After 37 years with few answers, San Diego Police Department (SDPD) detectives may finally have a break and a person of interest in the brutal cold case of a 15-year-old girl killed and mutilated on a beach. Claire Hough's body was found just a few hundred yards from where Barbara Nantais was killed six years earlier. He was the beachcomber who had found Claire's body. "He wanted to agree.
Heading into the meeting, Nantais sister echoed Alts frustration. Schlesinger asked. And there was the knock.
48 Hours: Torrey Pines Beach Teen Murders Suspect - 2paragraphs We had even more questions than answers since the police would not initially explain a connection between Tatro and Brown. In it, he had underlined a Psalm about being wrongfully accused. The police had found two DNA hits on Claire Hough. "My sister was like, 'See ya!'". Torrey Pines State Beach is a picturesque beach in Southern California that has attracted tourists, military men, surfers, and local teens each year to its gorgeous shorelines. Rorrison declined to discuss any relationship between Tatro and Brown. She was in my arms. The 18 best stores to find Midcentury Modern furniture in L.A. Kevin Brown, the retired criminalist, was now the only living suspect. Schlesinger asked. The following day, Rebecca got the news she feared most. "You can still have cross contamination of semen because they had to have fresh samples of semen in the San Diego lab," said Von Helms. Barbara had been beaten, sexually assaulted, strangled and one of her breasts had been mutilated. Press conference: We were able to establish a very strong case that Ronald Tatro and Kevin Brown were the suspects in the murder of Claire Hough. His skull was crushed with a rock and fire log during the 1978 attack. It's easy to bully him," said Stam. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. TRUE CRIME WITH RAVEN | TORREY PINES BEACH MURDERS | UNSOLVED MURDER CASE | COLD CASES UNSOLVED Join this channel to get access to perks:https://www.youtube.. It's a place I bring my out-of-town guests to see and it's where I meet my girlfriends to hike at dusk after work and on Sundays before the park gets too crowded. SAN DIEGO A forensic DNA expert testified Tuesday in San Diego federal court that sperm cells found on evidence in the 1984 murder of a teenage girl at Torrey Pines State Beach were the.
"I started. "You never had enough to arrest him in his lifetime. "You thought he was involved somehow?" In fact, the families did not even know about each other. His blood was in several spots on Claire's jeans. Both murders languished in the cold-case file for more than 30 years until this month, when police used DNA evidence to link two men to Hough's killing. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. The medical examiner tested one of them in 1984 and found nothing. But, the chance of that happening was probably one in a million. These cases dont just go away.. Christopher Schmittel, 19, pleaded not guilty to 2 counts of second-degree murder and DUI charges as the driver in a horrific crash on Torrey Pines State Beach. Schlesinger asked Stam. Schlesinger asked. Katz kept the murder charges at the request of Deputy District Attorney Hailey Williams. And they are left with the haunting memories of what Torrey Pines Beach represents. "It was not kept in a way that would ensure the integrity of the evidence," said Iredale. "And he said, 'I tried telling them I don't know what they're talking about. Zero," said Iredale. "She just had an inner light, a joy about her. Hes a good, kind, sweet, gentle man.'. It was like a big party," said Selga. But remember, Kevin Brown had allegedly also told a friend that he photographed a girl who was found dead on the beach. In 2013, SDPD Lt. Ernie Herbert told NBC 7 Nantais case was being reviewed, as there had been huge advances in DNA technology. What the girl from Rhode Island found was death at the hands of someone who strangled her and left her body beneath an Old Highway 101 bridge.. And he's gone,'" she said in tears. Six years later, Claire Hough, from Rhode Island, was visiting her grandparents in Del Mar Heights when she turned up dead on Torrey Pines State Beach on the morning of August 23, 1984. Listen Now Episode Info Ronald Tatros So, I -- I own part of that decision. 09:48 EDT 27 Oct 2014 "This was a violent, sadistic, choking killing," she continued. "'Jim, you were trying to be alone with Barbara is probably what every red-blooded American boy dreams of. Nantais was sleeping on the beach on August 13, 1978, with her boyfriend, 17-year-old Jim Alt, when the . The letters eventually stopped. Blinded and disoriented, Alt had to feel his way along a fence up the sandy hill to the parking lot where his friends were sleeping in the car. Two days later, after Jamer went back to Rhode Island, Claire broke that promise. Both suspects - convicted career criminal Ronald Clyde Tatro and retired police criminalist Kevin Charles Brown - have since passed away. "God gave her to me to keep me humble, and it worked.". "What was the promise?". He enjoyed photography, and in the 80s, he went to lingerie and boudoir shoots advertised in a local magazine. "He would go to, what? Schlesinger asked journalist James Vlahos. And he loved animals like I did. Barbara Nantais and Jim Alt had been introduced by Barbara's sister, Sue. "What did you tell him?" He said the pain of not knowing who killed Nantais or why weighs heavily on him. The haunting Torrey Pines Beach murders JUNE 7, 2018 / CBS NEWS -Search for killer continues 40 years after 15-year-old girl's murder AUGUST 14, 2018 -40 Years After Gruesome Teen Death, Suspect Still at Large AUGUST 14, 2018. I don't know anything. By February 2013, San Diego police had announced that they had "re-opened" the cases and were looking at DNA to see if they could finally solve these crimes. Claire learned to love the ocean early on.
