On the morning of February 11, 1987, a bicyclist investigated what he thought was a mannequin and discovered the dead body of 37-year-old Peggy Hettrick in a field in southern Fort Collins.
Her body had been "sexually mutilated," with the precise removal of her left nipple and areola, as well as a female "circumcision",[3] including what one doctor described as a partial vulvectomy; a procedure that requires high skill and quality surgical equipment to perform.
They found 2,200 pages of writings and violent artwork by Masters in his bedroom, backpack and school locker, along with a knife collection and pornography.
[4] With no new leads, and following consultation with the FBI Behavioral Science Unit, investigators planted an article containing false information in the local newspaper on February 12, 1988, in an attempt to provoke an incriminating reaction from Masters.
In 1992, during an interview with a former fellow high school student, investigators discovered that Masters told his friends details about the sexual mutilations.
The friend had been part of a group of Explorer Scouts helping the police search the crime scene, and he was told of the nature of the mutilations early in the investigation.
His story checked out [4] and the investigation reached a dead end until 1997, when Broderick contacted a forensic psychologist from California, Dr. J. Reid Meloy.
[12] In 2002, the Colorado Supreme Court granted certiorari to determine whether evidence supposedly suggestive of Masters's violent nature, which was fundamental to the prosecution in securing a conviction, was improperly admitted.
The defense argued that Jim Broderick perjured himself during the 1999 trial concerning his involvement in the case,[15] and that prosecutors allegedly withheld evidence about links to Dr. Richard Hammond, a potential suspect in the murder.
[16] In early 2008, special prosecutors assigned to the case agreed that critical information was not turned over to the original defense team.
On February 5, 2008, District Attorney Larry Abrahamson and the Eight Judicial Circuit held proceedings to decide whether to retry Masters or to drop all charges against him.
[20] In an announcement on June 28, 2011, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said Masters is no longer a suspect in the 1987 murder of Peggy Hettrick of Fort Collins and has been exonerated.
Investigators also found that Hammond kept thousands of dollars worth of pornography hidden in a locked office and in a storage shed in town, indicating an obsession with female genitalia.
In 1987, Hammond's bedroom window overlooked the location where Hettrick's body was discovered, and he was home the morning after the murder, despite his usually scheduled surgeries on that day of the week.
Broderick ordered evidence in the Hammond case destroyed before it could be examined for any link with Hettrick[21] based upon the premise that he had committed suicide and there was no criminal investigation that would begin.
1397, which requires the preservation of all evidence that may contain DNA that is collected in cases resulting in a conviction for a Class 1 felony or a sex offense.
[23][24] In June 2008, after a six-month review of the case, Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck determined that police had acted inappropriately (misfeasance), but not criminally (malfeasance).
"Buck was responsible for determining whether Broderick broke any laws, but in a letter to Chief Judge James H. Hiatt, he said it was important to give context of the overall case, which he used to reach his conclusions.
'After consideration of the evidence, I did not discover criminal conduct among employees of the Fort Collins Police Department or the prosecutors in the case,' Buck wrote."
In their legal brief are facts concerning the Masters case, including withholding evidence from Dr. Meloy and other expert witnesses (including a surgeon consultant and a criminalist), and interference with the sharing of evidence among expert witnesses that would cast doubt on Masters's involvement in Hettrick's homicide and would have pointed toward other suspects.
[29] In an agreement with the Colorado Supreme Court's Office of Attorney Regulation, Gilmore and Blair acknowledged failing to ensure that Masters's defense attorneys received large amounts of the information which had been obtained by the Fort Collins Police Department, including many key pieces indicating Masters's innocence.
[32] Count 1, concerning an affidavit for Masters' arrest, was dismissed by Weld County District Judge James Hartmann in the January 26, 2011 ruling, "People v. Broderick," in a section entitled "Bronston Principles.
"[33] On May 9, 2011, all remaining charges were dismissed by a ruling from Weld County District Judge James Hartmann that the 3-year statute of limitations for perjury in Colorado had expired.
The episode labeled Masters a murderer and congratulated the Fort Collins Police Department and District Attorney's office for a job well done.