A 70-year-old man has been arrested in the 1999 murder of an Arapahoe County prosecutor whose death was staged to look like a suicide.
Robert Williams was arrested Tuesday for investigation of first degree murder in the death of Rebecca Bartee, 41.
The tip funneled through KCNC-Channel 4 investigative reporter Brian Maass led investigators to new evidence, including the identification of the alleged killer, according to a news release from the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office.
Bartee was a deputy district attorney in the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office when she was murdered in her apartment, according to a Wednesday sheriff’s office news release.
Williams and Bartee were living in the same apartment complex in the 6500 block of South Dayton Street when her body was discovered on June 7, 1999.
Williams was still living in the same complex when he was arrested. Williams has been booked into the Arapahoe County Detention Facility.
“We, along with the victim’s family, are thankful someone came forward with new information, even after 18 years,” the news release says.
The arrest affidavit has been sealed.
However, The Denver Post previously reported the case as part of a series of cold case profiles.
Officials have previously said that the killer had staged the murder to look like a suicide.
A pill bottle holding anti-depressant medication was set on the edge of the bathroom sink next to the nearly overflowing tub of water where the body of Bartee was found. Her head was submerged near the drain.
Just as the bathtub was filled nearly to the rim, a glass of red wine was filled to the brim and left on a small table in the living room, her relatives told the newspaper. There were no lip marks or fingerprints on the glass. An autopsy later revealed there was no wine in her body. Authorities also did not discover any wine bottles in the house.
