A Deadly DUI, Shattered Lives and A Navy Officer’s Early Release: How He Killed 4 and Served 2 Years and 10 Months
Without warning death fell on them from above. First there was an ear shattering bang, screeching, and then a pickup truck fell out of the sky, twisting midair as if in a movie, before nosediving into a vendor’s booth, crushing all life beneath it. It was 3:33 p.m. in...
A Son Accused: Did He Set the Fire That Killed His Family?
Wendy Romero’s hair was on fire and her desperate screams filled the night. As she stood trapped at her window her hands extended through the metal security bars flailing wildly for help. It was a ghastly scene and her neighbors, awakened from their nearby slumber,...
Police Suspected Criminalist Kevin Brown of Murder. Did Their Mistake Push Him to Suicide?
Kevin Brown had reached the end. For months he had been spiraling into despair and on October 20, 2014, he could take it no longer. Leaving his Chula Vista home and his devoted wife of 21-years, he drove to the family’s mountain cabin in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and...
The Sex-Tape Murder Trial: When There Was Sex, Lies, and a Videotape But No Body
There was sex, lies, and a reported videotape, but no body. Nevertheless, forty-nine-year-old Brian Eleron Hancock stood trial for first-degree murder of his friend Peter Bentz. As Hancock’s trial began on January 6, 2020, in the San Diego courtroom of Judge Joan...
A Mystery Drink Awaiting: La Jolla Restaurateur Sexually Assaulted Women, But Did He Drug Them First?
“It was the ultimate act of control. Assaulting a woman who can’t resist,” said Deputy District Attorney Jessica Coto as the trial of Daniel Dorado came to a close in the San Diego courtroom of Judge Charles Rogers on December 17, 2019. The 61-year-old former La Jolla...
Hidden Danger: Animal Cruelty Next Door
I am honored to be in the just released show: Hidden Danger: Animal Cruelty Next Door It was a reign of terror which would not stop! WHO was attacking beloved neighborhood dogs? As a Navy veteran is brought to trial in this heartbreaking and terrifying case, I was...
A Navy Veteran’s Sentencing: Why Did He Torture His Neighbors’ Dogs?
It was three months of terror for the Morales family, which ended in an act so horrifying that two years later they are still reeling and in immense pain. Even before the courtroom doors opened, the tears began to fall. It all began in 2016 when they rented a house in...
Death Under the Coronado Bridge
The Spring issue of True Crime: Case Files is here! Don't miss this compelling edition! There is an exclusive interview with activist and attorney Gloria Allred, plus 69 pages of true crime. My story, "Death Under the Coronado Bridge" begins on page 45. ...
Pleas for Mercy Not Enough: Why Julie Harper’s Murder Sentence Was Not Reduced Under New Gun Law
“You left a trail of destruction and broken hearts behind you when you killed your husband,” declared Judge Blaine Bowman as he looked down at Julie Elizabeth Harper and denied her request to strike a gun enhancement, which would have reduced her prison sentence by 25...
Deputy Richard Fischer: Did Hugs Escalate to Sexual Assault or Were Claims Fabricated for a Money Payout?
Richard Fischer sat quietly in a San Diego courtroom as he listened to the vigorous and at times combative cross-examination by his famed Los Angeles attorney Manny Medrano. Long gone was Fischer’s sheriff deputy uniform, replaced now by sharply cut suits, making him...
True Crime: Case Files Magazine Fall 2018 Issue
Don't miss the Fall 2018 Issue of True Crime: Case Files Magazine! Here is a preview of this dynamic issue: https://view.joomag.com/true-crime-case-files-fall-2018-edition-fall-2018/0141191001531156380?short Part 2 of my story on the mysterious death of beautiful...
The Snapchat Killer: Was He Legally Insane When He Killed His Best Friend?
Why did Salvador Sanchez, a youth fresh from high school, who had spent months fully immersed in his church youth group, and filled with a faith he was eager to share suddenly turn into a killer? On the night of April 22, 2017, nineteen-year-old Salvador Sanchez...
True Crime: Case Files Magazine Summer 2018 Issue
Don't miss the amazing summer issue of True Crime:Case Files! There are 86 pages of riveting true crime stories, book excerpts, a survivor's gripping account of the Parkland school shooting, support for crime victims, history and trivia, and so much...
A Suicide No Longer: A Jury Finds Rebecca Zahau Was Killed at the Spreckels Mansion
It was a gruesome sight. A beautiful young woman hanging by a noose from the second-story balcony of the Spreckels Mansion. Her body was nude, making the red rope wrapped around her neck, and binding her arms behind her back, and feet even more prominent. A blue...
The Murder Trial of Tieray Jones: Will We Ever Know What Happened to Little Jahi Turner?
