30 years ago – June 8, 1990
Richard Glenn Tolbert, 36, and Charles Arthur Morgan, 35, have been charged with killing Luther Clyburn and John McDaniel, two men who disappeared from the National Mine near Central City nine years ago. Tolbert was arrested May 31 in Basalt, Colorado, on a warrant for first-degree murder. Morgan, who used the name Bruce Eric “Chuck” Jacobson, was already in jail on unrelated charges. Two counts of first-degree murder and four counts of violent crime were filed against Tolbert in Jefferson County Court. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 3 in Gilpin County. Morgan was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday on identical charges. He is already in jail on charges of criminal impersonation and walking away from a work release program in the state of Washington. Since 1978, he has frequently used the alias Bruce Jacobson, and was often called Chuck. The two men are alleged to have killed Clyburn and McDaniel at the National Mine just above Central City on August 14, 1981. When the pair were reported missing, “all of the possible leads on what happened to these men were followed up on at that time, but the case went unsolved,” according to a spokesman from the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office. Not much happened in the case of the two miners until two months ago, when Harry Martin “Buddy” Brockman, formerly of Central City, told an FBI investigator that he witnessed the killings of Clyburn and McDaniel and helped dispose of the bodies. He later told JeffCo DA’s investigators that the bodies and Clyburn’s truck were in a mineshaft subsequently identified as the Gulch Mine, located about a mile from the National Mine. Brockman, 53, is serving 71 months in a federal prison for armed bank robbery. Brockman, Tolbert and Morgan, who was known as Jacobson while in Central City, were employed by Central Gold Corp., when Clyburn and McDaniel were murdered. Central Gold had leased the National Mine and the Glory Hole Mill from Chain O’ Mines. Clyburn and McDaniel had been introduced by Clyburn’s daughter, Beth Roman, who was secretary to Harry Caldwell, the owner of the National Mine. Clyburn hired McDaniel too help organize a mining operation at the Big Thunder, a property he was leasing from the Chain O’ Mines. Clint Blackhurst, chief investigator with the JeffCo DA’s Office, said Wednesday that, despite media emphasis on knowledge McDaniel might have had about fraudulent practices in Central Gold’s operation, that does not appear to be a primary motive for the murders. “It just doesn’t make sense,” Blackhurst said, noting that many people were aware of discrepancies in the operation. If that were the motive, “they would have had to get rid of three-fourths of the population. The motive is cloudy,” Blackhurst said. “It may be that we’ll never know. It does appear that Mr. Clyburn’s death was the result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Statements made by Brockman and Morgan in an affidavit allege that George Krotter, who was Central Gold’s security chief, told them to kill McDaniel. There is not enough evidence, however, according to Blackhurst, to charge anyone else. The stories of Brockman and Morgan agree in most respects, except for the extent of Brockman’s involvement in the murders. Brockman has said that he was closing up shop for the day when he heard a commotion outside, and that he walked out to find the two had just been killed. Morgan, however, claims that Brockman observed the entire incident, pointing a gun at Morgan the whole time force Morgan to participate in the murders. Tolbert and Morgan will be tried separately in Gilpin County, Blackhurst said.
Died: Richard C. Hicks (1921-1990), son of the late Mr. And Mrs. Alfred C. Hicks of Denver, died June 7, at Rifle, Colorado. He was 68. A longtime resident of Central City, Hicks was well known for the intricately painted Victorian ceilings he created in businesses and homes throughout Central City and Black Hawk. His murals grace the walls of numerous private and public buildings as well. In addition to his painting, Hicks will be remembered for the elaborate costumes he designed for special occasions. He is survived by his sister, Virginia Hicks Brown, of Denver; his brother, Alfred Hicks II of Centerville, Ohio, and several nieces and nephews. He was to be cremated and interred at Bald Mountain Cemetery.
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