Lifeguards Call Off Search for Swimmer Off Torrey Pines State Beach The Houghs had always considered it a safe place, and in the summer of 1984, they sent Claire and her brother out to California for a visit with their grandparents. Schlesinger asked. 48 Hours: Torrey Pines Beach Teen Murders . Its something that hasnt left me. ET on Investigation Discovery. Schmittel's attorney, Terry Allen, asked Katz to dismiss the murder charges and only order a trial for gross vehicular manslaughter. Friends describe him as "the life of the party.". "I told her father and mother, you know, that we would stay put. [ [320381531, C]] On Aug. 13, 1978, Nantais and her boyfriend, Alt, were sleeping on the sand at Torrey Pines State Beach when they were attacked by an unknown suspect or suspects. "when that magazine -- that issue -- came out, we autographed quite a few.".
These 17 Death Row inmates have cases connected to Long Beach Coastal erosion from the adjacent Torrey Pines State Reserve makes for a picturesque landscape. ", "When I first read it, it did. Could Torrey Pines have been that much different in the late 70's and early 80's? Obviously were very gratified, Rorrison said. "He was one of the worst public speakers let's say, in the history of the San Diego Police Department lab," said Iredale. "This is a guy who found a bloody, mutilated body and he's talking about a smiling face and radiant eyes.". "We zip the sleeping bags together, and crawled in them and went to sleep. Judy Nantais said. "So let's say the analyst took Kevin's semen sample, wearin' the same gloves and then handled the deep vaginal swab there's a logical explanation for the contamination.". Barbara Nantais and Jim Alt were accompanied to the beach by 19-year-old Rick Selga, pictured, and his girlfriend. "Did he say anything to you?" They had no idea that Barbara and Jim had gone to the beach to camp. Ronald Tatro was in prison for rape at the time of Barbara's murder and Kevin Brown was attending college in Sacramento -- 500 miles away. Gene Iredale and Gretchen Von Helms say cross-contamination in the lab was to blame for the DNA link. Jim Alt, 17, was very popular at his high school in Long Beach, California. Alt has never been considered a suspect in the case. She had been strangled, sexually assaulted, and mutilated. "It was a well-known case and that photograph that they showed him had been one that had been in the newspaper," Iredale replied. "You were a big surfer," Schlesinger noted. Kieran Corcoran
Like Barbara Nantais, Claire Hough also had been beaten, strangled, and sexually assaulted. She has filed suit against two San Diego police detectives for misconduct and wrongful death. Schlesinger asked. Alt survived the violent attack, but suffered a severe head wound that left him semi-conscious with no recollection of the assault. "If everybody who ever looked at a photo of a scantily clad woman if everybody who ever went to a strip club is likely to be a serial killer, I'm afraid we're going to have to build quite a few more prisons," said Iredale. "he knew there would be people who would think even if he went to court and was found not guilty -- that would believe it And this was gonna tarnish his reputation that he prided himself in.". ", "She was a popular, defiant, beautiful, pain in the ass, wonderful daughter. "Because this can be very tidy for them," she replied. "I said, 'you've gotta clear this up. Brown's widow has vehemently denied that he had anything to do with Claire's murder and suggested that his DNA could have become mixed with the evidence sample because he worked in the same lab. Schlesinger asked Vlahos. A family friend was looking after Barbara and her three siblings. "He didn't escape that, of course. Over the course of our investigation at "48 Hours," we had and still have a lot of doubts concerning Kevin Brown. "What did you think of Wally Wheeler, the psychic?"
