Linda man's death ruled a homicide

7-29-2009 California:

Malmstrom died from stabbing, sheriff says

A Linda man whose body was found in his North Beale Road apartment was a homicide victim, Yuba County Sheriff Steve Durfor said Wednesday.

The body of Scott Dana Malmstrom, 47, was found Saturday at the Beale Star Apartments.

An autopsy Tuesday showed Malmstrom was stabbed with a sharp instrument, Durfor said.

The state Department of Justice positively identified the decomposed body through fingerprints.

"Investigators consider the case a homicide and believe there are additional witnesses who have not come forward," Durfor said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff's Tip Line at 530 749-7930. Callers may remain anonymous.

Department of Justice investigators are still processing evidence found at the scene, Durfor said.

Department spokeswoman Melanie Oakes said she could not comment on a possible motive or suspect in the case.

A Beale Star Apartments resident, Noreen Weems, said she saw Malmstrom uncharacteristically arguing with a man about five days before he was found dead. The other man, who had long, braided hair and appeared to be in his 40s, had been seen at the complex a couple of times before, she said.

The argument may have been over something in a brown paper bag that Malmstrom had just bought at a nearby liquor store where he was a frequent customer, said Weems.

Weems said Malmstrom once fixed her vacuum cleaner and used to walk her dog for her. He did not work and apparently received some type of public assistance, she said.

According to a California Megan's Law Web site, Malmstrom was also a registered sex offender who'd been convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 by force. ..Source.. by Rob Young

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Murder trial starts in 2009 Linda stabbing

7-13-2010 California:

Jury selection began today in the trial of a Marysville man charged with the July 2009 fatal stabbing of Scott Dana Malmstrom at a Linda apartment.

Todd Allen Cole Jr., 26, allegedly stabbed the 47-year-old Malmstrom 17 times. He is charged with first-degree murder.

Malmstrom's neighbors at the Beale Star Apartments, 1485 North Beale Road, called authorities after noticing a foul odor. According to testimony at Cole's preliminary hearing in December, Malmstrom's body may have been in his apartment for as long as five days in 90-degree-plus heat. ..Source..


Mistrial declared in Yuba County murder trial

7-23-2010 California:

A Yuba County judge declared a mistrial Friday in the second-degree murder case of Todd Allen Cole Jr. after jurors said they were "completely torn."

A prosecutor called the evidence against Cole "pretty compelling," but jurors deliberated two days without reaching a verdict.

Cole's fingerprints and footprints were found in the blood of victim Scott Malmstrom, whose decomposed body was found July 25, 2009, in his North Beale Road apartment.

Asked by Judge Kathleen O'Connor what the vote breakdown was without saying which way jurors voted, the jury forewoman said before O'Connor cut her off that there were 10 votes to convict Cole.

The forewoman declined comment as she left the courthouse, as did other jurors.

The lead prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney John Vacek, said Cole will be retried. A trial date is scheduled to be set Wednesday.

Cole's attorney, Chief Deputy Public Defender Brian Davis, and Deputy District Attorney Shiloh Sorbello met with jurors behind closed doors to discuss their votes.

Davis asked an Appeal-Democrat reporter to leave at the request of some of the jurors.

Jurors had the option of finding Cole guilty of voluntary manslaughter instead of second-degree murder, an option opposed by prosecutors, Sorbello said. But the issue that led to the hung jury was more of "who done it," he said.

The two jurors who voted not to convict apparently were not sure beyond a reasonable doubt that it was Cole in Malmstrom's apartment, not someone else, even though they didn't seem to have any particular person in mind, Sorbello said.

One witness said that shortly before Malmstrom's death, she saw him having an argument with a lanky, ponytailed Hispanic man. Cole told a fellow inmate in Yuba County Jail that he and his brother had stabbed a child molester.

Malmstrom was convicted of child molestation in Placer County.

Sorbello credited Davis with planting enough reasonable doubt in the minds of some jurors to cause the hung jury.

"He did what he needed to do," Sorbello said.

In his closing argument to jurors, Davis said state Department of Justice investigators should have taken more blood samples from the apartment. Some of the blood could have come from someone else, he said.

"Everything seemed obvious to them, so why go to the bother?" Davis said.

Malmstrom was stabbed or slashed 17 times. Blood was on the floor, walls and ceiling.

"No one knows beyond all doubt that happened in Scott Malmstrom's apartment. There are other ways this reasonably could have happened," Davis said.

The prosecution's case consisted entirely of circumstantial evidence — no witnesses, no videotape, he said.

Davis called one prosecution witness, Brian Brand, a white supremacist gang member, "a snitch. He didn't even have the guts to sit here in front of you and tell you what he has to stay," Davis said.

At a December preliminary hearing, Brand testified Cole talked to him in jail about stabbing a child molester. In the trial, he said he couldn't remember.

Vacek said Brand feared retaliation for being a snitch.

By talking to Brand, Cole may have been stupid or bragging or "a punk sucking up to the real deal" whose white supremacist gang, the Peckerwoods, might protect him in prison, Vacek told jurors.

Vacek acknowledged that evidence was largely circumstantial, including forensic evidence such as Cole's fingerprints and footprints in Malmstrom's blood.

"But it's a pretty compelling circumstantial case when you look at it," he told jurors.

