Friday, October 29, 2021

Troubling questions still linger in Josh Maddux death


Mummified corpse was

discovered Aug. 7, 2015 


By Rob Carrigan, robcarrigan1@gmail.com.

Today, it might be labeled "The boy in the Chimney," or "the strange death of ... " in any number of different Reddit threads or "Unsolved Mystery" shows in the world-wide media coverage it has garnered over the years. I know my own photos have appeared in the Daily Mail in the UK and other domestic publications. But mystery, it remains, for the most part.

"Troubling questions still surround the shocking death of 18-year-old Josh Maddux, whose mummified corpse was discovered Aug. 7, (2015) deep in the chimney of a vacant cabin being demolished by workers," wrote my friend and boss Bill Vogrin, at the time, when he first reported it in his Pikes Peak Courier story.

Maddux had walked away from his Woodland Park home on May 8, 2008, and vanished.

On Monday, Sept. 28, Teller County Coroner Al Born ruled Maddux’s death an accident, saying the 6-foot-tall, 150-pound teen had slid down the chimney “Santa Claus-style.”

Three days later, Born reopened his investigation after the cabin owner, Colorado Springs builder Chuck Murphy, came forward with details about the chimney that he says makes the accidental death theory impossible.

Born’s re-examination also followed calls to his office from tipsters offering the names of people who allegedly had bragged about killing Maddux in the cabin.

After a two-hour meeting on Friday, Born and Murphy emerged with vastly different opinions of the case, agreeing only that no one will probably ever know exactly why Maddux died or how he ended up in the chimney.

Murphy remains convinced Maddux was murdered, either forced up the chimney alive, trapped there and left to die or he was killed in the cabin and his remains forced through the damper and into the smoke chamber just above the firebox.

Murphy hasn’t wavered from his immediate opinion after his workers made the chilling discovery Aug. 7 as they used an excavator to peel open the chimney, one of two in the century-old cabin.

Murphy, 80, said it was impossible for anyone to slide down the chimney because a “heavy steel mesh grate” was installed near the top of the chimney when it was built 25 years ago.

It was an addition to the original cabin, which was part of “Big Bert” Bergstrom’s notorious Thunderhead dining, drinking and gambling casino that operated from the 1930s-50s along Rampart Range Road on Woodland Park’s north side.

“It was a heavy wire grate, a wire mesh, installed across the chimney about one row of bricks from the top,” Murphy said. “We didn’t want trouble with raccoons and things getting in the chimney.”

Murphy was convinced the mesh remained intact and prevented anyone from sliding down the chimney.

But investigators didn’t see it when they responded to the call of the body because his crew had already tossed it in a truck.

“They were just gathering up all the steel, angle iron and things as part of the demolition,” Murphy said. “They had no idea the mesh had any significance.”

But there are even more disturbing questions, Murphy said, that debunk the chimney theory.

The mystery deepened further when investigators found most of Maddux’s clothing next to the hearth.

“He was mostly naked inside the chimney,” Murphy said.

“He was only wearing his thermal shirt. No pants. No shoes or socks.”

Murphy said it’s ridiculous to think the teen stripped down to just his shirt, climbed up on the roof, up on the chimney and slid down, knowing he’d be trapped.

He said Maddux knew he’d be trapped because there was a steel “Heatilator” insert in the fireplace.

And a large, heavy wooden breakfast bar had been ripped from a wall and dragged from the kitchen and placed across the front of the fireplace, blocking it.

“It’s a real conundrum,” Murphy said. “A tragic, terrible story.

“All I know is he did not go down that chimney. He got in the fireplace and went up. But why? I think it will remain a mystery. One of those sad stories.”

Born acknowledged the questions are compelling. But he concluded late Friday the proper cause of death ruling remained accidental caused by sliding down the chimney and becoming trapped.

Born said he likely died of hypothermia. Temperatures May 8-10 in 2008 dipped into the high 20s according to historic data at Weather Underground.

“We’ve come up with the most plausible explanation and it will remain an accident,” Born said. “He did come down the chimney. That’s our conclusion.”

But what about the clothes inside the cabin? And the breakfast bar blocking the fireplace? And the heavy steel grate blocking the chimney?

“We looked at photos and we talked to Chuck Murphy about his memory of the chimney’s construction and we took everything into consideration,” Born said. “And we still have no evidence of a homicide.”

Still, Born said there were not good explanations for all the questions raised.

