Another Cold Case Solved, by jay7777

[Jay7777]

Keep solving these cases!

www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/12/11/antioch-police-solve-notorious-37-year-old-kidnapping-homicide-case/

Antioch police make arrest in 37-year-old kidnapping, homicide case.


ANTIOCH — Police here made the shocking announcement Monday night that they have solved one of the city’s most notorious cold-case homicides, the kidnapping and murder of 14-year-old Suzanne Bombardier, who disappeared while babysitting her nieces more than 37 years ago.


It was a case that shook the community and continues to haunt longtime Antioch residents. The former police officers who investigated it rallied time and time again to keep the investigation going, and to make sure no one forgot Suzanne, even more than three decades after the homicide investigation went cold.

Mitchell Lynn Bacom, 63, will be charged with murdering Suzanne, according to county prosecutors. He was arrested Friday at his Antioch home without incident, police said. Bacom, a native of Knightsen, was a longtime suspect in the case. He was being held on charges of murder, kidnapping, rape and oral copulation.

“Justice may not have come swiftly as we may have hoped or liked,” Contra Costa DA Diane Becton said. “But we will continue to work diligently on these cases and hopefully justice will come.”

Police say Bacom was known to Suzanne’s family but wouldn’t elaborate how. They said he was identified as the killer through DNA evidence acquired in the case that was run through a federal database.

The biological material linked to Bacom’s DNA had been in an evidence locker and was tested before, but Contra Costa DA inspector Paul Holes said that new medical research that came out within the past year has allowed police across the country to solve more cold cases.
“We literally saw within the past 12 months the technology improve to the point where we were able to get a match,” Holes said. “The crime labs are using new chemistry in the DNA process.”

In an interview with the Contra Costa Times in 1996, Suzanne’s father, Ted Bombardier, said that Suzanne must have known her killer.

“Obviously, there was no forced entry. She must have known who it was,” Ted Bombardier said.
Suzanne was abducted on the early morning of June 21, 1980. She was babysitting her two nieces alone in her sister’s Hudson Court apartment. Suzanne had just started the first day of summer vacation and had talked with a friend on the phone until 1:30 a.m.
When her sister Stephanie Mullen arrived home at 4 a.m., she couldn’t find Suzanne.
.
On June 27, Antioch police Detective Gregory Glod received the call that Suzanne’s body was pulled from the San Joaquin River by a fisherman. Suzanne had been sexually assaulted and died from a single stab wound to the heart.

Days later, a report card came to her family’s home saying she was making straight A’s.
“She was young and full of life, and she had her whole life ahead of her,” Glod said in an interview Monday, later adding, “It had a huge impact on the community. It has affected a lot of people’s lives; family, friends.”

Glod was assigned Suzanne’s case on the first day of her disappearance, and it has gnawed at him ever since. After learning of the murder charges Monday, he could hardly contain his joy, calling it “a dream come true” and commending Antioch police and the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Cold Case Unit for staying with the investigation. He said he became convinced of Bacom’s guilt at some point during his investigation but police couldn’t gather enough proof for prosecutors to file a case.

“My prayers have been answered. … Probably not too many days have gone by that I haven’t thought about this case,” Glod said. “This has made my life complete to be quite honest with you.”

Bacom is a registered sex offender whose last reported address was on West Madill Street in Antioch. In 1973, he was arrested in Mountain View and eventually was convicted of first and second-degree burglary, assault with intent to murder and sodomy. He was sentenced to five years to life.
In 1981, Bacom was arrested for sodomy by force or fear of a person under 14 years of age in Isleton and was sentenced to 24 years in prison. He was released from custody 12 years later.

In 2002, Bacom was convicted of failing to register as a sex offender and was sentenced to four years in prison.
Former Antioch police detective Ron Rackley — the officer who filed the missing person’s report — had been working on the case with Glod off and on since he retired in 2006; the two men would contact each other periodically to share notes and decades after the murder they reinterviewed Bombardier’s sister and niece.

Several years ago he and Glod also made a concerted effort to persuade Antioch Police Department to revive the investigation, Rackley said.
Over the years, Bombardier’s family has experienced some healing, he said, and although the arrest will reopen those wounds, Rackley thinks her relatives eventually — finally — will be able to accept the painful past and let it go.

“It’ll give me closure,” he added, “and I won’t have any more nightmares knowing that someone is in jail.”

Related Articles
Antioch cold case suspect warned 20 years ago that he might ‘slip’ again
Former Antioch cops spotlight 35-year-old cold case
After 37 years, many have Glod, Rackley, and author Jennifer Kathleen Gibbons to thank for the continued spotlight.

Gibbons was the author that brought Suzanne’s case back into the spotlight in 2014 after coming across her headstone in Lafayette’s Queen of Heaven Cemetery. She was visiting her grandparents’ graves in 2013 when she came across Suzanne’s gravesite and her curiosity brought her to write the Lost Girl blog that traced her discovery of Suzanne’s stories.

“I can name five to 10 children that were kidnapped in the early 80s,” Gibbons said. “I never talked to strangers, I tried to stay safe. I was one of the lucky ones and felt it was my duty to tell the story of a lost girl who slipped through the cracks.”

Her work brought her the attention of Glod and Rackley. Both detectives were trying to start up a cold case unit in Contra Costa County at the time.
Police say they are investigating Bacum in other homicides and encourage anyone with information about him to call Capt. Leonard Orman at 925-779-6918.

[Jay7777]

Another good one:

www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/coworker-gave-plastic-cup-coke-can-that-led-to-identity-of-suspect-in-1989-wash-murder-case/ar-BBGKC9O?li=BBnb7Kz

Coworker gave plastic cup, Coke can, that led to identity of suspect in 1989 Wash. murder case

Timothy Forrest Bass, 50, of Everson, Washington was arrested Tuesday morning by the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office in connection with the 1989 abduction, rape and murder of 18-year-old Amanda T. "Mandy" Stavik.
The court set bail at $1 million for Bass. He appeared on suspicion of first-degree murder, but sheriff's detectives also arrested him on suspicion of first-degree kidnapping and first-degree rape. If he makes bail, he's not allowed to leave Whatcom County. Bass' next court appearance is Dec. 22 at 9 a.m.