Cole's fingerprints in Malmstrom's blood were found on the control rod for vertical blinds on the living room window, evidence that he didn't want anyone to see what had just happened, said Vacek.

"What other reasonable explanation is there" for the bloody prints, Vacek asked. "What reasonable person goes inside and wades in blood? Who sees this and doesn't call the cops?"

The struggle apparently was the most violent near the window and door, with blood spurting from Malmstrom's severed carotid artery, Vacek said.

A bloody knife blade, broken from its handle, was found near the window. That apparently happened when Malmstrom was stabbed in the back of the neck and the blade hit bone, he said.

When Malmstrom's body was found, the left pants pocket was turned out and he had no wallet. Malmstrom liked to flash a roll of cash, a Yuba County detective testified earlier. ..Source.. by Rob Young

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No retrial, defendant pleads no contest in East Linda slaying

8-25-2010

Facing retrial on a second-degree murder charge, Todd Allen Cole Jr. has pleaded no contest to the voluntary manslaughter of an East Linda man.

Scott Malmstrom was found stabbed and slashed to death July 25, 2009, at the Beale Star Apartments on North Beale Road.

Cole entered the plea Monday before Yuba County Judge Kathleen O'Connor and faces a 14-year prison sentence, said the lead prosecutor in the case, Deputy District Attorney John Vacek.

Vacek said Cole's knowledge that 11 jurors voted to convict him "may have softened him up a bit."

At the end of the July trial, a jury foreperson told the judge that 10 jurors had voted to convict.

"We were ready for a retrial when this came up" on Monday, Vacek said about the plea.

Malmstrom was killed "in the heat of passion," Vacek said.

"I never thought (Cole) went into the apartment with the intent of killing Scott Malmstrom. Something happened to set him off," Vacek said.

A pathologist testified that Malmstrom had 17 wounds on his body, including a slashed carotid artery. Blood was found on the floor, walls and ceiling.

Cole's fingerprints and footprints were found in Malmstrom's blood.

Jurors in the July trial had the option of convicting Cole of either second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter but deadlocked after two days of deliberation.

Some jurors thought someone else may have been involved in Malmstrom's death, Deputy District Attorney Shiloh Sorbello said at the time.

Earlier on the day he is believed to have been killed, Malmstrom, a convicted child molester, mentioned to Cole that they shared the same parole agent. Cole became angry, according to testimony.

A white supremacist gang member testified that Cole bragged in jail about killing a child molester.

Malmstrom was known to carry a roll of cash. His pants pocket was found turned out on the day his decomposed body was found.

The day after Malmstrom apparently died, Cole and his girlfriend had enough cash to move into an East Marysville apartment. The girlfriend and Cole's brother testified the cash came from other sources.

Cole is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 20. The 14-year sentence includes time for two prior convictions and for using a knife in Malmstrom's killing, Vacek said. ..Source.. by Rob Young

CA- Homicide Victim A Registered Sex Offender

All stories kept saying "Police believed Keeley's background had nothing to do with his death." However, when the killer was apprehended he used the registry to find Keeley! BINGO, the police do not want to tarnish the image of the registry, knowing it is harmful to registrants..

8-12-2009 California:

Edward Vaughn Keeley, the victim of an apparent homicide in North Palm Springs, was a registered sex offender. Keeley, who was found dead in his back yard Monday, is registered on the California Megan's Law web site as a sex offender. He was convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14.

Mike Keeley, his son, says he was not a predator but said he had gotten involved with the young daughter of an ex back in the1980s.

The Riverside County Sheriff's department says there is no indication Keeley's criminal past had anything to do with his death. Deputies have released few details beyond that. They are investigating the case as a homicide.

Given they have no idea what the motive was, why specifically jump to this reasoning, others are also possible? One possible answer -which runs through these deaths- is, that law enforcement does not want to damage the image of the registry as a motive, lest it be taken down. We will watch for further reports...

"He was beaten pretty bad," Mike said. Mike did not know what murder weapon was used. Deputies have not released that information.

Keeley's family, who was visiting his ranch Wednesday, said he lived alone but often took in homeless people and drug abusers.

"He would see someone walking down the street, bring them in, get them job, get them work," said Troy Tehart, Keeley's son-in-law.

Tehart said Keeley had someone living on his ranch at the time of his death. That person, a contractor who had recently lost his job and home, had found his body. The contractor wasn't available for comment.

Mike Keeley said his father's home was ransacked and his car was found burned nearby. Mike said his father didn't have many valuables so it's hard to imagine why anyone would kill him.

"He buys a lot of yard sale stuff to build this place so it's not like he had cash or anything," Mike said.

Edward Vaugh Keeley was found dead Monday afternoon in the back yard of his home at 64600 block of 16th Ave. ..Source.. by Kimberly Cheng, KPSP Local 2 News

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Man, 75, found dead in own backyard; homicide suspected

The death of a 75-year-old man found in the backyard of his North Palm Springs home is being investigated as a homicide, investigators said Tuesday.

The body of Edward Vaughn Keeley was discovered about 5 p.m. Monday at 64-635 16th Ave. in an unincorporated area of Riverside County, Sheriff's Deputy Herlinda Valenzuela said.

