The Hammer Killer: Alex Ewing On January 16, 1984, a young family was found brutally murdered in their Aurora, Colorado home. Patricia Smith, a 50-year-old mother and grandmother, had been bludgeoned to death with a hammer. Days later, on January 19, an even more horrifying scene was discovered in Lakewood, Colorado, where Bruce, Debra, and Melissa Bennett were murdered in their family home. Bruce and Debra were found bludgeoned to death with a hammer, and 7-year-old Melissa