“The furniture in front of the fireplace . . . we can’t answer that question,” he said. “It would have trapped him in the firebox. But there’s no evidence he was ever in the firebox or went up the chimney.”

As for the steel grate at the top of the chimney, Born said it could have disintegrated over the years due to rust and corrosion from creosote building up on it and the effects of rain and snow. Or a chimney sweep may have removed it.

“Nobody saw the metal mesh,” Born said. “We didn’t see it in any of our photos. It may have disappeared.”

And there is no explanation for why Maddux may have stripped to just a shirt, climbed the roof and dropped down a chimney he knew was blocked.

“This one really taxed our brains,” Born said. “We found his clothes just outside the firebox. He only had on a thermal T-shirt. We don’t know why he took his clothes off, took his shoes and socks off, and why he went outside, climbed on the roof and went down the chimney. It was not linear thinking.

“It’s a real puzzler.”

The coroner said the autopsy found no evidence of illegal drugs, although testing was made difficult by the advanced state of decomposition.

“We found no indication of drugs and according to the family, he was not into using drugs,” Born said.

To suspect a crime, Born said investigators needed to find evidence like duct tape or ropes that may have bound him or signs in the soot of the firebox showing footprints or other marks of a body being stuffed up it.

“It would take at least two people to move him into the position he was in, as neatly packaged as he was inside the chamber,” Born said. “If there were more people involved we have absolutely no clues.”

“Unless something else comes forward that would change the whole situation, that’s where we’re at.”

Others have come forward with names of suspects, including long-circulating rumors of a man who bragged he killed Maddux.

Born said police detectives confirmed the man had a history of violence and a long criminal record. In fact, he is in prison in Texas and spent time in jail in Portland, Ore., and Seattle and was in trouble in New Mexico.

But authorities can’t positively place him in Woodland Park when Maddux disappeared. The same is true for at least one other suspect, who Born said would be too small to have killed Maddux and disposed of his body in the chimney alone.

“There’s a lot of hearsay that ‘this person was the last one to see him’ and that kind of thing,” Born said. “But they can’t give me times and specifics. And we can’t generate stuff that goes back seven years. These theories could only make sense if it was multiple men involved.”

Born said all the theories and speculation are meaningless without evidence and facts to support them, leaving him with few choices.

“I know it’s not a natural death and I’m confident it’s not suicide,” he said. “My other options are an accidental death, homicide and undetermined cause of death.

“It is frustrating we can’t pin it down.”

Joshua Vernon Maddux, 18, vanished in May 2008 in Woodland, Colorado.
His remains were found in a cabin in Woodland Park by construction workers who were tearing it down. 
The knees were above the head and the legs dislodged, Courier reports said.

Police have ruled the death as an accident and suspect Maddux climbed down the chimney and became stuck. The cabin's owner said he checked on the vacant property occasionally and noticed a 'bad smell' - but thought rodents had died in there. 

Joshua's father said the teenager had experienced two 'difficult' years before he vanished due to the suicide of his older brother Zachary. Their sister Kate admitted she had been hoping Josh would 'return home to my father’s house at any time with a wife and small children.'




The construction workers who found the body said a large piece of furniture was blocking the fireplace, so Maddux would not have been able to access the chimney from there - or to have exit it from there.

The remains of 18-year-old man reported missing seven years ago were found in the chimney of an abandoned cabin less than a mile from his home - but the details of his death are likely to stay mysterious - Colorado officials said Wednesday.

The body of Joshua Vernon Maddux was discovered when contractors tore down the historic cabin - on a property called Thunderhead Ranch - in Woodland Park, Teller County. It had been empty for more than a decade.

Authorities had to use dental records to identify the remains as those of Maddux, who was reported missing in May 2008 but not as a runaway.

Maddux - who was tall and skinny - was probably trying to shimmy down the chimney when he got stuck, Teller County Coroner Al Born said.

There was a wood-burning insert in the chimney that, had someone climbed in from above, they wouldn't have been able to crawl back up, according to


They said the knees of the mummified body were above its head, and the legs were dislodged from the torso.

Maddux's death was ruled accidental, and there were no signs of trauma, Born said.

It appears to have been a 'voluntary act to gain access' to the building, he added.

However, it is unclear how long Maddux's remains had been in the chimney. 'There are going to be some questions out there that are unanswerable,' Born admitted.

Family members say Josh was bright, a talented musician and doing well in school, and they are not sure why he was at the cabin.