The coroner is performing an autopsy to determine cause of death.
No arrests have been made.

Valenzuela released no further information, such as why investigators believe the death is a homicide.

The man's home is on a gravel road in a sparsely populated area just north of Dillon Road.

Investigators were in the area Tuesday interviewing neighbors.

“He's my ex,” said Teddy Jones, sitting in a car parked near the home.

“We talk and see each other all the time,” she said.

Jones said she had been in a relationship with the man for about 16 years. She moved out and into a home next door about five years ago, she said.

Jones, who said she was questioned by investigators, was waiting in a car in front of her home while her son was being interviewed.

Jones described the man as a “putterer” and said he volunteered at the Desert Hot Springs Senior Center.

“He had lunch there every day,” she said.

Keeley is a registered sex offender on the Megan's Law Web site. According to registration information, he was convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14.

``There is no information to suggest that he was murdered because he is
a registrant,'' Valenzuela said.

The sheriff's department asks anyone with information about the homicide to contact the Central Homicide Unit Investigator Joshua Button at (760) 393-3500 or Palm Desert station investigator Robert Garcia at (760) 836-1600. ..Source.. by Denise Goolsby • The Desert Sun

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Accused Sex Offender Gunman Pleads 'Not Guilty'

2-10-2010 California:

INDIO - A reputed drug dealer accused, along with another man, in the death of a convicted sex offender in North Palm Springs pleaded not guilty today to a murder charge.

Travis Martin Cody, 27, faces one count of first-degree murder and two special circumstance allegations -- committing a murder during a robbery and a burglary -- in the Aug. 10 death of Edward Vaughn Keeley, whose body was found in his back yard in the 64000 block of 16th Avenue.

Cody was in state prison on an unrelated offense and was transported on Feb. 5 to the Indio Jail for prosecution.

Also accused in Keeley's death is self-avowed white supremacist Steven Banister, 28, who is accused of using California's Megan's Law registry to track down Keeley.

Banister also faces the same special circumstance allegations, which make both men eligible for the death penalty if convicted. Prosecutors will decide later in the case whether to seek capital punishment for the defendants.

Both men are due in court on Feb. 18 for a felony settlement conference.

Banister was released from prison less than a month before Keeley's death, according to a declaration filed in support of an arrest warrant.

Keeley's address was listed as the home of a convicted sex offender on a publicly accessible database created as a result of Megan's Law, said sheriff's Investigator Josh Button, who prepared the declaration.

Banister reportedly bragged in prison that he planned on assaulting homosexuals, rapists and pedophiles, according to Button. He allegedly used Megan's Law to target pedophiles and sex offenders for his burglaries.

Banister told his girlfriend that he had gotten into a fight with an old man, but did not know if the victim was dead or not, according to Button.

After Keeley's death, Banister went to Tennessee, where he was arrested in December.

Cody, who is being held without bail, told his mother and girlfriend in recorded jail conversations that he was at Keeley's home during the murder, Button wrote. ..Source.. by KESQ.com News Services

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Accused Sex Offender Gunman Pleads 'Not Guilty'

2-14-2010 California:

INDIO - A reputed drug dealer accused, along with another man, in the death of a convicted sex offender in North Palm Springs pleaded not guilty today to a murder charge.

Travis Martin Cody, 27, faces one count of first-degree murder and two special circumstance allegations -- committing a murder during a robbery and a burglary -- in the Aug. 10 death of Edward Vaughn Keeley, whose body was found in his back yard in the 64000 block of 16th Avenue.

Cody was in state prison on an unrelated offense and was transported on Feb. 5 to the Indio Jail for prosecution.

Also accused in Keeley's death is self-avowed white supremacist Steven Banister, 28, who is accused of using California's Megan's Law registry to track down Keeley.

Banister also faces the same special circumstance allegations, which make both men eligible for the death penalty if convicted. Prosecutors will decide later in the case whether to seek capital punishment for the defendants.

Both men are due in court on Feb. 18 for a felony settlement conference.

Banister was released from prison less than a month before Keeley's death, according to a declaration filed in support of an arrest warrant.

Keeley's address was listed as the home of a convicted sex offender on a publicly accessible database created as a result of Megan's Law, said sheriff's Investigator Josh Button, who prepared the declaration.

Banister reportedly bragged in prison that he planned on assaulting homosexuals, rapists and pedophiles, according to Button. He allegedly used Megan's Law to target pedophiles and sex offenders for his burglaries.

Banister told his girlfriend that he had gotten into a fight with an old man, but did not know if the victim was dead or not, according to Button.

After Keeley's death, Banister went to Tennessee, where he was arrested in December.

Cody, who is being held without bail, told his mother and girlfriend in recorded jail conversations that he was at Keeley's home during the murder, Button wrote. ..Source.. by KESQ.com

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Alleged white supremacist charged with killing convicted registered sex offender

1-10-2010 California:

PALM SPRINGS - An alleged white supremacist has been charged with using California's Megan's Law registry to track down and kill an convicted sex offender, it was reported today.

Steven Banister, 28, had been free from prison less than one month when he killed a 75-year-old Palm Springs man in his house on Aug. 28, 2009 according to Palm Springs police quoted in the Desert Sun. The victim, Edward Keeley, had apparently been convicted in years past of an undetermined sex crime.