It has been 16 long years since little two-year-old Jahi Turner seemingly disappeared into thin air. Did he as the prosecution contends, die at the hands of his stepfather Tieray Jones, only to then be thrown away in the trash like garbage, never to be found? Or was...
The Murder Trial of Regina Johnson: She Killed Her Husband But Did She Kill The Daughter She Loved?
This story won True Crime: Case Files E-zine crime writing contest. What really happened in the Johnson home on a terrible May day that left two people dead? According to the prosecution, Regina Johnson ambushed and executed her daughter and husband, and...
When Divorce Is Not Enough: Did Diana Lovejoy Hire a Gunman to Kill Her Husband?
It all began with a late-night phone call from a mysterious stranger recounted Greg Mulvihill. It was the night of September 1, 2016, the night he was supposed to die according to the prosecution. On October 31, 2017, Greg Mulvihill took the witness stand in the trial...
Was Richard Sepolio Under The Influence When His Truck Flew Off The Coronado Bridge Killing Four People?
Was Richard Sepolio under the influence of alcohol on October 15, 2016, when his pick-up truck flew off the Coronado bridge and nosedived to the ground, killing four people and causing serious injuries to attendees at a festive motorcycle rally and fundraiser in...
Did Little Jahi Turner Vanish From a San Diego Park or Was He Killed By Stepfather Tieray Jones?
On April 25, 2002, at 2:26 in the afternoon, Tieray Jones called 911 and breathlessly reported his two-year-old stepson had simply vanished from a San Diego park when he walked to a nearby vending machine to purchase a drink for the toddler. Was this a parent’s worst...
If I Can’t Have You: Why Beautiful Shauna Haynes Ended Up Dead in a Suitcase
“If I can’t have you the way I want you, I’m afraid I’ll do something I regret.” Just weeks after that text message was sent, a suitcase was discovered by trash bins outside a San Diego hotel with black hair coming out of the zipper. Locked into a tight fetal position...
Azano Trial: Were Illegal Campaign Contributions Made to Buy A Friend in the Mayor’s Office?
“Over $500,000 of illegal campaign contributions were made to buy a friend in the mayor’s office. It was an audacious plan. It worked. It actually worked!” said assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Pletcher on August 30, 2016, as he began his closing argument in the campaign...
Closing Arguments in the Retrial of Julie Harper: Was it Murder or Self-Defense?
“The last thing Jason Harper saw was not his three precious children, his parents, or his brother. The last thing Jason Harper saw was the barrel of the gun that Julie Harper held.” These emotional words began the closing argument of Deputy District Attorney Keith...
Opening Statements Begin in the Murder Retrial of Julie Harper
“This is a case about murder,” said Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe on September 14, 2015, as he began his two hour opening statement in the retrial of Julie Elizabeth Harper, who has admitted to killing her husband. On the morning of August 7, 2012, Julie...
What Began as Entertainment Turned into 18 Years Behind Bars for Operator of Revenge Porn Website
“It was kinda fun and entertaining at first, but now it’s like ruining my life.” Those were the prophetic words of Kevin Bollaert, 28, who was found guilty on February 2, 2015, of 27 felonies stemming from his operation of a revenge porn website, where users uploaded...
Caregiver Denise Goodwin Sentenced to Life for Killing Aged Man and Taking All of His Money – Family Pleads for Return of His Body
The family of Gerald Rabourn could not hold back their tears on January 30, 2015, as the caregiver who had been found guilty of killing the aged Rancho Bernardo man and taking his money for her own personal gain was sentenced to life without the possibility of...
Sean Banks Sentenced to 37 Years to Life for Raping Women He Met on Dating Websites
On November 7, 2014 in a courtroom overflowing with media, former naval officer Sean Patrick Banks learned his fate after a jury convicted him in June of raping a woman he met on ChristianMingle.com in 2012 and of raping another woman he met on Match.com in 2009. ...
The Trial of Julie Harper: Was It Murder or Self Defense?
She killed her husband. That is a fact no one disputes, but whether Julie Elizabeth Harper should be found guilty of first degree murder, second degree murder, manslaughter, or whether she acted in justifiable self-defense after enduring years of abuse is the...
The ChristianMingle.Com Rape Trial: Did The Jury Get It Right? You Be The Judge!
“He is a liar, a predator, a wolf in sheep’s clothing preying on a vulnerable flock, and a rapist! Hold him responsible!” These were the strong and forceful words of Deputy District Attorney David Williams III as he concluded his closing argument in the rape trial of...
Who Killed 12 Year Old Stephanie Crowe in The Dark of Night?
The knife rose and fell nine times in a savage attack, taking the life of the young girl who had been quietly asleep in her bed. The assailant then disappeared into the night, leaving a family unaware of the evil that had just entered their lives. In the early...