Formal charges are expected to be filed Thursday.
Bass has no criminal history in Washington state, but in August 2010 his wife filed for a domestic violence protection order lasting longer than a year. It was to protect her and their three children, according to Whatcom County Superior Court records.

In the file, Bass' wife alleged physical and verbal abuse. She also claimed that Bass watched cold case files television shows, and during one incident, told her "I wouldn't get caught because I'm not that stupid. It would be easy to get away with it," the court records state.
Bass' wife terminated the protection order a few months after it was filed.
THE CASE

Stavik went missing Nov. 24, 1989, while jogging near her home in the 3600 block of Strand Road in Clipper, a community clustered along Highway 9 between Acme and Van Zandt. Stavik was home for Thanksgiving break from her freshman year at Central Washington University, after graduating from Mount Baker High School. She was last seen about 2:30 p.m. that day, with her dog, Kyra. Stavik's dog returned home alone around 5 p.m.

© The Bellingham Herald Timothy Forrest Bass, 50, of Everson, Washington was arrested Tuesday morning by the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office in connection with the 1989 abduction, rape and murder of 18-year-old Amanda T. "Mandy" Stavik

Stavik was wearing a light colored sweatshirt, dark green sweatpants and light blue running shoes, according to a probable cause statement read in court by Whatcom County Prosecutor Dave McEachran. Two days after she disappeared, a pair of green colored sweatpants were found on a short, dirt road about five miles south of the Whatcom-Skagit county border, in Skagit County.

Two pillow cases that contained two types of hair also were found. On one of the cases, a long blonde hair strand was found, similar to Stavik's hair, McEachran said. An expert human tracker was brought in, and tire tracks were found near the pillow cases, but no treads were visible.
On Nov. 27, Stavik's unclothed body was found in the South Fork of the Nooksack River, about 3 1/2 miles south of the family's home. She was wearing only her socks and running shoes, McEachran said.

An autopsy, done by medical examiner Gary Goldfogel, determined Stavik had drowned. Goldfogel also found a blood clot on the back of her head, which was indicative of a blow to the head that could cause unconsciousness, McEachran said.
Stavik also was engaged in sexual activity either before or after her death, and semen was removed from her body and preserved. No injuries were observed on her body, other than a few superficial scratches stretching from her thighs to her knees, which could have been caused by running through the brush, McEachran said.

From the evidence taken from Stavik's body during the autopsy, a DNA profile was created, as hair is not as conclusive. A number of suspects were developed, but their DNA profile did not match that of the DNA taken from Stavik's body.
Over the last several years, voluntary DNA evidence has been collected from at least 50 people in the Acme area where Stavik lived. More than 30 samples were sent to the Washington State Crime lab for analysis, but none of them matched the suspect profile, McEachran said.
LINKING BASS

During the voluntary DNA campaign, Bass was contacted several times by law enforcement. Each time, Bass refused to give a voluntary sample, McEachran said.

Detective Kevin Bowhay with the sheriff's office found that Bass had lived on Strand Road, about a mile and a half away from Stavik, in 1989. When he was in high school, Bass started attending girls' basketball games to watch Stavik play, McEachran said. He was four years ahead of Stavik in school.

When Stavik would go jogging, her route took her past Bass' residence. Due to the connections, and coupled with Bass' refusal to give a DNA sample, Detective Bowhay contacted Bass' employer, Franz Bakery, where Bass drove a delivery truck, in an attempt to get a DNA sample.
Bowhay asked if Franz Bakery could swab the inside of a truck Bass was assigned to drive, but the company declined to cooperate, McEachran said. Another employee of Franz grabbed a plastic glass and a Coke can that Bass had drank from and gave it to detectives, McEachran said.
The items were examined and a DNA profile of Bass was developed. It matched that of the DNA found in Stavik's body. The chance investigators would select a random, unrelated citizen in the U.S. with a matching DNA profile is 1 in 11 quadrillion, McEachran said. The results from the crime lab were forwarded to the sheriff's office last week, McEachran said.

Bass was contacted Tuesday, and when asked to give information about Stavik prior to her disappearance, he indicated he had no contact, no relationship and no sexual relations with her, McEachran said. For hours, Bass denied contact with Stavik.

When he was told about the matching DNA profile, Bass continued to deny any intimate relationship. After he was arrested, Bass then indicated he had a consensual intimate relationship with Stavik prior to her disappearance, McEachran said.

[leonidis]

Dec 13, 2017 3:20:19 GMT Jay7777 said:

Keep solving these cases!

www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/12/11/antioch-police-solve-notorious-37-year-old-kidnapping-homicide-case/

Antioch police make arrest in 37-year-old kidnapping, homicide case.


ANTIOCH — Police here made the shocking announcement Monday night that they have solved one of the city’s most notorious cold-case homicides, the kidnapping and murder of 14-year-old Suzanne Bombardier, who disappeared while babysitting her nieces more than 37 years ago.


It was a case that shook the community and continues to haunt longtime Antioch residents. The former police officers who investigated it rallied time and time again to keep the investigation going, and to make sure no one forgot Suzanne, even more than three decades after the homicide investigation went cold.

Mitchell Lynn Bacom, 63, will be charged with murdering Suzanne, according to county prosecutors. He was arrested Friday at his Antioch home without incident, police said. Bacom, a native of Knightsen, was a longtime suspect in the case. He was being held on charges of murder, kidnapping, rape and oral copulation.

“Justice may not have come swiftly as we may have hoped or liked,” Contra Costa DA Diane Becton said. “But we will continue to work diligently on these cases and hopefully justice will come.”