Keeley's address was listed as the home of a convicted sex offender on the publicly-available roll of such properties created by Megan's Law. Banister had reportedly boasted while in prison that he was planning to hurt or kill people who had sexually abused children.

Banister, an avowed white supremacist from Desert Hot Springs, fled to Tennessee after the killing and was arrested there Dec. 10, the Desert Sun reported.

Earlier last year, Banister was living on parole in Desert Hot Springs when he was arrested during a highly-publicized roundup of parole violators, the newspaper reported. He was sent back to prison, where he boasted to other inmates he had robbed the elderly Keeley during his interlude of freedom.

Police found some of Banister's property, including a Derringer-style pistol and leather holster, in the home of Banister's friend, Travis Cody, the Desert Sun reported. ..Source.. Valley News

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Defendant accused of killing a sex offender has move to fire lawyer denied

4-8-2011 Texas:

A convicted felon accused of killing a sex offender tried to fire his attorney Thursday but was overruled by a judge, who is expected to set a trial date for the man and his alleged cohort in June.

Travis Martin Cody, 28, and Steven Aruther Banister, 29, could face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of first-degree murder with special circumstance allegations of killing during a burglary and robbery in the Aug. 10, 2009, death of Edward Vaughn Keeley.

Trial proceedings were slated to get under way Thursday, but a motion by Cody to dismiss his court-appointed lawyer, James Silva, delayed the process.

Following a closed-door hearing at the Indio courthouse, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Steven Counelis denied Cody's request and scheduled a trial-setting conference for Cody and Banister on June 7.

Silva told City News Service he would need at least that amount of time to review recorded jailhouse phone conversations initiated by Cody.

Banister, an avowed white supremacist, is accused of using the California Megan's Law registry of convicted sex criminals to track down Keeley, whose body was found in the backyard of his house in the 64-000 block of 16th Avenue in North Palm Springs.

Banister was released from prison less than a month before Keeley's death, according to court papers.

He and Cody are longtime friends.

They were convicted in 2002 of burglarizing a Desert Hot Springs storage facility.

Banister allegedly bragged in prison that he planned on assaulting homosexuals, rapists and pedophiles, according to court documents.

He allegedly used the Megan's Law database to target pedophiles and sex offenders for burglaries.

The defendant told his girlfriend that he had gotten into a fight with an old man, but did not know if the victim was dead or not, according to sheriff's Investigator Josh Button.

After Keeley's death, Banister went to Tennessee, where he was arrested in December 2009.

Cody told his mother and girlfriend in recorded jail conversations that he was at Keeley's home during the murder, Button said.

Investigators also found some of Banister's property, including a Derringer-style pistol and leather holster, at Cody's residence.

Cody was in state prison on an unrelated offense when he was arrested in connection with the Keeley slaying.

The defendants could have faced the death penalty, but prosecutors decided late last summer not to pursue capital punishment. ..Source.. by City News Service

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Trial date set for suspects in Palm Springs killing

1-6-2012 California:

A Jan. 20 trial date was set today for two men, one of them a white supremacist, accused in the killing of a sex offender in Palm Springs.

Travis Martin Cody, 29, and Steven Arthur Banister, 30, could face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of first-degree murder with special circumstance allegations of killing during a burglary and robbery in the Aug. 10, 2009, death of 75-year-old Edward Vaughn Keeley.

Banister -- an avowed white supremacist -- is accused of using the California Megan's Law registry of convicted sex criminals to track down Keeley, whose body was found in the backyard of his house in the 64000 block of 16th Avenue in North Palm Springs.

At a trial-readiness conference today at Indio's Larson Justice Center, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Thomas N. Douglass set a Jan. 20 trial date for the two men.

Banister was released from prison less than a month before Keeley's death, according to court papers. He and Cody are longtime friends. They were convicted in 2002 of burglarizing a Desert Hot Springs storage facility.

Banister allegedly bragged in prison that he planned on assaulting homosexuals, rapists and pedophiles, according to court documents. He allegedly used the Megan's Law database to target pedophiles and sex offenders for burglaries.

The defendant told his girlfriend that he had gotten into a fight with an old man, but did not know if the victim was dead or not, according to sheriff's Investigator Josh Button. After Keeley's death, Banister went to Tennessee, where he was arrested in December 2009.

Cody told his mother and girlfriend in recorded jail conversations that he was at Keeley's home during the murder, Button said.

Cody was in state prison on an unrelated offense when he was arrested in connection with the Keeley slaying.

The defendants could have faced the death penalty, but prosecutors decided in 2010 not to pursue capital punishment. ..Source.. by City News Service

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2 convicted of robbing, killing homeowner, 75, near Desert Hot Springs

3-8-2012 California:

INDIO — Two men were convicted Thursday of murdering a 75-year-old man during a burglary at his home near Desert Hot Springs.

Jurors deliberated about a half-day before returning guilty verdicts against Travis Martin Cody, 29, and Steven Arthur Banister, 30, and finding true special circumstance allegations of killing during a burglary and robbery in the Aug. 9, 2009, death of Edward Vaughn Keeley.

A man living in a trailer on the victim's property in an unincorporated area of Riverside County near Desert Hot Springs found Keeley dead in his home the next day.

