A Boulder County couple beat and stabbed a masked man to death after he showed up at their front door
late Monday with a fake gun.
Becci Starr, 59, and Scott Mattes, 56, told sheriff's investigators the doorbell of their home in Sunshine Canyon rang
around 10:25 p.m.
Starr answered the door after the man yelled "Boulder County police" and he tried to force his way
in, sheriff's Lt. Phil West said.
"She screamed, and the fight was on," he said.
The man, who has not yet been identified, was dead when police arrived. Sheriff's investigators do not expect to charge
the couple, who gave the following account:
Starr grabbed a baseball bat, which she has kept by her front door for 26 years, and hit the intruder. The man dropped
the fake gun and grabbed a knife as Starr beat him with the bat.
Mattes heard the commotion and rushed to his wife's aid. He tackled the intruder, wrested the knife from his hands and
stabbed him. Starr continued to hit the man with the bat to subdue him.
Once it became apparent the man was no longer a threat, Mattes attempted mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while Starr called
911.
Police arrived at the home, 135 Poorman Road, about 10 minutes later and found the man dead on the front steps outside
the house.
West would not specify where he was stabbed or how many times.
The intruder did not have identification or a car, and his fingerprints did not match anyone in a Colorado Bureau of Investigation
database, West said.
The Coroner's Office will conduct an autopsy today, and investigators will work with the FBI to identify the man. Morgue
pictures of the suspect were distributed to area law enforcement agencies Tuesday in hopes that an officer might recognize
him from a prior incident.
Investigators questioned the couple, and West said he does not anticipate any arrests.
"If you are feeling that your life is in danger and someone is threatening you with a deadly weapon, it is natural for
you to protect yourself," West said.
But he noted that the investigation is ongoing, and the intruder's identification could bring up new issues, for example
a motive.
"That is a big black hole in this case," he said.
A bicycle that does not belong to the couple was found in their driveway, but detectives found no suspicious cars in the
area late Monday.
Starr and Mattes escaped the struggle without serious injuries, but Mattes was taken to the hospital with a bruise on his
arm, West said. He was treated and released.
The couple was allowed to return home Tuesday, although detectives had not finished investigating the scene. A reporter's
attempts to find them Tuesday afternoon were unsuccessful.
Dale Hursh, 47, lives next door and was watching the movie "Sin City" when he heard screaming coming from outside. He went
to investigate while his wife and two young children slept.
"It was very hysterical and chaotic," Hursh said. "There was yelling and screaming. But they weren't talking clearly."
Hursh said darkness and trees prevented him from seeing the struggle clearly, but he did see Starr hitting the man with
the bat and heard her ask, "Should I hit him more?"
Hursh yelled to find out if Mattes and Starr were OK, and called 911. He said Mattes was asking for immediate medical attention,
reporting that the man was "very, very seriously injured."
"I am amazed, honestly, with the success of how they defended themselves," said Hursh, who has talked to the couple since
the incident and said they are doing fine.
He said both are friendly and well-known by neighbors.
Those living along the mile-long dirt road in the heavily wooded area say neighbors talk often. Several nearby couples
said they were getting ready for bed when the struggle ensued, and either missed the commotion entirely or assumed the passing
emergency vehicles were headed to an accident up the canyon.
Linda Coss said she can usually hear everything from her home, which is three doors down from Starr's and Mattes'.
"Our windows are always open, but last night was the first night it really got chilly," Coss said Tuesday. "So everyone's
windows were closed."
When she and her husband, Tim Coss, left for Boulder around 7:15 p.m. Monday, they noticed a suspicious mid-sized "bluish"
car parked in the area. It was empty, and the couple is now wondering whether its driver was "casing out the joint."
The car was gone when they returned about an hour later.
Norman and Yvonne Haun have lived in the area for about 30 years and have never heard anything like this, although they
have been burglarized twice. The first time they lost a guinea pig, and the second time they lost silver, jewelry, camera
equipment and a checkbook.
"We are very concerned," Yvonne Haun said. "If it is just a random thing, why didn't they choose our door?"
The couple said they once had a man come to their door around 2 a.m. complaining of car trouble. They let him in, lent
them the keys to their Volkswagen, and asked him to return it in the morning — which he did.
But after Monday, neighbors said they are going to be more careful. They plan to organize a phone tree and a more stringent
neighborhood-watch program.
"You hear about awful things happening," Yvonne Haun said. "But you never think it's going to happen in your neighborhood."
Contact Camera Staff Writer Vanessa Miller at (303) 473-1329 or millerv@dailycamera.com.