Police now say Barbara and Claire's cases are not connected. "Mutilated," Ybarrondo affirmed. First published on April 30, 2016 / 11:03 PM. He carries a titanium plate in his forehead. "His wallet had been placed on the seat his glasses had been placed on the seat. And I thought, 'Well, that's kinda going odd. Its been frustrating because we feel that there was an initial push to solve the case the first few years and as the years went by and the case got colder and colder, it fell off their radar, Thall told NBC 7.
Torrey Pines Murders: A collection of True Crime - Goodreads "Take care of my girl, OK? You're telling me this awful crime,'" Von Helms said. James Vlahos, a CBS News consultant, wrote about the case in October 2015 for The Atlantic Magazine.
MURDERED: Barbara Nantais & Claire Hough | Crime Junkie Podcast Schlesinger asked. Around 9:30 p.m., Barbara Nantais and Jim Alt went down to the beach for some privacy and Rick Selga and his girlfriend stayed in the parking lot to sleep in the station wagon. The other DNA hit, a microscopic amount found on a vaginal swab, was linked to a man named Kevin Brown. But Kevin Brown's involvement with someone like Tatro gave us pause.
DNA expert testifies about history of evidence contamination in SDPD What's with this?'" "If he likes somebody, he'll hire his own models.". Six years later, on Aug. 24 1984, Claire Hough, a 14-year-old from Rhode Island, was found murdered on the same beach. Retired criminalists Jim Stam and John Durina worked with Kevin Brown in the lab for years. Schlesinger asked, "Oh yeah," Sam Hough replied. What does that mean for other states? "we are evaluating all the evidence we recovered at the scene," Ybarrondo told a reporter. I never killed anybody in my life. But Kevin Brown's shyness or awkwardness cannot explain his DNA on that swab. Blood on her jeans was linked to a convicted rapist named Ronald Tatro. Exclusive: EAR/ONS claims to be the Torrey Pines Killer? And I'll take that to the grave with me.". This is crazy," Rebecca Brown said. But around 2008, the San Diego Police Department posted the cases on their website and for the first time said publicly that they believed Claire Hough and Barbara Nantais had likely been murdered by the same killer. Rebecca Brown has answered the police charges with charges of her own. Photographer Rocky Forguson took photos of aspiring models with Kevin Brown.
The haunting Torrey Pines Beach murders - CBS News "Later on, it was determined she had been raped and sodomized.". One of the suspect worked for the San Diego police. Claire Houghs grandparents were unclear why she had walked to the beach that night. Cross contamination does happen. "They are interviewing someone of interest. In three decades, hundreds of police and other investigators combed the beach, pored through files and conducted interviews for possible leads, Rorrison said. Advertisement This article was published more than 3 years ago Morning Mix Police suspected a crime lab technician of murder.
CBS News 8 investigates: The death of Ronald Tatro | cbs8.com This fragile environment is the home of our nation's rarest pine tree - Pinus torreyana. In that letter, he talked about how Claires vision came to him, Sam Hough says. Was there still a serial killer on the loose. "He was kind of like a nervous Nelly," said John Durina. "Just the sadness at losing this child that you loved," Judy Nantais said. He went out he was cleaned up, he'd shaved, he'd showered, looked nice and said, 'I have things to do,'" said Rebecca Brown. That same person tried to kill me, he told NBC 7 in an interview a few weeks ago. It comes back every year for me, Selga told NBC 7. "The problem though, with this case is, seems to me that the allegation is that this isn't sweat or spit. Anyone with information is urged to contact San Diego County Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477. Deceased ex-SDPD criminalist named suspect in girl's murder in 1984 - 10News.com KGTV ABC10 San Diego, Retired SDPD criminalist suspected in '84 murder Page 2 of 2 | UTSanDiego.com, Were teens mutilated by same killer? But, as time has failed to heal the wounds torn into families by these horrific events, it now seems as th A True Crime anthology featuring some of the more mysterious . Inside the Hunt for Jackie Galloway's Murderer. Rebecca Brown's lawsuit against two San Diego police detectives is delayed while the City of San Diego appeals to a higher court to limit the claims against them. "What was the last thing that you heard about Wallace Wheeler?"
San Diego police solve 1984 killing of teen at Torrey Pines State Beach But he didn't see anybody else but her," said Selga. He had an extensive criminal history of sexual assault, according to homicide unit Lt. Paul Rorrison. He had been a fighter pilot," Sam Hough continued. In August 1978, 15-year-old Barbara Nantais was found strangled to death, mutilated with a knife and with a fistful of wet sand stuffed down her throat on a beach in San Diego.
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