Cody and Banister face life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The special circumstance allegations made them eligible for the death penalty, but prosecutors decided in 2010 not to pursue capital punishment.

Deputy District Attorney Scot Clark told jurors that Banister and Cody weren't happy with what they found when they broke into Keeley's home.

They ransacked the residence before binding Keeley with a necktie and beating him in the head with the stock of a shotgun, the prosecutor said.

“Ed Keeley was asphyxiated and strangled after — after — they inflicted that beating,” Clark said in his closing argument Wednesday. “Ladies and gentlemen, Ed Keeley was alive through all of that it almost takes on a torture quality when they did to Ed Keeley. Somebody was mighty, mighty angry they didn't get what they came to get.”

Clark said the two men had previously broken into some outbuildings on Keeley's property and thought they'd find something better in the principal dwelling.

“Someone was looking for something; someone was looking to take his property,” Clark said.

He said authorities later found property belonging to Keeley at the defendants' homes, including a pistol hidden, with a lighter, inside a television set at Cody's house. Keeley's car was found burned about a mile and a half from his house, the prosecutor said.

He said that in a prison phone call, Cody told his mother that he was at Keeley's home at the time of the murder and expected to go to prison “forever.”

Banister — who left for Tennessee after Keeley's death and was arrested there — told his girlfriend the day after the victim's death that he had gotten into a fight with an elderly man and did not know if he was dead or not, Clark said.

“I don't get to say this very often — take the defendants' words for it,” he said.

The prosecutor said one witness, Michael Madrid, had information he could only have gotten from someone involved with the crime. Madrid told police that Cody had told him about the robbery and killing, then said in court this week that he made it up or didn't remember.

“There's a level of detail he wouldn't get from talk out on the streets,” Clark said.

Cody's attorney, Leni Jacobs, argued there was no physical evidence linking her client to the crime and that witnesses were inconsistent in their testmony.

“There's no DNA, no fingerprints — even the tire tread marks check by Detective (Kenneth) Patterson, they didn't match,” she said in her closing argument.

Banister's attorney, Greg Johnson, said his client had been in prison in the past and had made mistakes, but maintained that he was innocent of murder.

“Yes, he's a thief — he steals cars, he steals dirt bikes.

“But he is not a killer,” Johnson said. ..Source.. by Joy Juedes, City News Service

CA- Carmichael Couple Charged In Man's Death

7-14-2009 California:

Missing 66-Year-Old's Body Found In El Dorado County

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Investigators have recovered evidence they said connects a married couple to the death of a missing 66-year-old man.

On Saturday, deputies arrested Charles Francis Gaskin, 44, and his wife, Sandra Sheaves, 40, both of Carmichael, charging them with murder, according to a statement issued Sunday by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.

The arrests stem from an investigation into the disappearance of a man whom KCRA 3 sources identified on Monday as Neil Hayes. Acting on a tip that Hayes stayed at the couple's house in the 4900 block of Whitney Avenue, homicide detectives executed a search warrant and discovered evidence that they said indicates he was murdered there.

The investigation led authorities to a site in rural El Dorado County, where authorities from Sacramento and El Dorado counties found a man's body. The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office was scheduled to perform an autopsy to determine an exact cause of death.

Sacramento County detectives said Gaskin and Sheaves killed Hayes in their home and dumped him in rural El Corado County.

Hayes and Gaskin had spent time in prison together. Sources told KCRA 3 that Hayes was a sex offender, which may contribute to a possible motive.

Authorities arrested Gaskin without incident late Saturday night at a friend's house in San Francisco, and detectives arrested Sheaves at her home shortly before midnight. Both have arraignments scheduled for Tuesday.

If you have information regarding this investigation, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department asks you to contact homicide detectives by dialing 916-874-5115. ..Source.. by KCRA3.com

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Officials identify man, 66, found dead in rural El Dorado County

7-13-2009 California:

Sacramento County coroner's officials have identified the 66-year-old man found dead on Saturday in rural El Dorado County.

He was Neil Lee Hayes of Sacramento. A deputy coroner said he did not have a permanent address.

Authorities have arrested a Carmichael couple, Charles Francis Gaskin, 44, and his wife, Sandra Sheaves, 40, in connection with Hayes' death.

Hayes was first reported missing Friday and his body discovered about 8 p.m. Saturday on Newtown Road near Placerville, authorities said.

Sacramento County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran said the victim is believed to have been killed in the couple's residence in the 4900 block of Whitney Avenue sometimes between June 29 and July 1.

Curran said the victim and Gaskin met in prison. Sacramento County online court records show that Gaskin had a misdemeanor theft case in 1997 that was dismissed and Hayes had court records dating back to 1989.

His last record showed he pleaded no contest to a felony sex-related offense in 2005. The records showed no filings on Sheaves. Curran said that the victim had been staying at the couple's residence for the past several months. ..Source.. by Chelsea Phua

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Supremacist convicted of killing child molester sentenced to 26 years to life in prison

5-4-2013:

A Northern California white supremacist convicted of killing a child molester has been sentenced to 26 years to life in prison, while his wife — convicted of being an accessory — will be released from jail in about two months, The Sacramento Bee reported (http://bit.ly/17D3Y4l ) Saturday.