Police say Bacom was known to Suzanne’s family but wouldn’t elaborate how. They said he was identified as the killer through DNA evidence acquired in the case that was run through a federal database.

The biological material linked to Bacom’s DNA had been in an evidence locker and was tested before, but Contra Costa DA inspector Paul Holes said that new medical research that came out within the past year has allowed police across the country to solve more cold cases.
“We literally saw within the past 12 months the technology improve to the point where we were able to get a match,” Holes said. “The crime labs are using new chemistry in the DNA process.”

In an interview with the Contra Costa Times in 1996, Suzanne’s father, Ted Bombardier, said that Suzanne must have known her killer.

“Obviously, there was no forced entry. She must have known who it was,” Ted Bombardier said.
Suzanne was abducted on the early morning of June 21, 1980. She was babysitting her two nieces alone in her sister’s Hudson Court apartment. Suzanne had just started the first day of summer vacation and had talked with a friend on the phone until 1:30 a.m.
When her sister Stephanie Mullen arrived home at 4 a.m., she couldn’t find Suzanne.
.
On June 27, Antioch police Detective Gregory Glod received the call that Suzanne’s body was pulled from the San Joaquin River by a fisherman. Suzanne had been sexually assaulted and died from a single stab wound to the heart.

Days later, a report card came to her family’s home saying she was making straight A’s.
“She was young and full of life, and she had her whole life ahead of her,” Glod said in an interview Monday, later adding, “It had a huge impact on the community. It has affected a lot of people’s lives; family, friends.”

Glod was assigned Suzanne’s case on the first day of her disappearance, and it has gnawed at him ever since. After learning of the murder charges Monday, he could hardly contain his joy, calling it “a dream come true” and commending Antioch police and the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Cold Case Unit for staying with the investigation. He said he became convinced of Bacom’s guilt at some point during his investigation but police couldn’t gather enough proof for prosecutors to file a case.

“My prayers have been answered. … Probably not too many days have gone by that I haven’t thought about this case,” Glod said. “This has made my life complete to be quite honest with you.”

Bacom is a registered sex offender whose last reported address was on West Madill Street in Antioch. In 1973, he was arrested in Mountain View and eventually was convicted of first and second-degree burglary, assault with intent to murder and sodomy. He was sentenced to five years to life.
In 1981, Bacom was arrested for sodomy by force or fear of a person under 14 years of age in Isleton and was sentenced to 24 years in prison. He was released from custody 12 years later.

In 2002, Bacom was convicted of failing to register as a sex offender and was sentenced to four years in prison.
Former Antioch police detective Ron Rackley — the officer who filed the missing person’s report — had been working on the case with Glod off and on since he retired in 2006; the two men would contact each other periodically to share notes and decades after the murder they reinterviewed Bombardier’s sister and niece.

Several years ago he and Glod also made a concerted effort to persuade Antioch Police Department to revive the investigation, Rackley said.
Over the years, Bombardier’s family has experienced some healing, he said, and although the arrest will reopen those wounds, Rackley thinks her relatives eventually — finally — will be able to accept the painful past and let it go.

“It’ll give me closure,” he added, “and I won’t have any more nightmares knowing that someone is in jail.”

Related Articles
Antioch cold case suspect warned 20 years ago that he might ‘slip’ again
Former Antioch cops spotlight 35-year-old cold case
After 37 years, many have Glod, Rackley, and author Jennifer Kathleen Gibbons to thank for the continued spotlight.

Gibbons was the author that brought Suzanne’s case back into the spotlight in 2014 after coming across her headstone in Lafayette’s Queen of Heaven Cemetery. She was visiting her grandparents’ graves in 2013 when she came across Suzanne’s gravesite and her curiosity brought her to write the Lost Girl blog that traced her discovery of Suzanne’s stories.

“I can name five to 10 children that were kidnapped in the early 80s,” Gibbons said. “I never talked to strangers, I tried to stay safe. I was one of the lucky ones and felt it was my duty to tell the story of a lost girl who slipped through the cracks.”

Her work brought her the attention of Glod and Rackley. Both detectives were trying to start up a cold case unit in Contra Costa County at the time.
Police say they are investigating Bacum in other homicides and encourage anyone with information about him to call Capt. Leonard Orman at 925-779-6918.

It is absolutely wonderful how technology is outing these idiots almost daily!!

[Jay7777]

Now to get EAR/ONS!

[Jay7777]

I know this one has been solved for a while but I still find it shocking and remember seeing the show on the case from 48 hours:

www.cbsnews.com/news/michael-gargiulo-the-serial-killer-next-door/

The fact a famous actor was dating one of the victims really made the case interesting but what a waste of lives this sick individual took!

MICHAEL GARGIULO: THE SERIAL KILLER NEXT DOOR?

WWW.DAILYMAIL.CO.UK/NEWS/ARTICLE-1340075/ASHTON-KUTCHER-RECALLS-HORROR-GIRLFRIENDS-2001-MURDER-TRIAL-SERIAL-KILLER-LOOMS.HTML


'I thought it was red wine': Ashton Kutcher recalls horror of girlfriend's 2001 murder as trial of 'serial killer' looms


• Actor will come face-to-face with suspect during trial
• Violent deaths of two other women linked to case
• Arrest made after DNA evidence recovered from victim who survived attack

Actor Ashton Kutcher is due in court next year to testify in the trial of alleged serial killer Michael Gargiulo.
The 32-year-old actor has rarely spoken about the violent stabbing death of 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin in 2001 - but his testimony to police reveals shocking details of what he saw on the night of the murder.
Gargiulo, now 34, is facing trial for the murder of Ellerin and two other women - and the attempted murder of a fourth.
He was arrested in 2008 after DNA evidence was recovered from the Santa Monica apartment of Michelle Murphy, who survived an alleged knife attack in April of that year.
Police say the evidence also links Gargiulo to the fatal stabbing of a Monterey Park woman in 2005 and the 1993 killing of high school classmate Tricia Pacaccio in the Chicago suburb of Glenview, where Gargiulo lived at the time.




