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Ralph Candelario: ‘Murder Comes To Town’ Jehovah’s Witness With Two Dead Wives?

By Traciy Reyes
Published on: 04:38 PST, Mar 4, 2017

In the new season opener for Murder Comes To Town, the curious case of Ralph Candelario, the man who was convicted for the murder of his wife, Pam Candelario, and suspected in the presumed death of his first wife, Dena Candelario, will be played out on Investigation Discovery. TheInquisitr brought you the Candelario murder story recently when Dateline NBC profiled it on their show. Ralph Candelario was a Jehovah’s Witness in Walsenburg, Colorado. The religious aspect of Ralph’s life played a key role in his case. The Murder Comes To Town episode titled “Wicked Witness,” will be told by family and friends.

January 2014: Walsenburg, Colorado, Antique Store Owner Found Dead In Home

On Murder Comes To Town, a well-liked gift shop owner is found dead in her West Third Street home. Walsenburg neighbors were interrupted by the screams of Ralph Candelario, who stated that an intruder had attacked them. However, as police searched the home, a different theory emerged, according to KOAA News -5.

Walsenburg Police believed that the crime scene had been staged. And that in fact, there had been no intruder. A background look into the Candelarios lives shaped a messy narrative that included extramarital affairs, a former missing wife, and a dark past by a supposedly devout Jehovah’s Witness.

An autopsy report concluded that Pam Candelario had been bludgeoned to death, stating specifically, that her death was caused by blunt force trauma. Yet, Ralph was still alive.

Candelario’s Sinister Past: First Wife Vanished

Even more alarming, detectives learned that Dena Angelique Candelario, Ralph Candelario’s first wife, disappeared without a trace 10 years earlier.

It also came to light that Pam and Ralph Candelario had many problems in their marriage. They met each other while they were Jehovah’s Witnesses. At the time, they were both involved with other people. Pam was married, and Ralph was engaged to a woman named Dana–(not Dena). They fell in love while chaperoning the congregation’s youth and ended up carrying on a torrid affair. Eventually, the church elders and members of the Kingdom Hall found out about it, which resulted in strict discipline for Pam and Ralph.

Still professing their love for each other, they left their spouses and married each other. But they couldn’t make what had started out bad–good. While Pam Candelario was busy keeping up appearances for the church, behind the scene, she was struggling with alcohol problems, and a husband with demons of his own, court records confirm.

The evidence led police to conclude that Ralph Candelario had faked the home invasion story and killed Pam. And by then, the Pueblo Police Department was sure that their missing persons case was most likely a homicide case. Ralph Candelario was eventually found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.

A Timeline Of Ralph Candelario

  • 1980s–Ralph Candelario marries Dena. They have two sons.
  • 2004–Ralph and Dena Candelario separate. She vanishes.
  • 2014–Pam Candelario is killed in January. Ralph isn’t arrested until October.
  • 2016–A judge sentences Ralph Candelario to life.

Today, there are still no solid leads as to what happened to Dena Candelario. The possibility that she could still be alive after all of these years is bleak. She is still listed as missing.

To explore the motive for the murder of Pam Candelario, and to see how Ralph executed his wicked plan, watch Murder Comes To Town tonight at 8 p.m. on Investigation Discovery (ID).

[Featured Image by Colorado Dept. Of Corrections]

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