Charles Francis Gaskins, 48, was sentenced Friday after pleading no contest in March for the killing of Neil Hayes in 2009. A probation report said Gaskins was a member of a supremacist group that required its members to attack anyone with a history of child molestation.

Gaskins and his wife — Sandra Sheaves — was living in a home she owned in Carmichael, a community outside of Sacramento, when they allowed the 66-year-old Hayes to move in. Gaskins had met Hayes while they were both serving time in prison, The Bee said.

When Sheaves discovered on the Megan’s Law website that Hayes was a registered sex offender, she told Gaskins.

Gaskins and Sheaves confronted Hayes in the garage of the home, with Gaskins killing him by repeatedly hitting him in the head with a large rock, prosecutors said.

Hayes’ body was later found dumped along the side of a rural road about 35 miles away in Placerville.

As part of his no-contest plea, Gaskins insisted authorities go easy on Sheaves, who also was charged with Hayes’ murder.

Prosecutors agreed, allowing her to plead no contest to accessory to murder. Sheaves, 43, was sentenced to eight years in prison.

“In a way, you almost instigated this, by showing the information from Megan’s Law to Mr. Gaskins,” Sacramento Superior Court Judge Sharon Lueras said in sentencing Sheaves.

With time served and other factors, Sheaves is expected to be released in 66 days, according to her attorney, James Warden. ..Source.. by Washington Post

Child Molester Found Dead In Prison

4-7-2007 Indiana:
PENDLETON, Ind. -- An inmate at the Pendleton Correctional Facility who had been convicted of molesting a child was found dead in his cell Friday afternoon.

Kent D. McDonald, 44, of North Vernon, was serving a sentence for child molestation and theft out of Jennings County. He was not eligible for release until 2030.

McDonald was housed in cellblock D, which houses 48 inmates and has an open common area, officials said. Inmates are locked in their cells from 11 p.m. until 4:30 a.m. each day, according to Indiana State Police.

An autopsy will be performed on McDonald on Monday at Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie.

Detective Bob May, the state police's lead investigator on the case, declined comment late Friday, saying he had yet to interview inmates concerning McDonald's death.

"All I can say is that we're conducting a death investigation," he said.

Potter said the state police's crime scene investigation team was called to the prison, and the facility was on a temporary, "modified lockdown" until McDonald's body was removed.

McDonald had been a Pendleton inmate since June 17, 2005, having transferred from the Westville Correctional Facility in northwest Indiana.

He was charged with three counts of child molesting in December 2002 in Jennings County and had a projected release date of December 2030, according to the Indiana Department of Correction. ..more.. by The Indy Channel

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Pendleton inmate’s death being investigated as homicide
4-7-2007 Indiana:

A Pendleton Correctional Facility inmate likely didn’t die of natural causes, but investigators are stopping short of formally labeling his death a homicide until an autopsy is performed.

Indiana State Police Detective Bob May said his department was treating the death investigation of 44-year-old Kent D. McDonald, of Madison, Ind., as homicide pending autopsy results.

“We need the cause of death before we concentrate on an avenue of investigation,” May said. “It doesn’t look accidental. There’s blood involved. The position of the body — nothing looked natural and nothing looked suicidal about it.”

Prison staff found McDonald early Friday afternoon, lying on his lower bunk in the cell he shared with an another inmate, according to Neil Potter, prison spokesman.

“He was obviously well expired when they found him,” May said. “We are investigating this as a homicide until the medical examiner tells us it’s not.”

McDonald was charged with three counts of child molesting, one Class A felony and two Class C felonies, in December 2002 in Jennings Circuit Court. His projected release date was December 2030, according to the Indiana Department of Correction. The circumstances surrounding the crimes weren’t immediately known.

An autopsy on McDonald’s body is scheduled to be performed Monday at Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie.

“It doesn’t look like natural causes,” said May, adding there weren’t any obvious indications that McDonald took his own life. “But you know what? I could be wrong, but I doubt it.”

May and Indiana Department of Correction Investigator Mike Raines are the lead detectives in the case.

If McDonald’s death is ruled a homicide, a possible motive could be tied to why he was sentenced to over two decades behind bars.

“Child molesters have a difficult time in prison, and that probably has something to do with it,” he said. “You really don’t want to go to prison as a child molester and be identified as that.”

But May added that McDonald “was very well liked. He had several friends in there.”

McDonald was housed in a 48-inmate cell block with an open, common area, said ISP Sgt. Mike Burns, Pendleton Post spokesman. Prisoners were locked in their cells only from 11 p.m. to 4:30 a.m.

May said McDonald’s cellmate and another inmate were transferred out of the cell block and are now being housed in another part of the prison. Neither inmate’s name was released.

May said McDonald’s cellmate was moved because the cell was being treated as a crime scene. He wouldn’t elaborate on why the second inmate was relocated.

McDonald had been a Pendleton inmate since June 17, 2005, having transferred from the Westville Correctional Facility in northwest Indiana. ..more.. by Shawn McGrath

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UPDATE: Prison inmate’s death ruled homicide
4-9-2007 Indiana:

The Madison County Coroner’s Office has officially ruled the death of 44-year-old Kent D. McDonald a homicide.