On February 21 in 2001, Kutcher had received a call from his new love interest Ellerin.
The student, aspiring model and part-time stripper had tried to make a date with the then 23-year-old actor - but Kutcher had fatefully turned down the offer.
He said he would later come to visit her at her Hollywood bungalow - just behind the famous Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

Kutcher told police that he later tried to call Ellerin twice during the evening but she had not picked up her phone.

Kutcher drove to her apartment at 10.45pm in the hope of smoothing over what he thought was a looming argument, and found that the lights were on in her apartment and her car was parked outside.

After knocking on the door and calling out to her with no answer, Kutcher said he looked through a window into the apartment and saw what he thought was red wine pooled on the floor.

He thought she was angry at him for not making the earlier date and left.
Unbeknown to Kutcher at the time, Ellerin had been stabbed 35 times and was lying dead just beyond his view from the window. The red wine he had seen pooled on the floor was her blood.

Kutcher's testimony next year will be crucial for prosecutors to prove the time of death and strengthen their case.

Gargiulo knew Ellerin and friends of hers say that he had taken an intense interest in her in the time before her murder.

The court case will undoubtedly bring back memories for Kutcher, who went on to marry actress Demi Moore in 2005.

[Jay7777]

Ok, here we go:

www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/newly-found-investigation-notes-provide-leads-in-1999-cold-case-of-missing-girls/ar-BBHSoco?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=HPDHP

Newly Found Investigation Notes Provide Leads in 1999 Cold Case of Missing Girls

Police in Oklahoma may have gotten a step closer to solving the 1999 mystery of two teenage girls who vanished in the wake of a brutal double murder, as newly discovered investigative notes have shed light on the cold case.

Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible, both 16, were last seen alive on Dec. 29, 1999, when the girls celebrated Ashley’s birthday with a sleepover at her Welch home.

The next morning, emergency responders, who rushed to the Freeman home after receiving calls about a fire, discovered both of Ashley’s parents, Danny and Kathy Freeman, shot dead, according to the CUE Center for Missing Persons.

The cause of the fire was an accelerant that had been placed near the wood-burning stove, and investigators determined someone had driven down the Freeman’s dirt driveway.

Bible's car was still in the driveway, but the keys were in the ignition. The girls were nowhere to be found.
Law enforcement has spent years scouring for clues in an investigation that spanned nationwide and into Canada and Mexico, but the case has remained unsolved.

But long-lost investigative notes recently found inside an office crate in a police department closet may change all that.
Craig County Sheriff Heath Winfrey was able to provide investigators previously “unknown notes and documents he discovered referencing the Freeman/Bible case that was left from the previous sheriff administration,” Gary Stansill, District 12 District Attorney’s Office investigator, told the Tulsa World.

“These notes and documents have proven to be extremely valuable,” Stansill said. “This information has produced leads that have produced additional leads.”

Stansill did not provide specific details on the leads, but said officials believe there are individuals who have not yet been interviewed who have information about the murders and the disappearances.

Investigators previously looked into the possibility that an intruder or intruders killed the Freemans and the girls were collateral damage.
Their investigation led them to Jeremy Jones, 43, a convicted killer and rapist who once lived in Miami, Okla.
The suspected serial killer said in a confession that he later recanted to the media that he killed the Freemans over an unpaid debt and then set the home on fire, according to the CUE Center for Missing Persons.

When the teens ran out of the burning home, Jones allegedly said he told the girls he was going to help, but instead drove them to Kansas, where he shot them and left their bodies in a mineshaft.

Police found no evidence of their remains in a 2005 search of the area, the Tulsa World reported. Jones has never been charged in the case and is currently awaiting execution in Alabama in a separate rape and murder.

The Freeman family moved to have Ashley declared dead in 2010, court records obtained by the World said.
Bible's family hopes the development in the case brings them closure, they told the paper.

“Our family hopes and prays that these new leads bring Lauria home,” Lorene Bible, Lauria’s mother, said.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) is offering up to $10,000 for credible information, and a private reward of $50,000 also reportedly stands.

Anyone with information is asked to call the OSBI hotline at 800-522-8017, or to email [e-mail].

[Jay7777]

Wow, this guy was a monster and very similar to EAR/ONS.

I borrowed this one from another folder, as it was very interesting to read and compare to EARs:

tucsoncitizen.com/morgue2/1996/09/25/62923-memory-of-rapist-haunts-victims/

[vivazapata]

Here is another one cracked:

nypost.com/2018/01/09/cops-crack-infamous-prospect-park-rape-case-with-dna/

First she was raped by a stranger in Prospect Park in 1994.

Then she was violated again — this time by the cops who questioned her credibility and a Daily News columnist who called the attack a “hoax.”

But now, after more than 23 years, she’s finally getting justice.

After running new DNA tests, police have identified the man who attacked the then-27-year-old Yale graduate in Prospect Park, linking the heinous crime to James Edward Webb, 68, a serial rapist who is serving 75 years to life at Sing Sing, sources told The Post Tuesday.

[Jay7777]

Nice find vivazapata!

[Jay7777]

He confessed! Wish EAR/ONS would do this:

www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/california-man-goes-on-tv-confesses-to-1993-murder-3-arrested/ar-AAuAtT2?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=edgsp

California man goes on TV, confesses to 1993 murder; 3 arrested

In a riveting television moment this week, a California man shed tears and claimed that he murdered a teenager in Northern California nearly 25 years ago.

Brian Keith Hawkins, 44, walked into the KRCR-TV station in Redding, Calif., and said he wanted to confess to the 1993 killing of Frank McAlister, the outlet reported. Hawkins said his newfound faith in God led him to seek forgiveness.

The station agreed to the interview, but stated it could not air it until after he turned himself in and police corroborated the confession.
"I know the wrong can't be changed but this is the closest I can come to doing the right thing," Hawkins told the station.
Hawkins named two accomplices: siblings Curtis Culver, 45, and Shanna Culver, 46.

