Filipe Espinosa

Felipe Nerio Espinosa (c. 1836-1863) was a notorious murderer who during the summer of 1863 killed two dozen people in Colorado Territory.

Espinosa was born in Vera Cruz, Mexico. As a child during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), Espinosa lost six family members when his native city was shelled by the U.S. Navy. During his later reign of terror, Espinosa sent a letter to Territorial Governor John Evans stating his intention to murder 600 "Gringos", one hundred for each member of his family killed during the war.

Aided by two cousins, Espinosa began his murder spree in the thinly-populated area of what is now Fremont County, Colorado. The trios' first victim was found in May 1863, his corpse mutilated and the heart hacked out of his chest. During that summer, twenty-five more people were attacked and killed in similar fashion. Espinosas' letter to Governor Evans demanded full pardons for himself and his "followers", along with convert|5000|acre|km2 of land in Conejos County and appointments in the Colorado Volunteers. The letter also threatened that an additional 574 Anglos, including the Governor himself, would be killed if the demands were not met.

Lawmen including Conejos County Sheriff Emmett Harding and Colorado Volunteer Commander S. B. Tappan were dispatched to find Espinosa, but they met with little success. Finally, legendary tracker Tom Tobin was enlisted to join in the search. Tobin was offered a full company of militiamen to help in his quest, but he declined the offer and set about tracking the murderers with a party of three soldiers. In a manner of days, Tobin and his men found the outlaws' camp and in brief gunfight managed to kill Espinosa and his cousins. [Kutz, J.: "Mysteries & Miracles of Colorado", Rhombus, 1993] .

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Tom Tobin