In “Valley of the Damned: The Absent Father,” an Investigation Discovery documentary, Jim Durgan’s sad 2008 murder in Salida, Colorado, is chronicled. Before apprehending his killers, the authorities did not need to search for very long. The documentary presents a comprehensive explanation of how the events transpired by painstakingly separating the case’s many layers. We have the information you need if you’re curious and want to find out more, including the perpetrator’s present whereabouts. So, let’s just get started, shall we?
Jim Durgan
How Did Jim Durgan Die?
On December 19, 1970, James Glenn “Jim” Durgan was born in Salida, Colorado. He was a happy-go-lucky man who enjoyed outdoor pursuits like fishing and hunting. In 1990, he crossed paths with Kristin T. Durgan in Phoenix, Arizona, thanks to a common friend. On July 3, 1992, in Las Vegas, Kristin and Jim were united in marriage. In 1998, they returned to Salida, with Jim stating that they wanted to “establish some roots.” He had a lucrative profession in telecommunications and was making roughly $90,000 annually, the show claimed.
Jim tried to return home on the weekends to spend time with his wife and children, Andrew and Elisabeth, but the job compelled him to work away from home throughout the week. He had a stepson named Nicholas Ayers as well. The Fremont County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call from Kristin on July 11, 2008, stating that her husband had gone missing.
Jim’s automobile was discovered abandoned by the authorities as they began their search for him in the Lone Pine Recreational Area on the border of Fremont County. Police discovered a body in the Arkansas River on July 19, 2008. The body was now bloated, deformed, and unrecognizably human. Dental records were used by the medical examiner to determine that Jim’s body belonged to him. A blunt head injury and two gunshot wounds to the skull were also noted in his postmortem report.
Who Killed Jim Durgan?
As soon as Kristin Durgan presented a very unsettling account of her marriage to Jim, the detectives began to dig into her. According to the program, Kristin was given a bipolar disorder diagnosis two years after being married, and she also had a gambling addiction. To keep her away from casinos, the couple moved back to Salida for a number of reasons. However, the program said that Kristin had discovered a casino in Cripple Creek and used to frequent it until her debt got out of hand and her husband discovered her there.
The show claims that Jim repeatedly admitted Kristin to rehab but that her gambling addiction remained untreated. Instead, as a result of the mounting debt, Jim was compelled to take out a second mortgage on their house in order to keep their finances from collapsing. On the program, it was also claimed that Jim discovered his wife having an affair when he got home in March 2008. For him, it was the breaking point. After that, Jim left the house and relocated to Wyoming, where he was dating a woman and intended to get married to her.
The divorce between Jim and Kristen was going to be amicable. Jim continued to visit the kids on the weekends, but he slept in a motel in Caon City. Andrew Tanner, Kristin’s boyfriend, had moved into his home, he discovered. Kristin was compelled to work at a nearby pizza shop when Jim stopped providing her additional money. She met Andrew, a delivery person for the restaurant, there. When the police checked into Andrew, they discovered that he had previously been convicted of crimes. They also heard of Jim’s concerns about Andrew possessing guns when his children were present.
Andrew was hauled in for questioning on July 22, 2008. He was first reticent, but quickly began acting guilty under questioning until finally asserting his right to counsel. While they had to let him leave, the cops persisted in questioning Andrew. To locate suspect late-night calls, some after one in the morning on the night Jim vanished, they searched through his phone records. The calls were made to Brian Folsom, a parolee who used meth and had a history of psychological problems.
The police quickly discovered further connections after learning that Brian had worked for Andrew’s company previously. Additionally, he had a long criminal history. During the questioning, Brian broke down and admitted to being involved in Jim’s murder. He asserted that on July 10, 2008, Andrew gave him money to abduct Jim from the Lone Pine Recreational Area and take him to the isolated region of Dirty Gulch in Fremont County, close to Cotopaxi. With phone wires, Brian bound Jim’s hands to a tree, taped his eyes and mouth shut, then shackled Jim to the tree.
Then, according to Brian, he returned to Andrew, who later returned to shoot Jim and dispose of his body. Kristin contacted to tell she had some information regarding her boyfriend Andrew as the police were analyzing all of this material. She asserted on August 28, 2008, that Andrew had murdered Jim out of envy. However, the cops had discovered her lies. Jim’s girlfriend in Wyoming said he hadn’t been trying to reconcile with her, despite Kristin’s initial claim.
The cops also discovered that Kristin would stand to gain nearly $500,000 should Jim pass away prior to their divorce’s final court order. When confronted with all of these details and Brian’s admission, Kristin broke down and admitted that it was she who had used their children as bait to entice Jim to the Lone Pine Recreational Area and hinted to Andrew to kill her husband. In 2008, Kristin, Brian, and Andrew were detained and charged with murdering Jim.
Where are Kristin Durgan, Brian Folsom, and Andrew Tanner Today?
On July 10, 2009, after admitting guilt to counts of second-degree murder and kidnapping, Brian Folsom received a 48-year jail term. In April 2014, he filed for post-conviction relief, but the request was denied. The 43-year-old is being detained at the Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility in Crowley County, Colorado, and is housed in a cell there. His expected date of eligibility for release is August 20, 2040, according to his prison records.
In September 2009, Andrew Tanner was found guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping, conspiracy, and violent crime. He was given a life sentence without the possibility of parole. The 36-year-old is currently serving his sentence in a cell at the Limon Correctional Facility in Lincoln County, Colorado, according to official court records.
In April 2009, Kristin admitted guilt to second-degree murder and kidnapping charges. She also testified against Andrew in his court case. She received a 54-year prison term. The 54-year-old is currently detained at the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility (DWCF) in Denver, Colorado, where she is being held in a cell, according to official court records. According to her prison records, her predicted date of eligibility for parole is March 6, 2043.
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