Colorado Bureau of Investigation identifies victim of 2016 homicide after remains found in Bailey
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation has identified the victim in a 2016 homicide after his remains were found in Bailey in 2024. Investigators revealed the victim as John Cizek, 71, of Newark, California.
CBI teamed up with the Golden Police Department, Park County Sheriff's Office and the Park County Coroner's Office to make the announcement about Cizek's identity on Friday.
Investigators said that Cizek's remains were discovered by a fisherman in a shallow, frozen grave near a river at the Deer Creek Campground in Park County on May 28, 2024. The remains were discovered with clothing and an apparent gunshot wound to the skull, according to the autopsy. The location of the remains was more than three hours away from where Cizek was last seen alive.
DNA determined that the remains showed Czechoslovakian ancestry. That was confirmed to be consistent with Cizek's ancestry, which was confirmed through his 85-year-old sister in Illinois.
Mitch Morrissey, a former Denver district attorney and an authority in DNA technology, joined the CBI to discuss why finding and identifying Cizek's remains are an important part of solving this case and to help contribute resources to solving other cold cases.
"To give families answers, to tell his elderly sister that we found your brother and you're going to be able to take care of him the way he should have been honored," said Morrissey.
Facial reconstruction was completed in December 2025 to help with the victim's identification.
CBI investigators said the lab confirmed a CODIS match, linking the victim to Cizek's 2016 missing person file from the Golden Police Department. Investigators said a sample from a soiled shirt collected from Cizek's home in California matched the DNA profile produced from the remains. Based on those matches, investigators determined that the victim's remains were those of Cizek.
"After more than 10 years, Mr. Cizek's finally going to be able to go home to his family," said Stacy Galbraith, an investigator with the First Judicial District Attorney's Office.
The investigation into Cizek's death began in April 2016 when the Golden Police Department began investigating a sexual assault on a child involving suspect David Little. Little, 40, fled prior to law enforcement taking him into custody.
A couple of months later, on June 21, 2016, Golden police detectives were trying to take Little into custody in Edgewater when Little fired on the detectives. Officers returned fire and Little was injured and taken into custody. As Little was being taken into custody, he asked that officers get his dog out of his RV. Officers discovered the RV parked in Golden, which belonged to Cizek.
When Little was arrested, investigators said that he had Cizek's identification and credit cards.
According to the First Judicial District Attorney's Office, journals later found in the Jeep that Little was driving indicate the suspect was suicidal and homicidal.
According to "murder" journal entries summarized in court records CBS Colorado obtained, on June 8, 2016, four days before police believe Cizek was murdered, Little wrote: "I am having a really hard time hunting anyone to kidnap, kill, carjack. … I really want to get us an RV, and I'm working hard looking for a great opportunity to grab just the right one, waiting for the crime of perfect opportunity."
Investigators said Little shot and killed Cizek inside his RV sometime after encountering him at a McDonald's in Alamosa on June 12, 2016. Surveillance images show the two were there at the same time. After that day, the investigation revealed Little had purchased a shovel, hose and other items from an Ace Hardware store, and used Cizek's credit cards to rack up more than $3,500 in charges, according to court documents.
The Deer Creek Campground area, where Cizek's remains were found, is also in Park County, about 50 miles from the gas station where Little stopped for gas one evening.
Little was charged with Cizek's murder, despite authorities not being able to locate his body, which is an uncommon step in a homicide case. While in custody at the Jefferson County Jail, Little died by suicide on Oct. 4, 2016.