Nearly 25 years ago, they set up a phony drug deal in Shingletown, Calif., to rob McAlister of money he brought to buy methamphetamine, Redding Police said in a news release. They robbed him, and Hawkins and Curtis Culver stabbed him to death, leaving his body in the woods and dumping his car in a Costco parking lot, according to police.

McAlister’s family had reported him missing, but his remains would not be found until the following year by a hiker in Shingletown, about 29 miles east of Redding.

McAlister's grandmother, Avis Rice of Anderson, told the Redding Searchlight that she and her family members were stunned to learn of the arrests so long after the murder.

"It is such a shock to us," she told the paper.
Hawkins and the Culver siblings were arrested and were being held in the Shasta County jail.
This was the Redding Police Department’s first big break in the two-decades-old cold case.

[Deleted]

Jan 12, 2018 23:54:22 GMT Jay7777 said:

He confessed! Wish EAR/ONS would do this:

www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/california-man-goes-on-tv-confesses-to-1993-murder-3-arrested/ar-AAuAtT2?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=edgsp

California man goes on TV, confesses to 1993 murder; 3 arrested

In a riveting television moment this week, a California man shed tears and claimed that he murdered a teenager in Northern California nearly 25 years ago.

Brian Keith Hawkins, 44, walked into the KRCR-TV station in Redding, Calif., and said he wanted to confess to the 1993 killing of Frank McAlister, the outlet reported. Hawkins said his newfound faith in God led him to seek forgiveness.

The station agreed to the interview, but stated it could not air it until after he turned himself in and police corroborated the confession.
"I know the wrong can't be changed but this is the closest I can come to doing the right thing," Hawkins told the station.
Hawkins named two accomplices: siblings Curtis Culver, 45, and Shanna Culver, 46.

Nearly 25 years ago, they set up a phony drug deal in Shingletown, Calif., to rob McAlister of money he brought to buy methamphetamine, Redding Police said in a news release. They robbed him, and Hawkins and Curtis Culver stabbed him to death, leaving his body in the woods and dumping his car in a Costco parking lot, according to police.

McAlister’s family had reported him missing, but his remains would not be found until the following year by a hiker in Shingletown, about 29 miles east of Redding.

McAlister's grandmother, Avis Rice of Anderson, told the Redding Searchlight that she and her family members were stunned to learn of the arrests so long after the murder.

"It is such a shock to us," she told the paper.
Hawkins and the Culver siblings were arrested and were being held in the Shasta County jail.
This was the Redding Police Department’s first big break in the two-decades-old cold case.

What a crazy story . I bet there are many unsolved drug related cases like this one ...still unsolved !

[Jay7777]

No doubt about that bthekid!

[Jay7777]

I know I usually only post solved cases here!

This one wasn't solved but it needs to be. I wonder who the other two bodies found in the van were? And of course it was in the Sacramento area!


www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/11-years-later-calif-deputys-murder-remains-unsolved/ar-AAuCwez?ocid=HPDHP

11 years later, Calif. deputy's murder remains unsolved


© Courtesy: Sacramento County Sheriff's Department

It's been more than 11 years since deputy Jeff Mitchell was found murdered in a field in southern Sacramento County, and the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department is still looking for the person responsible.

At 3:27 a.m. on Oct. 27, 2006, 38-year-old Mitchell pulled over a white van without license plates for a vehicle code violation near Dillard and Meiss roads.

When Mitchell failed to respond to dispatchers after a couple of minutes, another deputy was sent to the area to check on him.
Upon arrival, Mitchell was found suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. Mitchell was airlifted to the University of California Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, where he was later pronounced dead. The white van was also missing from the scene.
Deputies later learned that Mitchell was shot in the head with his own gun.

Later the same day, the white van was found abandoned in the Cosumnes River, about 20 miles away from where Mitchell was found, with two bodies inside. Deputies believe one or more people were trying to dump the bodies, who died from carbon monoxide poisoning, in the rural area when Mitchell pulled them over. No one else was found near the car.

“There’s not a lot of evidence on this case,” retired Sacramento County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Michaela Links said. “It’s very difficult for our agency and Jeff’s family to know that this is still not solved.”

Mitchell left behind a wife and a 6-year-old son. Mitchell was with the Sheriff’s Department for nine years and was a deputy for the last six years.
“Unfortunately, we have had several officers killed since then. A lot of us have known them and you work the case since you need to work it and you mourn later,” Links said. "But this case is the only one of them that is unsolved, as far as one of our officers being killed in recent times.”
The Sheriff’s Department is still working the case and asks the public for their help.

“Whether they are afraid to come forward, they can be protected by doing it anonymously, but we really need somebody to come forward that knows what happened and tell us,” Links said.

If you have any information regarding Mitchell's murder, please call 916-874-8477.

[almagata]

Jan 15, 2018 23:32:15 GMT Jay7777 said:

I know I usually only post solved cases here!

This one wasn't solved but it needs to be. I wonder who the other two bodies found in the van were? And of course it was in the Sacramento area!


www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/11-years-later-calif-deputys-murder-remains-unsolved/ar-AAuCwez?ocid=HPDHP

11 years later, Calif. deputy's murder remains unsolved


© Courtesy: Sacramento County Sheriff's Department

It's been more than 11 years since deputy Jeff Mitchell was found murdered in a field in southern Sacramento County, and the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department is still looking for the person responsible.

At 3:27 a.m. on Oct. 27, 2006, 38-year-old Mitchell pulled over a white van without license plates for a vehicle code violation near Dillard and Meiss roads.

When Mitchell failed to respond to dispatchers after a couple of minutes, another deputy was sent to the area to check on him.
Upon arrival, Mitchell was found suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. Mitchell was airlifted to the University of California Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, where he was later pronounced dead. The white van was also missing from the scene.
Deputies later learned that Mitchell was shot in the head with his own gun.

