Theodore Carl “Ted” Carleton, 41, graduated Douglas County High School and attended Metro State College in Denver for three years. Ted had a lot of talents including an artistic streak. He worked for a man who taught him glass blowing which he used to pay his college expenses. Ted sold his work to florist shops. He was also mechanically inclined, enjoyed cooking and loved golf.
Ted lived with his wife, Yolanda, and their four daughters aged 2 to 6, in Wise County near Ft. Worth, Texas. He was employed as a stationary engineer on the evening shift at Cook Children’s Hospital in Ft. Worth. Ted also had a teen-aged daughter from a previous marriage.
On March 17, 1996, Ted Carleton clocked out of work at 11:34 p.m. About an hour later, two passing motorists noticed a vehicle with its lights on and motor running that had run up onto the suport structure of an overhead pedestrian walkway on the northbound service road of I-35. Inside was Ted Carleton, unconscious from an abdominal wound inflicted by a sawed-off shotgun. One of the passersby stayed with Ted while the other summoned police. Ted died after several hours of surgery at John Peter Smith Hospital.
Police believe that Ted drove away from where he was shot. “I believe he was trying to make it to the hospital,” said a Ft. Worth homicide detective.
The crime scene has never been located. Ted still had his wallet, credit cards and other valuables when he was found. The police have no leads and no suspects.
Ted’s mother, Patricia Bradley of Castle Rock, hired a private investigator one month after the murder and posted a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the murderer. She has traveled to Ft. Worth with her husband and distributed posters advertising the reward. Mrs. Bradley suffers from advanced cancer.
Yolanda Carleton, a native of Mexico, said “I’m glad I have four kids because I’m alone now. If I didn’t have them, it would be a lot more difficult….My life is not the same. If we go somewhere, I see the families together the husband and wife. All of the families go shopping, all of the families go to church except us.”