PAM CANDELARIO, RALPH CANDELARIO: ‘DATELINE’ NBC—COLORADO MAN KILLED SECOND WIFE, FIRST WIFE STILL MISSING

[The Librarian]

Pam Candelario was found dead in her home at 302 West Third Street in Walsenburg. 911 dispatch operators were called by a neighbor who had seen Ralph Candelario run outside of his home, screaming that he’d been attacked and that his wife was inside. When investigators arrived, they found the body of a white female who was later identified as 48-year old Pamela Kay Candelario. An autopsy report for the dead woman indicated that she had died of blunt-force trauma to the head. Her husband, 50-year old, Ralph Candelario, had survived and was taken to the hospital to be treated.

When questioned by police, Ralph Candelario stated that they had been attacked by an intruder. However, the investigation found that the so-called home invasion looked staged. As police dug deeper into the couple’s marriage, they found that Ralph and Pam were having marital trouble and that Pam had even cried to one of her daughters that she regretted leaving their father, Gerry, in order to marry Ralph.

Pam and Ralph Candelario met each other at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses. At the time, Pam Candelario was married to Gerry Palmer and Ralph was also married. The two became close after chaperoning a teen trip. It was not long before Gerry Palmer heard that his wife, Pam, was spending a lot of time with Ralph.

The extramarital affair was exposed to the church, and they were both reprimanded and disciplined. For a time, both Pam and Ralph Candelario lost their good standing in the Jehovah’s Witness faith, since committing adultery is frowned upon and subjects a person to “disfellowshipping,” an expulsion from the church.

Gerry and Pam eventually divorced and she married Ralph, but the marriage soured, leaving her extremely unhappy. There was also a strain between Pam Candelario and her daughters, who described her as a mentally unstable mother who had been married at least three or four times. She was also accused of drinking too much and pretending to be the “perfect Christian,” but in reality, she was living a double life—-a fact that seemed to distress her daughters, according to court records.

Pam Candelario owned and operated a gift shop in Walsenburg, which is a town known for its historic hotel, its museum, and its unique gift and antique shops. Her murder shocked the entire community.

After a lengthy investigation, Ralph Candelario was arrested and later convicted for the murder of his wife. Court records show that Ralph’s first wife, Dena Candelario, vanished in 2004 and has never been found.

There is one more bizarre element to the Candelario story. In 2006, it is believed that Ralph Candelario’s mother was arrested for keeping her grandson locked in a dog kennel, according to the Denver Channel. At the time of her arrest, Ralph found the charge against her shocking.

Watch this week’s #DatelineNBC to get the latest on the Pam and Ralph Candelario story this Friday at 10/9 p.m. central.

[Image via Dateline NBC/Facebook]

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[Guest Nicole]

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.

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