The potential evidence in the case of a man accused for the 1981 murder of Sylvia Quayle has grown to more than 25,000 pages, his defense attorneys said in a court hearing Friday.  

Arapahoe County District Court Judge Darren Vahle set a preliminary hearing for 8:30 a.m. on July 19.  

Prosecutor Christopher Gallo said he plans to call one or two witnesses for the preliminary hearing, at which Vahle will determine whether there is enough evidence for the first-degree murder charge against David Dwayne Anderson, 62, to go forward. 

Vahle set a May 7 deadline for the prosecution to produce an early list of possible witnesses for Anderson’s defense attorneys, which public defender Laura Knopp said is necessary for them to find the witnesses, determine who is still alive and vet potential conflicts of interest 

“Obviously there are going to be difficulties here. There’s a good possibility that a number of the witnesses from [40] years ago will not be alive or will not be able to be found easily,” Vahle said at Friday’s hearing. He asked Gallo to provide available dates of birth and contact information to Anderson’s defense attorneys.  

Despite the case’s volume of discovery, Judge Darren Vahle has showed continued reluctance to allow long delays in between court dates because the case is already 40 years old. 

Anderson is also represented by public defender Sarah Rockefeller. 

Prosecutors have charged Anderson with first-degree murder in connection with the murder of Quayle, 34 at the time, in Cherry Hills Village. Authorities arrested Anderson in February in Cozad, Nebraska, where he was living.  

Quayle’s father found her dead in her bedroom. She had been stabbed, shot and sexually assaulted, according to an autopsy report.    

If convicted, Anderson will face the penalty for murder from 1981, life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years. First-degree murder now carries a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

A DNA profile for a male was developed in 2000 by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation from evidence collected at the crime scene and kept in the FBI Combined DNA Index System, according to Anderson’s arrest affidavit. 

DNA from Anderson on a vanilla Coke can in his trash collected by a United Data Connect investigator provided enough to develop a DNA profile, which matched evidence found at the crime scene.  

Denver Metro Crime Stoppers and United Data Connect, a company that uses DNA to solve cold cases, played roles in helping the Cherry Hills Village Police Department solve Quayle’s death.   

Police opened the case to United Data Connect and Denver Metro Crime Stoppers in January 2020.  

Quayle graduated from Englewood High School and worked at an architectural firm, remaining close to her sister and parents. She also opened a cake bakery called The Buttery.  

Quayle’s sister and brother-in-law have been in touch with police throughout the investigation. However, her mother and father both died before any arrests in the case.