After eight years in the Navy, he was honorably discharged. Masters worked for Learjet as an aviation mechanic until , when he was arrested for the murder of Peggy Hettrick. His sentence was vacated in January when DNA evidence from the original crime scene indicated that he was not the responsible party. As of [update] , no one else has been charged with Hettrick's murder.
On the morning of February 11, , a bicyclist investigated what he thought was a mannequin and discovered the dead body of year-old Peggy Hettrick in a field in southern Fort Collins. According to the coroner, she died from a single stab wound in the upper left back, likely very early in the morning.
Her body had been "sexually mutilated," with the precise removal of her left nipple and areola, as well as a female " circumcision ", [ 3 ] including what one doctor described as a partial vulvectomy ; a procedure that requires high skill and quality surgical equipment to perform. Before the bicyclist found the body, year-old Timothy Masters saw it while walking to school at daybreak. Thinking it was a mannequin left as a prank, Masters did not report the body to the police. After Masters' father Clyde Masters told canvassing police that he had seen his son deviate from his usual path across the field to the bus that morning, police pulled Masters, then a 5 ft 10 in 1.
Early in the investigation, lead investigator Fort Collins detective Jim Broderick centered on Masters as the primary suspect due to his failure to report the body found on his way to school. However, no physical evidence linking Masters to the crime was found.
On February 12, investigators searched his home, including the sinks for blood, and his school locker. They found 2, pages of writings and violent artwork by Masters in his bedroom, backpack and school locker, along with a knife collection and pornography.
