Jim Springer, Jr., 29, was born in Connecticut. His family moved to Cache Valley, Utah when Jim Jr. was 9. He graduated from Sky View High School in Smithfield, Utah in 1990.
Jim loved the mountains and would go camping whenever he got the chance. Jim and his Dad enjoyed fishing together & the joke between them was “a dollar for the first fish .” Jim almost always won the dollar!
Jim’s only sibling, a sister Donna married Jeff and started a family. Jim loved being an uncle to her 3 children (Josh, Kyle, and Marissa). He was jokingly known as “awesome Uncle Jim” after finally breaking the piñata for them one Easter.
In August 1999, Jim married Jenni; they were in love and ready to start a family. The couple had their first child, James D. Springer III in June 2000. Jim Jr. loved being a dad. The couple brought their second child, Devin, into the world in September 2001.
Jim Jr. was offered several opportunities by AMF. He turned down a New York offer because the attacks of 9/11 had occurred and he feared for the safety of his family. He also turned down an offer to manage in Salt Lake City because of the coming of the Olympics and security concerns. Finally, Jim accepted an offer to become an assistant manager in Littleton, CO which he felt would be a safe place for his family.
Jim Jr. reported for work at the Broadway Bowl in Littleton on December 3, 2001. After only 7 weeks on the job on January 27, 2002, Jim called his wife and said “I’m done closing. We’re waiting for Erin’s ride (Erin Golla was snack bar manager of the bowling alley) then I’ll give Bobby a ride (Bobby Zajac worked at AMF lanes in Highlands Ranch but frequently hung out with friends at Broadway Bowl) and then I’ll be home. That was the last conversation between the couple. Jenni, worried when Jim failed to come home, called friends who went to the Broadway Bowl to find police and Jim’s car in the parking lot. Jim, Bobby and Erin lay dead inside. They had been shot to death. The safe was open and emptied.
There have been no arrests in this triple homicide. If you have any information about this crime, please call Littleton Police Department Detectives Hoffman or Baca, 303-795-3890.