and undertakers find themselves profiting also by an influx of patrons.
    Yet to come are the names.carved in cold stone.

    October 18, 2012 at 12:57 pm | Report abuse |
    • You can't handle the truth

      Very cool urban poetry... Kudos

      October 18, 2012 at 2:33 pm | Report abuse |
  6. I'm sorry

    I was just trying to add excitement to the discussion. I'm sorry.

    I hope when I conk out people will post and say silly stuff about me. It would be awesome.

    October 18, 2012 at 1:04 pm | Report abuse |
  7. Hide Behind

    It has been said that politics and politicos have strange bedfellows, if that be true and of which I have no doubt that it is, then it be no wonder the way nation is going; As the inbreeding has truly produced some very, very. odd and stranger yet bedfellows that are known as voters.

    October 18, 2012 at 1:13 pm | Report abuse |
    • banasy©

      Ah, another non-voter whose voice will not make a difference.
      Eye on the ball, people, this isn't about politics!

      My condolences to the family and friends of those who were slain.

      I echo Mary's sentiments; well done, Denver PD.

      October 18, 2012 at 1:41 pm | Report abuse |
  8. Hide Behind

    Excuse my seeming lack of empathy in post of politics in this section; my other post is my sentiments upon article. I believed I was responding in another section.

    October 18, 2012 at 2:27 pm | Report abuse |
  9. Hide Behind

    What good be it to respect the dead, they have no bounds that fit within yours any longer.
    Respect is for those whose life and lives at present deserve such, so why wait until they depart to express your respect.
    It is most assuredly. a fact that if more people who deserve respect and receive alcholades while living wr would find less numbers of those who deserve no respect at all.
    If you love them love them while alive, for memories provide little in comparison to the actual. If youlove them while alive let it be known; and if you despise them. for their lives, make damn sure they know it!

    October 18, 2012 at 2:38 pm | Report abuse |
    • banasy©

      My condolences are to those who were left behind, because they may bring a measure of comfort to those who may read this.

      October 18, 2012 at 3:25 pm | Report abuse |
  10. Turf13

    is colorado the new florida? crazy people...

    October 18, 2012 at 4:19 pm | Report abuse |
  11. DEHB OR ABEHSERA

    It IS absolutely right there is no such thing as Palestine
    The British Trued to revive the name PHILISTINE but you have to know that The Philistines have been pushed to the Atlantic ocean by King Saul and its General Joel The is actually a stone in Morocco that says that here Joel Ben .... Chase the philistines up to here
    For that reason the Moroccans are light in appearance they are the descendants of PHILISTINS and later they mixed with Arabs in year 700 hundred after JC They now call themself Arabs ever though ethnically not all of them are
    Again the modern day Palestinians are Arabs who migrated for economic reasons to Israel
    They stole the house by the point of the sword and called it home their name is Baghdadi from Bagdad Moghrabi from Maghreb Massri from Egypt (MASSER IS Egypt) and so on and so forth
    Now s called Palestinians Who never had a king, a queen, a kingdom or a country want to cut the present Belly of Israel There is not a single mention of Jerusalem in the Cor-an Already Jordan was designed as their country Jordan is over 80% Palestinian now they want another piece of Israel + the Gaza piece Then they will ask for the North as a separate country and probably the south
    If Jews were deported from Gaza Palestinians should be deported to the 20+ Arab countries who I might say do not give a damn about them but uses them as their pawn to deflect from their internal affairs
    May I say that Kuwait send packing 130K PALESTINIANS?
    The Saudis the same and a score of others
    They are actually better in Israel and with my conversation with Palestinians student that I had met oversees they will tell you they are mistreated by their own
    They take more money per capita than any other Arab countries yet they let their people live in camps in purpose to blame the Israelis to perpetuity for their condition while the heads such as Arafat may his name be erased from history and Abbas and others are there only to line their pocket . Soon you will see the youths are not stupid they will rise against their so called leaders ARAB SPRING is near and no matter that they brain wash them blaming the Jews for their condition there is the internet and CNN and they have a pretty good idea who they will blame for employment and lack of opportunities.

    October 28, 2012 at 9:42 pm | Report abuse |
  12. Name*brown

    Arson is a horrid crime

    November 26, 2012 at 3:33 pm | Report abuse |
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