According to the Pikes Peak Courier, his older brother, Zachary, had killed himself two years before Josh went missing.

Construction workers were demolishing this cabin on Thunderhead Ranch, Teller County, when they discovered Josh's body in the chimney and called police.

Their father Mike, who spoke to the Courier after Josh's body was found but not yet identified, said: 'I got up one morning and (Josh) was there, then he just never came home.

'The next day he still didn’t come home. I called all his friends. Nobody’s seen him. Nobody knows where he is. I didn’t know what to do so I called the police. He went missing on May 8 and I called police May 13, 2008.'

It is not known if Zachary's death had any bearing on Josh's disappearance.

Mr Maddux, who has two daughters, Kate and Ruth, said: 'I buried his older brother two years before and it was so difficult on Josh. When his brother died, it pushed him over the edge. It was a big shock for the family and a big shock for Josh. He thought highly of his older brother.

'It’s tough as a parent. You try to raise your kids and when they get close to 18, you think they’re pretty much grown up, but they’re not. They still need a lot of help.'

He said the family had searched for Josh for years. Because he was 18 at the time he vanished, police said there was no reason to suspect a crime, so he was listed as missing.

Police suspect the slender Maddux (pictured in family photos) had tried to climb down the chimney of the abandoned cabin when he became stuck. His body had been there for seven years

Their father Mike, who spoke to the Courier after Josh's body was found but not yet identified, said: 'I got up one morning and (Josh) was there, then he just never came home.

'The next day he still didn’t come home. I called all his friends. Nobody’s seen him. Nobody knows where he is. I didn’t know what to do so I called the police. He went missing on May 8 and I called police May 13, 2008.'

It is not known if Zachary's death had any bearing on Josh's disappearance.

Mr Maddux, who has two daughters, Kate and Ruth, said: 'I buried his older brother two years before and it was so difficult on Josh. When his brother died, it pushed him over the edge. It was a big shock for the family and a big shock for Josh. He thought highly of his older brother.

'It’s tough as a parent. You try to raise your kids and when they get close to 18, you think they’re pretty much grown up, but they’re not. They still need a lot of help.'

He said the family had searched for Josh for years. Because he was 18 at the time he vanished, police said there was no reason to suspect a crime, so he was listed as missing.

Maddux's disappearance was not thought to be suspicious by the police, and they listed him as missing.

Josh's sister Kate posted an online tribute to her brother after his body was identified. She wrote on the News of Woodland Park website: 'Sometimes in life, our stories don’t have happy endings. I’m sorry to say that this is one of those stories...

'Since Josh was 18, it has been reasonable to assume he may have decided to leave town to start a new life. As one of his two older sisters, I have always chosen to believe that this was the case.

'I have expected Josh to return home to my father’s house at any time with a wife and small children so that they can meet their grandparents and two aunts.

'Josh has always been known for his musical and literary talent, so maybe we would find him playing music with a band on tour, or catch him writing successful novels under a pen name so that he could keep his preferred lifestyle of solitude in the woods.'

The cabin's owner, Chuck Murphy, said his parents bought it 60 years ago and his brother had lived there but it had been empty for at least ten years. He is turning the site into 32 single-family homes

She then explains the circumstances in which his body was found and adds: 'This is certainly not the outcome that the Maddux family and my brother Josh’s many friends and loved ones were hoping for. We are however eternally grateful for the opportunity to finally provide Josh with the proper memorial service he deserves and to finally lay Josh to rest.'

Meanwhile his other sister Ruth wrote: 'He was my best friend and he always inspired me to strive for greatness. Josh would tell me that one should never say anything bad about anyone else, ever, and I tried to be more like him.

'Josh was one of the nicest people I have ever met, and I am very proud to be his sister.”

The cabin's owner, Chuck Murphy, told area  papers that his parents had bought the property 60 years ago. It was formerly a homestead of the Thunderhead Ranch, which was infamous for illegal gambling and wild parties.

Murphy's brother used to live there before it was turned into a rental property, said Chuck. No one had lived there for at least ten years, he added.

He said he occasionally checked on the property and had noticed a bad smell but thought rodents had died in there. He did not think to check the chimney because of the piece of furniture blocking the fireplace.

Murphy, owner Murphy Constructors, was redeveloping the site into 32 single-family homes. The cabin was fully demolished after police finished their investigation into Maddux's death.




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