DENVER — James Turachak wasn't sure he would ever see his sister, Terri Turachak, receive justice after she was murdered in 1996.
Terri was 35 years old when she was found dead in her apartment on Oct. 5, 1996, along E. 17th Avenue between High and Race Streets.
Twenty-six years later, the Denver District Attorney's Office announced a suspect was in custody for her murder.
Ricky Dawson, now 62, was extradited from Florida to Colorado and charged with the attempted sexual assault and murder of Terri.
“We never forgot. We never gave up,” said James. "It becomes very real when they tell you he's being extradited."
James says he learned about Dawson in August 2004, when he was connected to the 1996 cold case through DNA. The DA's office said in its release that DNA taken the day of her murder was matched to Dawson, who was also 35 years old at the time.
Investigators would later determine Dawson was in custody at the Suwannee Correctional Institution in Florida, serving 25 years after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in connection with a 2001 case there. He is also suspected in a sex assault/murder case from 2000 from DNA evidence.
“They have enough evidence, I guess now, to charge him and hopefully make it stick and literally put him away for the rest of his life on paper,” said James.
Teri had been strangled and suffered blows to her head, according to an arrest affidavit released by the Denver District Attorney’s Office. She left behind three children.
“She was a great mom. Everything was for her kids,” James remembered.
He says time hasn't gotten easier through the years.
“Family goes on. It'll never get filled back up. It's a huge chunk that none of us will ever know how it ended up,” said James. "She would've enjoyed having grandchildren. So much lost. Just a beautiful soul.”
He hopes his sister gets the justice she deserves soon.
“I know it's good to forgive. That's not me now. Maybe someday, but now, no,” said James.
Dawson appeared in court in Colorado last week, where he was advised of the charges against him: One count of first-degree murder after deliberation, a Class 1 felony; and one count of first-degree murder – predicate attempted sexual assault. He is scheduled to appear in court on March 23.
