Sounak Sengupta
Investigation Discovery’s ‘Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda: The Case that Haunts Me’ features the story of 20-year-old Kaitlin Bennett and how she was brutally beaten and raped in the outskirts of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in September 1977. However, the brave woman survived the ordeal and helped the investigators to get a potential sociopath off the streets. If you’re interested in discovering more about the case, including the perpetrator’s identity and current whereabouts, we’ve your back. Let’s start then, shall we?
How Was Kaitlin Bennett Assaulted?
On September 12, 1977, a family was driving on the Gold Camp Road — a 25-mile stretch of dirt road at the west end of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado. The road is very curvy and has steep cliffs, making it a beautiful but scary drive, particularly during the night. According to the show, the route had a unique attraction, with local legends stating frequent sightings of ghosts of miners from the 1800s. The family was driving down the path around 11:30 AM when they spotted something terrifying.
The episode showed the family saw a naked lady soaked in blood from head to toe, and she collapsed in front of their car. They rushed her to St. Francis Hospital in Colorado Springs, where the doctors admitted her to the intensive care unit. According to her medical reports, she had been brutally beaten, stabbed six times, and viciously raped. Besides, the medical personnel also noticed a strange thing — a chunk of the victim’s hair had been sawed off with a knife.
According to the show, the victim was identified as Kaitlin Bennett, then 20. She had been experiencing family problems and moved out of her home following a bitter fight with her mother. With no source of income or roof over her head, she resorted to prostitution as a method of survival. According to the show, Kaitlin worked at South Nevada Avenue with a group of sex workers, waiting to pick up clients. Yet, given the critical condition she was in, the doctors were concerned whether she would be able to make it.
Who Assaulted Kaitlin Bennett?
While Kaitlin was in the hospital fighting for her life, the detectives went to where she was found. They found a lot of blood on some rocks down an embankment, indicating the assaulter had thrown her down the cliff after beating and raping her. Unfortunately, the officers couldn’t find any physical evidence to help them catch the perpetrator. They had to wait for Kaitlin to regain consciousness and provide a description or other leads pointing them to the criminal.
Fortunately, Kaitlin survived the ordeal and was able to help the investigators. She told the officers how she was picked up by a white guy with shocking red hair in a white pickup truck with a camper shell in the back. Kaitlin said he seemed nice and took her to a secluded spot on Gold Camp Road. He told her they would shift to the back of the vehicle where there was more space and struck her unconscious when she ventured to do so. The 20-year-old stated she regained consciousness and discovered she was lying at the end of the cliff.
With her survival instinct kicking in, Kaitlin managed to scale the cliff and stumble onto the road before being spotted by the family and taken to the hospital. Thankfully, she provided the officers with a critical clue — she remembered seeing big red wrenches in the back of the truck with wheels in front of them that were 2-3 inches long. The police quickly concluded such tools were not required by ordinary homemakers but only by plumbers. They ruled out big plumbing companies since their trucks were clearly marked with the company names.
The detectives visited several small plumbing companies until they stumbled upon one with a white pickup truck parked out in the front. The vehicle seemed to match the description provided by Kaitlin, and the police interviewed the female owner to learn it was a family business. When asked if someone worked there with red hair, the owner confirmed her son, Charles Warren, then 23, had red hair. The investigators returned with a court order to click his pictures and showed them to Kaitlin.
Charles Warren Was Admitted to Colorado State Mental Hospital
Once Kaitlin identified Charles Warren as the perpetrator, the police arrested him and searched his house to find the locks of her red hair taped behind a drawer. He was taken to the police station for further questioning but claimed innocence. Charles alleged he bought the drawers from a garage sale and had no idea where the hair came from. He attempted to portray himself as a family man, and the police could find no criminal records. Consequently, he seemed to be the guy he tried to make himself be.
Regardless, the detectives kept pushing Charles and questioning him until he admitted to the crime after around six hours of interrogation. He confessed to having deviant fantasies, and his demeanor changed as he talked about them. The 23-year-old showed no remorse and had a chilling tone as he spoke of the events that happened with Kaitlin. He was charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, and sexual assault; he decided to plead guilty to all the charges.
Unsurprisingly, a panel of psychiatrists examining Charles before the trial concluded he suffered from severe mental issues and was not mentally competent to stand trial. According to the show, he was declared clinically insane and was admitted to a Colorado State Mental Hospital for treatment. The detectives determined Charles showed every sign of becoming a sociopath and was glad he was off the streets for good before he could claim another victim.