Ned Dunnichay, Madison County’s coroner, said McDonald, a convicted child molester serving time at the Pendleton Correctional Facility, died of blunt-force injuries to the head and chest.

Dunnichay said he doesn’t know what type of object may have caused McDonald’s fatal injuries.

“Not at this point,” he said. “That’s unclear until I get more information from the state police.”

Indiana State Police Detective Bob May, the lead investigator in the case, said no arrests have been made in connection with the slaying.

“We have two people of interest that we’re concentrating on,” he said. “We’re actively going to pursue an arrest warrant — or warrants — in this case.”

May said Saturday that McDonald’s cellmate and another inmate were transferred out of the cell block and are now being housed in another part of the prison. Neither inmate’s name was released, but May confirmed these are the two people of interest.

Prison staff found McDonald early Friday afternoon, lying on his lower bunk in his shared cell, according to prison officials.

McDonald was housed in a 48-inmate cell block with an open, common area, according ISP Sgt. Mike Burns, Pendleton Post spokesman. Prisoners were locked in their cells only from 11 p.m. to 4:30 a.m.

May said they are still investigating what was used to kill McDonald.

“I don’t think there was a weapon, but I don’t know,” May said. “There was definitely an instrument of destruction used, but that could be your hands.”

McDonald had been a Pendleton inmate since June 17, 2005, having been transferred from the Westville Correctional Facility in northwest Indiana.

McDonald was charged with three counts of child molesting, one Class A felony and two Class C felonies, in December 2002 in Jennings Circuit Court. His projected release date was December 2030, according to the Indiana Department of Correction. The circumstances surrounding the crimes weren’t immediately known.

McDonald was born in Madison, but had spent most of his life in North Vernon.

May reiterated that the possible motive in McDonald’s slaying could be tied to his child molestation convictions.

“That’s the most likely (reason),” he said, but added that McDonald did have several friends at the facility. “They don’t make too many close friends in prison, but he had a few in there.” ..more.. by SHAWN MCGRATH

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9:45 p.m.: Investigator: Inmate may have been slain by white supremacists
4-11-2007 Indiana:
A convicted child molester killed at the Pendleton Correctional Facility was the target of two white supremacist gang members, according to the lead investigator in the case.

Indiana State Police Detective Bob May said during a probable cause hearing on Monday that 44-year-old Kent D. McDonald, a white male, was beaten to death and discovered lying in a pool of his own blood.

“McDonald appeared to be lying face-down on his bunk surrounded by a pool of blood with a pillow case over his head that was slightly twisted around his neck,” May told Madison County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Jim Nave during the hearing to obtain the pair of search warrants.

“Also, it appeared he had been hog-tied, with his hands behind his back to his ankles,” May testified. “However, there was no ropes or any binding restraints at the time he was discovered by (Indiana Department of Correction) staff and rigor mortis had set in when I saw him.”

The hearing in Madison Circuit Court was to get warrants to obtain possible DNA evidence from a pair of purported Aryan Brotherhood members: McDonald’s cellmate, Clay M. Howard, 24, and 21-year-old Paul M. Rayle.

Circuit Court Judge Fredrick Spencer approved the warrants to get hair, blood, saliva and finger-nail scrapings. Spencer ordered the two to be transported to Saint John’s Medical Center on Tuesday to have the potential evidence collected.

While both men are labeled as suspects in McDonald’s death according to the warrants, no charges have been filed against either man.

“That case is still under investigation and we’ve not received any additional information from the state police,” Madison County Prosecutor Thomas Broderick Jr. said late Tuesday. “So we’re just waiting for that investigation to be completed so we can review it and make decisions on what we’re going to do.”

May said during the hearing that Howard suffered hand injuries that may be connected to McDonald’s death, and Rayle and Howard had argued with McDonald in the past.

“Mr. Howard had injuries to the knuckles of his hands,” May said during the hearing. “Also, he had bruising and scratches to his upper torso. Mr. Rayle also had ... knuckles (that) were scraped.

“They had several arguments before (McDonald’s) death.”

The detective said Rayle’s and Howard’s alleged ties to white supremacy groups may have been the motive behind McDonald’s killing.

“They’re members of the Aryan Brotherhood or Aryan Nation and white supremacists,” May said. “They have a pact to kill child molesters.”

When investigators searched the cell McDonald and Howard shared, they discovered correspondence and “news clippings” about other child molesters that Howard “might possibly be on the lookout for while he’s in the DOC,” May said.

However, none of the news clippings were about McDonald, he said.

“The first day in that dorm unit, (Howard) was talked to by Paul Rayle,” May said. “And Paul Rayle told him that his new bunkmate was a child molester.”

May could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.

The cellblock where the three men were living houses 48 men with a common, shared area. The cells are locked from 11 p.m. to 4:30 a.m., but otherwise the inmates are free to roam. Howard and Rayle have since been moved out of the cellblock.

McDonald had been a Pendleton inmate since June 17, 2005, having been transferred from the Westville Correctional Facility in northwest Indiana.

McDonald, of North Vernon, was charged with three counts of child molesting, one Class A felony and two Class C felonies, in December 2002 in Jennings Circuit Court. His projected release date was December 2030, according to the Indiana Department of Correction.

