Murder Mystery in Denver: The Unsolved Death of Helen Vea Borg
By early 1957, Helen Vea Borg was trying to reclaim her life. After years of following her husband, the controversial cult leader Joseph Jeffers, she had grown disillusioned. She wanted her own identity, her own message, and her own path. For months, she had worked to distance herself from Jeffers—living under her maiden name, renting her own apartment on Grant Street, and even telling reporters she wanted nothing to do with her husband.
She had a new dream: to lecture on psychic phenomena and offer counseling services. In February of 1957, Helen rented an office in Denver’s McClintock Building. She was ready to begin again.
But Helen would never see that dream come to life.
A Night of Violence
On March 1, 1957, Helen stayed late at her office preparing for her first lectures. The only other person supposed to be in the building was the janitor, William French. Helen trusted him, but someone else was lurking in the shadows.
The intruder attacked Helen, bludgeoning her with a soda bottle filled with water before s@%ually a$$aulting her. Her screams brought French running, but the attacker slashed the janitor across the face and stabbed him in the stomach before fleeing.
Both victims were rushed to the hospital. Helen had suffered a concussion and the trauma of the assault, but doctors dismissed her injuries as non-life-threatening. She was released almost immediately—a decision that would prove fatal.
A Sudden Death
The next day, Helen spent hours being questioned by police despite her fragile condition. That night, she was too afraid to stay alone in her apartment and instead stayed with friends, the Olins.
By the next morning, March 3rd, Helen was dead.
The initial autopsy suggested a blood clot caused by her head injury. Later toxicology reports revealed a “morphine derivative” in her system, though it was never clear whether it was medication, an herbal remedy, or something administered to her without her knowledge.
Suspicion swirled, but nothing conclusive was ever found.
Motives and Mysteries
The headlines from the time raise even more questions. Just days after Helen’s death, the Rocky Mountain News ran:
“Handling of Estate Refused Mystic’s Mate.”
Jeffers, though separated from Helen and facing divorce, rushed back from Phoenix to stake a claim on her estate. A judge barred him from being administrator, but because the divorce wasn’t finalized, he still inherited much of her property. Had Helen lived just one month longer, Jeffers would have received nothing.
Was her death a tragic accident—or a convenient one?
Unanswered Questions
- Who was the attacker that night in the McClintock Building?
- How did the morphine derivative end up in Helen’s system?
- Was she released from the hospital too soon?
- Did the police interrogation push her beyond the point of recovery?
- Or was someone else involved—someone with motive, means, and a history of manipulation?
To this day, Helen Vea Borg’s death remains unsolved. The case never made it into Denver’s official cold case archives, and with her cremation eliminating the chance for further autopsy, the truth may never be known.
A Forgotten Case
Helen’s story is more than just a forgotten case file—it’s a reminder of how victims of violence can be dismissed, overlooked, or silenced. She was a woman trying to break free, to find her own voice apart from a controlling husband. Instead, her voice was cut short, lost in a tangle of headlines, rumors, and unanswered questions.
Decades later, one thing is certain: Helen deserved better.
Don’t Miss Tonight’s Episode on this Case: PREMIERES TONIGHT @7PM Central
Madman or Messiah? An Investigation into the Crimes & Charisma of Cult Leader Joseph D. Jeffers
From extreme fundamentalist ideologies to the paranormal and the occult, Joseph Jeffers’ message integrated with the times and incited a religious fervor amongst his followers. In the 1930s, he was causing war in Arkansas and inciting violence that would lead to the death of one man and the attempted murder of a local preacher. In the 1940s, he was making headlines in L.A. for his lewd house parties. In the ’50s, his third wife would be brutally murdered. Her homicide would go unsolved. In the ’60s, he would make headlines in Arizona when he gambled off all of the church funds at the race track. In the ’70s, he would prophesy great and mighty things to do with UFOs and the Bermuda triangle. By 1978, he would be building a pyramid to withstand the apocalypse in Missouri. And by 1988, he would die of old age. No one ever stopped this man from stealing millions of dollars, coercing innocent young women, or hiring a hitman to kill his wife. Read this book to find out more about the crimes, the chaos, and the injustice in the life of Dr. Joseph D. Jeffers.
How could this man have gotten away with all of these crimes, and how could he have flown under the radar? After making so many ludicrous headlines, how do we not know the name of Joseph Jeffers?
This episode is brought to you by BONES COFFEE COMPANY.
