Joseph Corbett Jr. (October 25, 1928 – August 24, 2009)[1] was an American fugitive, murderer, and prison escapee who, in 1960, was placed on the FBI's 10 most wanted list after kidnapping and murdering Adolph Coors III, heir to the Coors beer fortune.[2]
A native of Seattle and a Fulbright scholar,[3] Corbett was arrested in Canada after spending seven months on the run. He was convicted of murdering Coors and sentenced to life imprisonment.[4] Eventually released on parole, Corbett died by suicide in 2009.[5]
First murder and escape
On January 13, 1951, Corbett, then a student at the University of California, was arrested and charged with the December 22, 1950, shooting death and robbery of Air Force Sergeant Allen Lee Reed.[6] Corbett was arrested while driving a stolen car, and a gun that matched the type used in the killing was found in the car.[7] Initially pleading not guilty to the murder, Corbett changed his plea to guilty to the charge of second degree murder.[8] Corbett was sentenced to five years to life imprisonment for the murder and was initially sent to San Quentin State Prison.[9][10] Corbett was later transferred to a low security section of California Institution for Men in Chino, from which he escaped with another prisoner on August 1, 1955.[11][12]
Murder of Adolph Coors
The ransom note
On the morning of February 9, 1960, Adolph Coors III, the 45-year-old CEO and chairman of the board of the Coors brewery, left his house for work, but never arrived.[10] A delivery man found Coors' station wagon abandoned, and blood droplets were found nearby.[10] Corbett was implicated, and the FBI began a manhunt that spanned from California to Atlantic City, New Jersey, and eventually to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[10] In March 1960, the FBI added Corbett to its Ten Most Wanted list.[10]
On September 11, 1960, Coors' remains were found in the local forest, with two bullet wounds in his back.[10]
Corbett was arrested on October 29, 1960 in Vancouver by Canadian police. The FBI had issued wanted poster-style photo copies, and a woman called in, stating a man of his description was in her area. Afterwards, the Vancouver police saw his car parked outside a motor inn. He was extradited back to the U.S. Since the kidnap and murder occurred in Colorado, the state charged Corbett with murder.[4]
On March 29, 1961, Corbett was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.[4] He was paroled and released from prison on December 12, 1980.[13]
In 1996, Corbett gave his only interview following his release from prison; in it, he maintained his innocence.[13][14]
Corbett committed suicide by a single gunshot wound in the head on August 24, 2009.[15][3]
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