COLD CASE: THE CABARET MURDERS

Photo: Denver Police Department files

Band leader Camilo Roys Jr.

After closing time on July 8, 1976, a band leader and a cocktail waitress died in an arson fire at a Denver cabaret.

The case has never been solved.

Flames jutted from the windows of The Connection at 2398 West Alameda Ave., near South Zuni Steet, when Denver firefighters arrived early that morning.

An accelerant, possibly gasoline, fueled the blaze near the dance floor, said fire department Lieutenant Jim Persichitte, quoted by the Rocky Mountain News.

Booths and tables were soaked in the stuff. 

After the blaze was out, firefighters discovered the bodies of musician Camilo Roys Jr., 28, of 6661 Green Court in Adams County and waitress Lillian J. Hurtado, 22, of 8331 Oakwood St., also in Adams County.

It appeared as if they were trying to escape the blaze.

Autopsies determined Roys and Hurtado succumbed to smoke inhalation, police said. 

Denver police case #76-308583