McDonald was convicted of molesting several preteen boys at his camper trailer in rural North Vernon, threatening to kill one of the youths if he ever talked about the incidents. The boys were friends of his extended family members, according to documents from the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department.

For the mother of one of McDonald’s then-10-year-old victims, prison time was warranted for his crimes, but it should not have amounted to a death sentence.

“He shouldn’t have died like he did,” the woman, a North Vernon resident, said Tuesday. “But him spending time in prison, yeah, because he did molest them. (But) he didn’t deserve to die for it.”

The Herald Bulletin generally doesn’t reveal the identities of sex-crime victims or their immediate relatives if that could possibly expose the victim’s identity.

The woman said some of McDonald’s family members have been harassing her family, believing they are somehow connected to McDonald’s death.

“It’s not our fault that their son passed away,” she said. “I didn’t have anything to do with it and none of my family had anything to do with it.

“I wish it never happened.”

Attempts to reach McDonald’s family were unsuccessful. His funeral arrangements are pending at a North Vernon funeral home.

Howard was imprisoned at Pendleton after being convicted of attempted murder and burglary charges in Tippecanoe County in 2003. He was scheduled for release in January 2018. The circumstances surrounding the charges weren’t immediately available.

While Howard has over a decade left on his sentence, Rayle was scheduled to be released in July 2008, according to the DOC. In 2004, he was sentenced in Allen County to 10 years in prison on a single armed robbery count. ..more.. by Shawn McGrath

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Charges filed in '07 prison killing

1-7-2011:

ANDERSON, Ind. — Two prisoners who were named as suspects days after a 2007 killing at the Pendleton Correctional Facility were charged with murder in the final week of former Prosecutor Thomas Broderick Jr.’s term.

Broderick on Dec. 27 filed murder charges against Clay M. Howard, 27, and Paul M. Rayle, 25. They were inmates at Pendleton and are accused in the beating and strangulation death of Kent D. McDonald, a 44-year-old child molester who was found in a pool of his own blood in his prison cell on April 6, 2007.

Prosecutor Rodney Cummings said Friday that he was aware of the charges, but he had not reviewed the case. He said Broderick sat on the charges that “probably should have been filed three years ago.”

Broderick denied he procrastinated in filing the charges, saying there was circumstantial evidence and many people at the reformatory had access to the victim. “It took time to make sure there was sufficient evidence to file it,” he said Friday.

Indiana State Police investigators received warrants days after McDonald’s murder to collect DNA and other evidence from Howard and Rayle, who were purported members of the Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist gang that authorities say had taken a vow to kill child molesters. All three men were white.

An autopsy concluded that McDonald died of head and neck blunt force injury and asphyxiation.

An affidavit of probable cause dated Dec. 21, 2010, and signed by Broderick’s chief of staff, Ed Leonard, says that Howard and Rayle were examined after McDonald was found slain. ISP investigator Robert May “reported that both had injuries to their knuckles and fingers that he stated were consistent with being in a fight.”

The affidavit says that several inmates told authorities that Howard and/or Rayle confessed to killing McDonald.

Pendleton Correctional Facility officials later confiscated a letter they say Howard wrote to his father in which he appears to brag about killing McDonald, according to the affidavit. The letter says, “I still go hunting. Just not your typical game though! ... I bagged and tagged a (deleted).” The affidavit says Howard also wrote, “The charges never stuck.”

“That was 2 birds w/one stone,” Howard is accused of writing. “Not only did he play with kids, he played with boys. ... How about th(a)t for earning some stripes.”

McDonald, from North Vernon, was sentenced in June 2005 to at least 40 years in prison on multiple counts of child molestation, according to Department of Correction records.

Howard, who is now at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, was serving a 32-year sentence on a charge of attempted murder and a 15-year sentence for burglary, according to DOC.

Rayle, who is now serving time in Fort Wayne, was sentenced in 2004 by an Allen County court to 10 years in prison on a charge of armed robbery.

Charges against Howard and Rayle have been filed in Madison County Superior Court 3 before Judge Thomas Newman. No court dates have been set. ..Source.. by Dave Stafford

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Accused prison killer in court

1-14-2011:

Rayle charged with slaying molester at Pendleton facility

ANDERSON, Ind. — One of two inmates charged in an April 2007 killing at the Pendleton Correctional Facility was transferred to Madison County for an initial court hearing on Friday.

Paul M. Rayle, 27, who is serving a 10-year prison term in Fort Wayne, was formally charged last week in the beating and strangulation death of Kent D. McDonald, a 44-year-old child molester who was found in a pool of his own blood in his prison cell on April 6, 2007.

An automatic plea of not guilty was entered and Madison County Magistrate Stephen Clase ordered Rayle held without bond in the Madison County Jail.

Clase appointed Patrick Ragains as Rayle’s public defender, and Rayle’s case has been assigned to Madison County Superior Court 3 Judge Thomas Newman Jr.

Newman’s court also is the venue for murder co-defendant Clay M. Howard, 25. An affidavit for probable cause says that Howard and Rayle, former Pendleton inmates, were members of the Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist gang that authorities say had taken a vow to kill child molesters.

Howard has not yet had his initial hearing. He is serving a 32-year sentence on a charge of attempted murder and a 15-year sentence for burglary in the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, according to the Indiana Department of Correction. ..Source.. by Dave Stafford