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Two murders, same gun, no arrest: Galveston police reopen '83-'84 cases
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Keenan Denning Murdered by mistake?
26-years after Keenan Denning was murdered outside the restroom of a Galveston softball park his family back home in Idaho Falls, Idaho are urging Galveston police to review the case in hopes that with the passage of time something new may have developed which would lead them to the killer.
Brandon Denning, the dead mans nephew, 6-years old at the time of his uncle's death, said Keenan Denning's parent and grandparents still hope and pray for the day the gunman who snuffed the life from their loved one will stand before the bar of justice.
The murder of Keenan Denning is listed at the Galveston Police Department as case number G-9050, Murder, December 3, 1983.
About 5 o'clock that Saturday morning police officer Wes Jennings found Denning's body in the partially closed door of the restroom at Charlie Rouque Softball Field in the 8300 block of Stewart Road. His body lay sprawled at the entrance to the facility, torso on the concrete, head in the grass, his feet inside the door propping it open.
He was dead with two small caliber bullets in his brain.
"I was at home in Idaho Falls when his landlord called me from Galveston," said Kim Denning, the youngest of the four Denning brothers, in an interview with The Police News.
"She said there had been an accident." As it turned out, the so-called accident was a pure and simple case of murder and the oldest of the six Denning children was dead.
In interviews with siblings, The Police News learned that Keenan Denning, a brilliant man with degrees in Accounting, English and the Science of Radiation Protection, left Idaho Falls for a position with a company at Todd Shipyard on the Galveston ship channel.
Denning was a very soft spoken man, very honest, and very conscientious about his health. He didn't smoke or drink and he faithfully jogged early every morning. As a matter of fact, investigators say it was during one of these morning jogs that his life was ended by gunfire from a yet unidentified assailant.
Investigators at the time reported Denning's 1981 Datsun was found near the murder scene, keys still in the ignition, passenger door wide open. His wallet, a gold watch, about fifty dollars in cash and his high school ring were found on his body. In his wallet, his ID revealed he was from Idaho Falls, however a Rosenberg Library card and phone numbers found inside his car identified him as a resident of Galveston.
A team of Galveston police were assigned the investigation, including Detectives Harry Millo and Louis Kessler, together with Identification Officer Freddie Poor and Nicholas Rac. They quickly learned that Denning had moved from Idaho Falls and signed on with Diversified Nuclear, Inc. at Todd Shipyards on June 20, 1983, a little more than six month before his murder.
Investigators learned from co-workers that Denning was a shy sort of man, the quiet type who would go out of his way to avoid contact with others. He spent much of his time in the library on the Texas A&<, Galveston campus.
Bullet casings discovered near Denning's body were identified at Blazer CCI .25 caliber pistol ammo. They were sent to the Houston Police Department's, Ballistics Lab for identification and comparison purposes. The investigation slowed somewhat after that.
Then, on Wednesday morning, February 15, 1984, about five weeks after Denning's murder officer P.E. Millo was dispatched to east Seawall Blvd. about a mile west of Boddecker Drive where the body of 27-year old John David Ruiz had been discovered, sitting behind the steering wheel of his 1980 GMC pickup truck, two small caliber bullets in his brain. Sergeant William Dagg found two spent .25 caliber casings on the ground outside the driver door.
Ruiz was a Galvestonian, employed as a front desk clerk at the Marriott Hotel Galvez, now a Wyndham Hotel, and a historic landmark which opened in 1911 known as the Queen of The Gulf. Ruiz had clocked off duty shortly before one o'clock that same morning, changed clothes, and gone to a club with a female friend. That female friend told police that John David Ruiz was a gay man and had told her of problems he was having with two gay companions with whom he was living.
As the story was told, there was a spat between the three gay lovers because Ruiz was garnering more attention leaving another feeling cheated. That caused a big breakup and David moved out and was warned not to come back and fool around with the other guy.
David Ruiz was last seen that Wednesday morning leaving a bar called Mary’s II and driving off east from the 600 block of Seawall Blvd. being followed by a smaller sedan.
Detectives visited several local businesses which sold ammunition hoping to identify people who recently purchased ammunition of the same type and caliber as that used to murder David Ruiz. They inquired at The Shooter, 4103 Avenue S; Salt Grass Gun Company, 4625 Fort Crockett; Ardans, 5900 Avenue J; Sears-Roebuck, 6102 Broadway; K-Mart, 6300 Stewart; Wal-Mart on 61st Street; Loans Unlimited, 5201 Broadway; and Kirks Guns, 3820 Avenue S, all in the City of Galveston.
And then, on March 1st, investigators were notified by the FBI National Ballistics Lab in Washington, D.C. that the bullet casings recovered at the scene of the Denning and Ruiz murders had been fired from the same weapon.
Detectives believe that the murders of Keenan Denning and David Ruiz were committed by the same person. It is possible this person either moved out of the area or was imprisoned following the Ruiz murder as there were no more similar killings afterward.
Police also believe that although relatives are adamant that Keenan Denning was not gay, because of his shy demeanor, good looks and introverted personality, he may have been mistaken for a gay man. Could there have been a gunman targeting gay men during these few months?
There was another murder during that time frame also in which the killer used a weapon of the same caliber, but the weapon was never found. That killer was sentenced to 35 years in prison. He is now a free man and back in Galveston.
Galveston Police Detective Fred Paige believes it is possible that at least one person in Galveston knows who murdered Ruiz or Denning or both and have remained silent about it all these years. He urges anyone who may have information about this case contact him at 409-765-3766 or via e-mail at: apaige@cityofgalveston.org
Breck Porter may be reached at 409-632-0042 or e-mailed at editor@thepolicenews.net
For more info: www.thepolicenews.net
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