Alfred (also spelled Alferd) Packer was known for the longest time as the only man in this country’s history convicted for cannibalism. His case was the first cannibalism case tried in US courts.
The civil war veteran was put in prison for murdering and eating five of his companions in a blizzard on a westward prospecting trip near Lake City in the San Juan mountains in 1874. Escaping the noose on a technicality, he was eventually paroled and died and was buried in Littleton. He always maintained his innocence.
Packer was America’s most infamous cannibal until serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer came along.
The University of Colorado’s cafeteria in Boulder is named after this cannibal: the Alferd Packer Grill; and for years Alferd Packer Day was celebrated on the campus. A bust of Packer sits in the State Capitol.
The Packer incident has been the source of scholarly debate and recently forensic experts have attempted to shed more light on it. Defensive wounds on the exhumed bodies establish that the victims were indeed murdered, although Packer always maintained it was a crazed companion who axed the others to death. Packer claimed he then killed the axe wielder in self-defense.
More about Packer and other Littleton historical figures on the City of Littleton’s website.