Later the same day, the white van was found abandoned in the Cosumnes River, about 20 miles away from where Mitchell was found, with two bodies inside. Deputies believe one or more people were trying to dump the bodies, who died from carbon monoxide poisoning, in the rural area when Mitchell pulled them over. No one else was found near the car.

“There’s not a lot of evidence on this case,” retired Sacramento County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Michaela Links said. “It’s very difficult for our agency and Jeff’s family to know that this is still not solved.”

Mitchell left behind a wife and a 6-year-old son. Mitchell was with the Sheriff’s Department for nine years and was a deputy for the last six years.
“Unfortunately, we have had several officers killed since then. A lot of us have known them and you work the case since you need to work it and you mourn later,” Links said. "But this case is the only one of them that is unsolved, as far as one of our officers being killed in recent times.”
The Sheriff’s Department is still working the case and asks the public for their help.

“Whether they are afraid to come forward, they can be protected by doing it anonymously, but we really need somebody to come forward that knows what happened and tell us,” Links said.

If you have any information regarding Mitchell's murder, please call 916-874-8477.

Here are three articles from the Sac Bee with more info on the people found dead in the van.   The second article says the carbon monoxide came from the tail pipe of the van being underwater, but with a hibachi in the van, it is also possible that was the source.  The third article says they have an idea who did the shooting but not enough evidence to make a case. 
____________________________________

Suspect had a troubled history - Drug, legal problems beset man found dead in van
Sacramento Bee, The (CA) - October 29, 2006
Author/Byline: Ryan Lillis and Christina Jewett

A Sacramento man who wrestled for years with methamphetamine addiction and legal troubles emerged Saturday as the main suspect in the high-profile slaying of a sheriff's deputy.

Allan E. Shubert, 43, and Nicole Ann Welch, 28, were found dead in a white van Friday afternoon, nearly 12 hours after Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputy Jeffrey V. Mitchell was shot and killed 20 miles away after approaching a suspicious white van, authorities said.

Authorities have pored over Shubert's history, questioning his girlfriend and family, but are also trying to keep an open mind: A cop killer could still be on the loose.

"We by no means believe we are at the end of this search," said Lt. Mark Kessell, in charge of the sheriff's command center for the case. "(The suspect) could be sitting somewhere in the county. We don't know."

Authorities are focusing on forensic evidence recovered from Shubert's van -- packed with old clothes, a hibachi and cassette tapes -- in trying to determine whether he and Welch were involved in Mitchell's death, police said.

"I know in my heart that he had nothing to do with it," said Jim Ellis, Shubert's brother-in-law. "He just wasn't violent."

Investigators do not know how Shubert and Welch died -- even after autopsies were completed Saturday -- and may not have the answer for "several days," according to El Dorado County Sheriff's Lt. Kevin House, department spokesman.

Shubert lived out of the white van, which was filled with his mechanic's tools for the odd jobs he did for a living. His sister, Diana Ellis, said he left Thursday to go to "Indian Country," presumably the Jackson area, to take his friend Welch to meet a friend.

Just before 3:30 a.m. Friday, Mitchell reported he was checking on a white Chevrolet van without a license plate near an intersection south of Jackson Highway. Minutes later, he was found on the road shot in the head, authorities said.

Officers immediately launched an aggressive search for a white van, scouring the region for vehicles matching its description and following up tips from as far away as Reno, authorities said.

The investigation's focus turned Friday afternoon to a shallow reach of the Cosumnes River along the El Dorado County line after a white van was found there with two bodies inside.

Authorities are looking at DNA evidence from the van and the scene where Mitchell was killed, said Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness. Investigators are comparing hair fibers from both scenes and are seeing if Shubert's and Welch's fingerprints match any of those found on Mitchell's patrol car, police said.

"There is a whole lot that is dependent upon science and the interpretation of physical evidence and things that are not within our control because it is a matter of time," McGinness said. "And that adds to the frustration enormously."

Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran said Saturday that as many as 100 tips on the case had come in to the department, and all were being investigated. The FBI and the federal Department of Justice are assisting in the manhunt.

"We are by no means hanging our hat on the idea that the (Shubert) van was involved," McGinness said. "Nothing will be dismissed outright."

Mitchell had been on patrol at 3:27 a.m. Friday when he alerted a dispatcher over his patrol car's computer that he was about to check on a white Chevrolet van at Meiss and Dillard roads. The deputy said the van was missing a license plate, but did not specify front or rear.

A few minutes later, Mitchell's handheld radio was "keyed," meaning it sent a clicking noise to dispatchers, McGinness said. Police do not know if Mitchell clicked the radio to signal distress or if it was set off during a struggle.

Concerned, a dispatcher tried to reach the deputy over the radio. When Mitchell did not respond, she tried calling his cellular phone, McGinness said. There was no answer, and 12 seconds later additional deputies were sent to the scene on high alert.

A deputy found Mitchell at 3:37 a.m. with a gunshot wound to his head, police said. He was pronounced dead about an hour later at UC Davis Medical Center.

Mitchell, 38, a nine-year veteran of the department, lived in the Serrano neighborhood of El Dorado Hills with his wife, Crystal Lynn, and 6-year-old son, Jake.

McGinness said Saturday that a violent struggle occurred at the rear of Mitchell's car, possibly while the deputy attempted a patdown before placing a suspect in custody. The deputy's handcuffs were out. His gun may have been fired.

"This may be a hunch, and we may never have the answer, but it is my belief there was something that heightened (Mitchell's) response because it does look like he had begun to handcuff (a suspect)," McGinness said.

Officers believe the van involved in Mitchell's death may have had front-end damage because a fence near the scene had fresh damage.

The van found in the river had front-end damage. It had a rear license plate, but its front plate was bent upward and would have been difficult to read on the road, authorities said.

