Theodore Edward Coneys
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Theodore Edward Coneys (November 10, 1882 – May 16, 1967), also known by the nickname "Denver Spiderman", was an American drifter who committed the murder of a man whose house he was illegally occupying in 1941, and continued occupying the attic of the victim's home for nine months.


Early life

Theodore Coneys was born November 10, 1882, in
Petersburg, Illinois Petersburg is a city in and the county seat of Menard County, Illinois, Menard County, Illinois, United States, on the bluffs and part of the floodplain overlooking the Sangamon River. It is part of the Springfield, Illinois Springfield, Illinois ...
, to Thomas H. Coneys (November 18, 1844 – July 1, 1888), a Canadian immigrant who owned a hardware store in Petersburg, and his wife, Isabella Elam (March 1, 1851 – April 14, 1911). After the elder Coneys died in 1888, Mrs. Coneys and her son moved to a farm near
Beloit, Wisconsin Beloit ( ) is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 36,657 people. Beloit is a principal city of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Janesville–Beloit metropolitan statistical area (Rock Co ...
, then to
Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
, in 1907, where she worked as a housekeeper at the Denver Democratic Club. She died in 1911. Theodore Coneys suffered from poor health and had been told by doctors not to expect to see his 18th birthday, so he did not finish high school. As an adult, he worked as a bookkeeper at the Denver Brass Works in advertising and sales, yet spent much of his adult life
homeless Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...
. Coneys resented the way he was treated by others for his frail condition, later expressing that he wanted a place where he could be alone and free from the judgment of others.


Criminal career

In September 1941, 58-year-old Theodore Coneys intended to ask former acquaintance Philip Peters for a handout at his home on 3335 West Moncrieff Place in
Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
. Coneys broke into the house in Peters' absence to steal food and money. In the ceiling of a closet, Coneys found a small trapdoor that led to a narrow
attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building. It is also known as a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because they fill the space between the ceiling of a building's t ...
cubbyhole and decided to occupy the small space without Peters' knowledge. Coneys lived in the house undiscovered for about five weeks. On October 17, 1941, Peters discovered Coneys at the refrigerator. Peters struck at Coneys with a cane he carried, but Coneys clubbed him with an old pistol he had found in the house. After the gun broke apart, Coneys continued the battery with a heavy iron stove shaker and bludgeoned the 73-year-old Peters to death. Coneys then returned to the attic cubbyhole. Peters' body was discovered later the same day after a neighbor, concerned Peters had not come by for dinner, called the police. The police found all of the home's doors and windows locked, and there was no other sign of forced entry. They noted the trapdoor but believed a normal-sized person could not fit through it. Peters' wife, who had been in the hospital recuperating from a broken hip during and prior to Coneys' occupation of the attic, returned to live in the house with a housekeeper. Both women would often hear strange sounds in the house. The housekeeper quit after becoming convinced the house was haunted and Mrs. Peters moved to western Colorado to live with her son. Mabel Berke and her five children lived next door to the house and would consistently see lights going on and off, once even arming herself with a baseball bat and knocking on the door. Coneys remained in the vacant house with the occasional signs of his occupation written off as an apparition or local pranksters. Police continued to make routine checks, when on July 30, 1942, one of them heard a lock click on the second floor. Running upstairs, the police caught the sight of Coneys' legs as he was going through the trapdoor and pulled him down. He was taken into police custody and confessed to the crime. Local newspapers dubbed him "The Sneaky Sneaky Spider-Man of Denver" after police detective Fred Zarnow remarked "A man would have to be a spider to stand it long up there." Coneys was tried and convicted, then sentenced to life imprisonment at the Colorado State Penitentiary in
Cañon City, Colorado Cañon City ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Fremont County, Colorado, United States. The city p ...
.


Death and legacy

Theodore Coneys died on May 16, 1967, at the Colorado State Penitentiary prison hospital. He was interred at Mountain Vale Cemetery in Cañon City. The case was referenced in Erle Stanley Gardner's 1956 Cool and Lam novel "Beware the Curves". Two episodes of popular American television shows appear to have been inspired by the Denver Spiderman story, the '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' episode " Stalker" and ''The Simpsons'' episode " The Ziff Who Came to Dinner". Cartoonist Noah Van Sciver drew the story of the case for volume 15 of the comics anthology MOME in 2009.


Further reading

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References


External links


"CSI Files - Stalker"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coneys, Theodore 1882 births 1967 deaths American people convicted of murder History of Denver People from Petersburg, Illinois American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Colorado People convicted of murder by Colorado Prisoners who died in Colorado detention American people who died in prison custody American people of Canadian descent