Denver Spiderman

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"Denver Spiderman" was the name given to Theodore Coneys (born 1882, date of death unknown) who was involved in one of the most bizarre crimes in the history of American crime.

In September of 1941, Theodore Coneys was a 59-year-old tramp who approached the house of Denver, Colorado resident Philip Peters. Coneys had known Peters years earlier, but on this occasion the down-and-out Coneys was looking for a handout from Peters. As Coneys approached Peters' house, he noticed that Peters was leaving the house — as Peters was on his way to visit his sick wife in the hospital. When Peters left, Coneys broke into Peters' house and stole food and money, but his biggest discovery would be finding a small trapdoor, only about twice as big as a cigar box lid, that led to a narrow attic cubbyhole. Coneys gathered up some rags, food, and an old crystal radio and decided to make Peters' cobwebbed attic his secret lair.

When the 73-year-old Peters was at home, Coneys stayed quietly in the attic, but whenever Peters left, Coneys would come out of his hiding place and eat Peters' food, bathe, and even shave with Peters' razor. For about five weeks, Coneys lived in Peters' house undiscovered, but his luck would soon run out. On October 17, 1941, Coneys thought he heard Peters leave the house, but Peters was only taking a nap. When Coneys opened the kitchen door, a shocked Peters was left gaping. Peters obviously did not recognize Coneys, and a panicked Coneys took a heavy iron stove shaker and bludgeoned the screaming Peters to death.

Having nowhere to go, Coneys decided to stay in the house. Peters' body however would be discovered later in the evening the same day. Seeing no sign of activity in Peters' house, some worried neighbors called the police. The police arrived and discovered the murdered body and were mystified by the murder; the doors and windows were all locked, and there was no other sign of forced entry. Although one officer noted the trapdoor, the police believed a normal-sized person could not fit through it. An average-sized person could not fit through the trapdoor, but the very thin body of Coneys could.

Peters' wife returned from the hospital and continued to live in the house with a housekeeper. Both women would often hear strange sounds in the house and soon they started to believe the house may be haunted. On one occasion, the housekeeper saw a silhouetted figure moving about the house, and she became certain is was Mr. Peters' ghost, and she eventually talked Mrs. Peters into moving.

The house was vacant, with no electric power or water, but Coneys remained. He had stored some non-perishable food, and he would use melted snow scraped from the gutters for water. Occasionally, people passing by the house would see a strange light from the top of the house, but when the police were called and arrived, they found nothing there. The police became convinced kids were playing in the house trying to scare people who were passing by. Police continued to make routine checks, when on July 30, 1942, one of them heard a lock click on the second floor. Running up stairs, the police just caught the sight of Coneys' legs as he was going through the trap door. After his trial, the guilty Coneys went to prison for life, and was soon be dubbed the famous "Denver Spiderman of Moncrieff Place."

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