Shubert was about 5-foot-8 and weighed more than 200 pounds, authorities said. His body had marks that could have indicated physical trauma, but may also have been the result of physiological changes after death, McGinness said.

Shubert's mother, Carolyn Rodgers, said in an interview at her Town and County Village home that she talked to her son Thursday and he said he planned to be in Sacramento on Friday for a court appearance. In the past decade, Shubert has been charged with drug possession, vandalism and driving under the influence, according to court records.

After driving without a valid license for a decade, he tended to take his punishment when the familiar lights of a police car flashed behind him, his family said.

"He'd take the consequences," his mother said. "He took it with a grain of salt."

Friday, the family realized Shubert had been found dead in the Cosumnes River and was being eyed in connection with Mitchell's death.

Shubert's mother said a detective came to her home that afternoon, saying a van that had a license plate similar to her son's had been seen in the area of the homicide.

Several hours later, Shubert's girlfriend Robin Hodson said she arrived at her North Highlands home to find five detectives there waiting to question her.

Investigators interviewed her again Saturday at a sheriff's office, asking her how much money Shubert had when he left, about his drug use and if the couple had any problems.

Hodson said Shubert was a methamphetamine user, and that he likely had $300 to $600 with him because he was paid recently for a paving job.

Shubert was unlikely to take his own life, Hodson said, as the couple planned to move in together soon. Hodson, who had a 10-year relationship with Shuber, said she could not believe he would have harmed an officer.

"He was quiet, trustworthy -- he definitely wasn't violent," she said.

While investigators were trying not to look only at Shubert, photographs of his van were scattered on tables inside the Sheriff's Department command center.

On Saturday afternoon, about two dozen officers staffed the information-gathering hub, monitoring phones and computers as tips came in from officers and from the public.

FBI agents entered the credible tips into a database, and detectives based at another office followed up on each, Kessell said. He said officers were intent on gathering information, and the trauma of the loss of a fellow officer had not yet fully set in.

"The whole objective is to take everything the community can give us and what law enforcement can give us and figure out who did this," Kessell said.

Anyone with information on the case is urged to call the sheriff's tip lines at [phone] or [phone].

_________________
Manhunt for killer continues - Link to man found dead in van unlikely, sheriff says
Sacramento Bee, The (CA) - October 29, 2006Browse Issues

Author/Byline: Dorothy Korber, Ryan Lillis and Christina Jewett; Bee StaffEdition: METRO FINALSection: MAIN NEWSPage: A1

A Sacramento man who wrestled for years with methamphetamine addiction and legal troubles was virtually cleared Saturday as a suspect in the high-profile slaying of a sheriff's deputy, authorities said.

The man, Allan E. Shubert, 43, and Nicole Ann Welch, 28, were found dead in a white van Friday afternoon, nearly 12 hours after Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputy Jeffrey V. Mitchell was shot and killed 20 miles away after approaching a suspicious white van, authorities said.

After first focusing on Shubert as a potential suspect, Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness said Saturday night that that there is no credible evidence to link Shubert to Mitchell's slaying.

"Candidly, in my opinion, we can't make that link," McGinness said. "The biggest thing is the body. My hope and belief was that we'd find some trauma indicating that he (Shubert) fought with our deputy. But there was none."

Shubert's van was found partially submerged in the Cosumnes River. Shubert and Welch were dead inside, without any immediate signs of trauma.

McGinness said Saturday night that the pair apparently died of carbon monoxide poisoning after their vehicle's tailpipe flooded.

"An overwhelming coincidence" was how the sheriff characterized the discovery of the white van in such mysterious circumstances just 12 hours after Mitchell's death.

"In my heart, I'm hoping this line of investigation will still be good," McGinness said. "There's always a chance it could be connected but there's no evidence they are linked."

He said officers -- and the public -- need to guard against making assumptions.

"If it looks real good, the tendency is to say we have a good suspect" and wishful thinking can take over, he said.

Saturday's turn of events, in a case cloaked in drama and mystery, means that the massive hunt for Mitchell's killer will continue with renewed intensity.

"We still want the word out that we are desperately in search of answers about who is responsible for the death of this deputy," the sheriff said.

McGinness said he had another reason for making it clear that Shubert was no longer a prime suspect.

"These people were not model citizens," he said, "but I don't want to have their legacy associated with the death of a deputy sheriff."

Shubert's troubled past emerged Saturday in interviews with his family members and girlfriend, who staunchly insisted that he was not capable of gunning down an officer during a traffic stop.

"I know in my heart that he had nothing to do with it," said Jim Ellis, Shubert's brother-in-law. "He just wasn't violent."

Shubert lived out of the white van, which was filled with his mechanic's tools for the odd jobs he did for a living. His sister, Diana Ellis, said he left Thursday to go to "Indian Country," presumably the Jackson area, to take his friend Welch to meet a friend.

It was just before 3:30 a.m. Friday when Deputy Mitchell reported he was checking on a white Chevrolet van without a license plate near an intersection south of Jackson Highway. Minutes later, he was found on the road shot in the head, authorities said.

Officers immediately launched an aggressive search for a white van, scouring the region for vehicles matching its description and following up tips from as far away as Reno, authorities said.

Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran said Saturday that as many as 100 tips on the case had come in to the department, and all were being investigated. The FBI and the federal Department of Justice are assisting in the manhunt.

A few minutes later, Mitchell's handheld radio was "keyed," meaning it sent a clicking noise to dispatchers, McGinness said. Police do not know if Mitchell clicked the radio to signal distress or if it was set off during a struggle.

Concerned, a dispatcher tried to reach the deputy over the radio. When Mitchell did not respond, she tried calling his cellular phone, McGinness said. There was no answer, and 12 seconds later additional deputies were sent to the scene on high alert.

A deputy found Mitchell at 3:37 a.m. with a gunshot wound to his head, police said. He was pronounced dead about an hour later at UC Davis Medical Center.

Mitchell, 38, a nine-year veteran of the department, lived in the Serrano neighborhood of El Dorado Hills with his wife, Crystal Lynn, and 6-year-old son, Jake.

