SCOTTSDALE

Files: Macumber accused of molesting 2 girls

Richard Ruelas
The Republic | azcentral.com
  • Documents from Colorado show there are two young accusers in the case against William Macumber.
  • Macumber served 37 years in prison for a murder he said he didn't commit.

Documents released by Colorado authorities on Wednesday showed that William Macumber, the man released from an Arizona prison after serving 37 years for a double murder he insisted he didn't commit, is accused of child sex crimes involving two girls.

A sworn statement of a Colorado police officer asking for an arrest warrant against Macumber, 78, said two relatives reported Macumber touched them inappropriately multiple times between April and August 2013.

Macumber's long legal drama began with the 1962 murder of a young couple in Scottsdale. The case was unsolved until, in 1974, Macumber's wife at the time told sheriff's deputies that her husband had confessed the murders to her.

Macumber's fingerprints were found on evidence when it was re-examined. His lawyers argued that his wife, who worked at the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, could have framed him. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

In 2012, a judge weighed granting Macumber a new trial, based on questions raised about the evidence. Prosecutors struck a plea deal, and Macumber was released in November 2012.

One of the young accusers told a forensic interviewer that Macumber would touch her inappropriately, under her clothes and underwear, while she sat on his lap, the documents say.

Word of the alleged crimes reached Ronald Macumber, who confronted his father, according to a probable-cause statement filed by police. Ronald kicked his father out of his house that August day. William moved to Arizona, but surrendered in October after Colorado authorities secured a warrant for his arrest. The second accuser did not initially tell relatives about being touched, but, when questioned by an investigator, she described hugs where Macumber touched her bare bottom, the report says.

Macumber, who denied an interview request from TheRepublic on Tuesday, faces a July trial. Larry Hammond, an Arizona attorney, said Macumber denies guilt in this case.

William Macumber was arrested Oct. 7 in Colorado on charges of sexual assault.