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Cold case: After 20 years, Westminster police still investigating suspected triple homicide

Posted at 8:13 AM, Feb 25, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-25 10:15:30-05

WESTMINSTER, Colo. — More than 20 years after the crime, the Westminster Police Department is still working to piece together a suspected triple homicide.

On Feb. 7, 1999, around 8:30 a.m., Sarah Skiba, 9, joined her father Paul Skiba and his business partner Lorenzo Chivers after they were hired to help move people.

Paul Skiba owned Tuff Moving, which was based out of Westminster and was a fairly successful business. He worked with five associates, including Chivers.

Around 10:30 a.m., the trio arrived at the job in Thornton. After some work, they stopped for lunch in Lakewood at 12:50 p.m. The three of them then moved to a second moving job in Morrison and wrapped that up later that day, police said.

Investigators found that Sarah Skiba made one last phone call at 6:22 p.m., though details around the call were not released. A few minutes before that call, the trio returned to the truck yard on the 7100 block of Raleigh Street in Westminster.

Sometime after that, all three were murdered, either at the yard or at a second location, police said.
Detectives said they believe that their bodies were removed from the yard in the moving trucks and taken to an unknown location.

The trio was reported missing later that day. As of Monday morning, their bodies have not been found.

Detectives have worked on every tip they received in past 20 years, police said. In the last five years, they worked specifically to start from scratch. Those detectives were able to interview two other witnesses, who provided information. Authorities are also using updated DNA technology in this case.

This case has been looming over the police department and the families and friends of the victims, police said. They said they hope somebody can provide a critical piece of information to help police provide closure for the families.

The Westminster Police Department is once again asking that anybody with information about this crime to call police at 303-658-4360. Callers can remain anonymous by contacting Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867 and may be eligible for a reward up to $4,000.