McGinness said Saturday that a violent struggle occurred at the rear of Mitchell's car, possibly while the deputy attempted a patdown before placing a suspect in custody. The deputy's handcuffs were out. His gun may have been fired.

"This may be a hunch, and we may never have the answer, but it is my belief there was something that heightened (Mitchell's) response because it does look like he had begun to handcuff (a suspect)," McGinness said.

Officers believe the van involved in Mitchell's death may have had front-end damage because a fence near the scene had fresh damage.

The van found in the river had front-end damage. It had a rear license plate, but its front plate was bent upward and would have been difficult to read on the road, authorities said.

Shubert's mother, Carolyn Rodgers, said in an interview at her Town and Country Village home that she talked to her son Thursday and he said he planned to be in Sacramento on Friday for a court appearance. In the past decade, Shubert has been charged with drug possession, vandalism and driving under the influence, according to court records.

After driving without a valid license for a decade, he tended to take his punishment when the familiar lights of a police car flashed behind him, his family said.

"He'd take the consequences," his mother said. "He took it with a grain of salt."

Friday, the family realized Shubert had been found dead in the Cosumnes River and was being eyed in connection with Mitchell's death.

Shubert's mother said a detective came to her home that afternoon, saying a van that had a license plate similar to her son's had been seen in the area of the homicide.

Several hours later, Shubert's girlfriend Robin Hodson said she arrived at her North Highlands home to find five detectives there waiting to question her.

Investigators interviewed her again Saturday at a sheriff's office, asking her how much money Shubert had when he left, about his drug use and if the couple had any problems.

Hodson said Shubert was a methamphetamine user, and that he likely had $300 to $600 with him because he was paid recently for a paving job.

Shubert was unlikely to take his own life, Hodson said, as the couple planned to move in together soon. Hodson, who had a 10-year relationship with Shubert, said she could not believe he would have harmed an officer.

"He was quiet, trustworthy -- he definitely wasn't violent," she said.

On Saturday afternoon, about two dozen officers staffed the information-gathering hub, monitoring phones and computers as tips came in from officers and from the public.

FBI agents entered the credible tips into a database, and detectives based at another office followed up on each, Kessell said. He said officers were intent on gathering information, and the trauma of the loss of a fellow officer had not yet fully set in.

"The whole objective is to take everything the community can give us and what law enforcement can give us and figure out who did this," Kessell said.

Anyone with information on the case is urged to call the sheriff's tip lines at [phone] or [phone].

__________________________

After 5 years, Deputy Jeff Mitchell's shooting death remains unsolved
Sacramento Bee, The: Web Edition Articles (CA) - October 30, 2011

Author/Byline: Kim Minugh, kminugh

Five years is a long time.

In the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, much has changed. One sheriff retired, another took charge. Budgets have been decimated and then rebuilt. Cases, both the mundane and high profile, have been closed, their binders full of sad stories filed away for history.

But one sad story persists: On a quiet morning five years ago last Thursday, Deputy Jeff Mitchell was shot to death while checking out a suspicious vehicle on a lonely country road near Sloughhouse.

There are more than 200 binders, but no arrest.

Despite the time that has passed, homicide Detective Tony Turnbull said he and his team continue to make progress on the case, which he described as still "the highest priority."

"(The case) has not gone cold. There's plenty to do with it still," Turnbull said. "I believe we're very close. It might just take that one person to step forward."

He said he has a "pretty good idea" of who was involved. But he said he lacks the evidence so far to support any arrests.

"To know and to have a prosecutable case are two different things sometimes," Turnbull said.

Mitchell – who had opted for the graveyard patrol shift so he could spend more daylight hours with his young son – stopped to check out a white Chevrolet van on Meiss Road that he thought lacked a license plate. He notified dispatchers, typing on his in-car computer, and indicated he saw one person inside.

That was at 3:27 a.m. When he didn't respond to welfare checks by dispatchers, his fellow deputies sped to his aid. The first deputy arrived at the remote scene at 3:47 a.m. to find the 38-year-old Mitchell shot in the head with his own service weapon.

There was evidence of a great struggle. And there were no witnesses for miles around.

"You're basically starting your case with nothing," Turnbull said. "White van, no plates, possibly one person – that's it."

A massive manhunt ensued. Hours later, authorities discovered a white Chevy van stalled in a shallow stretch of the Cosumnes River in El Dorado County, not far from the shooting scene.

Inside were the bodies of Allan Shubert and Nicole Welch, who, it was later determined, died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

To this day, detectives do not believe Shubert or Welch were involved in Mitchell's killing, and they suspect their deaths were an accident. But they do believe the deaths are linked in some way, Turnbull said.

One possibility detectives are exploring: That Shubert and Welch's bodies were in the van when Mitchell stopped, and that he was shot as part of a cover-up.

Turnbull said he thinks there were at least two people, other than Shubert and Welch, in that van at the time of Mitchell's arrival. And he said he believes there is a "good chance" one of them had nothing to do with Mitchell's shooting. That person, he thinks, may be afraid to come forward.

"The white van lead is the right direction," he said. "I don't have a crystal ball. I wasn't there that night. Is there a chance something different happened that night? Sure. But everything we have … points to the van."

Every few months, Turnbull updates Mitchell's widow, Crystal, on his progress. He said he feels it's important she knows they haven't given up.

Turnbull said he had known Mitchell since college, and that he is driven both professionally and personally to find his killer.

"It's just as raw as it was five years ago," he said. "We're all in the same boat. We've all been out there doing what Jeff was doing. We have families."

Sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos said Mitchell's killing remains a "dark cloud" in the minds of all in the department. "We lost a brother, a co-worker, and justice hasn't been done," he said.

CAN YOU HELP?

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Detective Tony Turnbull at [phone] or Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP. The reward for information in this case stands at $225,000.

[Jay7777]

Thanks almagata!