Killafornia Dreaming

The is Part 2 of our series entitled the Tale of Who Killed Stacey Stites. On April 23, 1996, 19 year old Stacey Stites was strangled to death and her body was dumped off the side of a road in Bastrop, Texas. Swabs taken revealed the presence of semen, leading authorities to surmise the motive for the murder was sexual assault. Her fiance, Giddings Police Officer Jimmy Fennell, emerged as a strong suspect early in the investigation until it was revealed the DNA of the semen was not a match to Fennell. The case was at a standstill for about a year when investigators finally caught a break – a match for the DNA was found in the criminal database belonging to an African American Bastrop resident named Rodney Reed. While he first denied knowing Stacey, and denied having anything to do with her murder, when he was told his DNA was found in her body, he changed his story – he did know Stacey. They were having a consensual sexual relationship and he said he had intercourse with her a couple days before she was killed. But he wasn’t believed, and that, along with the forensic and scientific evidence presented at trial was enough to convict Rodney and he was subsequently sentenced to death. In the years since, information has come to light that no only points to Rodney having had an affair with Stacey, but also the science used to convicted him was junk. He is one month away from being executed, as all of his appeals have been denied, and the Texas Governor Greg Abbott has refused to grant Rodney clemency. Is Texas about to execute an innocent man? Listen and decide for yourself. And if you believe in his innocence, please take action NOW and sign the petition on Change.org – Stop the Execution of Rodney Reed.

On April 23, 1996, 19 year old Stacey Stites was strangled to death and her body was dumped off the side of a road in Bastrop, Texas.  Swabs taken revealed the presence of semen, leading authorities to surmise the motive for the murder was sexual assault.  Her fiance, Giddings Police Officer Jimmy Fennell, emerged as a strong suspect early in the investigation until it was revealed the DNA of the semen was not a match to Fennell.  The case was at a standstill for about a year when investigators finally caught a break - a match for the DNA was found in the criminal database belonging to an African American Bastrop resident named Rodney Reed.  While he first denied knowing Stacey, and denied having anything to do with her murder, when he was told his DNA was found in her body, he changed his story - he did know Stacey.  They were having a consensual sexual relationship and he said he had intercourse with her a couple days before she was killed.  But he wasn't believed, and that, along with the forensic and scientific evidence presented at trial was enough to convict Rodney and he was subsequently sentenced to death.  In the years since, information has come to light that no only points to Rodney having had an affair with Stacey, but also the science used to convicted him was junk.  He is one month away from being executed, as all of his appeals have been denied, and the Texas Governor Greg Abbott has refused to grant Rodney clemency.  Is Texas about to execute an innocent man?  Listen and decide for yourself.  And if you believe in his innocence, please take action NOW and sign the petition on Change.org - Stop the Execution of Rodney Reed.  

On December 28, 2017, Andrew Finch was sitting in his Wichita, Kansas when he heard some sort of commotion outside.  Curious, he stepped out onto his porch only to be blinded by flood lights and confronted and surrounded by heavily armed Wichita Police officers.  Before anyone had a change to react or respond to officer's commands, one officer discharged his rifle, striking Andrew in the chest, piercing his heart.  The police were called in to the scene by way of an emergency call, claiming one person had been shot dead, and other family members were taken hostage, and the house was doused with gasoline.  But once officers stormed the house, there was nothing of the sort going on.  It was a hoax.  A fake call known as "swatting" initiated by an online video game player in retaliation against a rival. But the address given for the swatting to take place was fake too.  And Andrew Finch became an unwitting victim in somebody else's deadly game.  

From 1985-1988, a killer was trolling the streets of South Los Angeles, picking up women, shooting them in the chest, sexually assaulting them, and dumping them in alleyways hidden under garbage.  Then one survived and he went dormant.  Or so investigators thought.  And suddenly, in 2002, the killer suddenly resurfaced, with another killing that year, another in 2003 and again in 2007.  He was then dubbed the Grim Sleeper, and by the time he resurfaced, DNA technology, along with ballistics, had linked his most recent killings to the one's from years past, and soon, it became evident they city of Los Angeles had a serial killer on their hands.  But, like so many unsolved cases in recent years, technology had caught up with the Grim Sleeper, and he would finally be given a name - Lonnie Franklin - a nondescript, well-known, well-liked, life-long resident of South LA.  I am joined by Kate with the Ignorance Was Bliss Podcast as we discuss the details and the motives of this man's long criminal history.  

Last year in Episode 64, we discussed the unsolved murder of Debbie Dorian.  She was raped and murdered on August 22, 1996.  Her childhood friend, Katina, reached out to me last September and asked if I would be willing to discuss her case on our show, which I did.  Katina did not join me on the show, but she did provide me with as much information as she could about the case, as well as Debbie, and their friendship.  Well, today, her killer was arrested.  His name is Nickey Stane and his DNA has been linked to not only Debbie's rape and murder, but also several other women who were sexually assaulted by this man, and their cases had gone cold too.  But Debbie was his only murder, that we know of.  Today, I am joined by Katina, in a short phone conversation about the news that broke today and the arrest that has been finally made in Debbie's case.  Thank you for all you've done for Debbie and her family, Katina.

In this bonus episode, we explore the 1985 abduction and murder of 12 year old Brenda Sue Gere in Bothell, Washington.  We are joined by a childhood friend of Brenda's and Dreamer, Millicent Tirk, who attended elementary school with Brenda.  With Brenda having been laid to rest here in Southern California, we were pleased to be able to pay her a visit the weekend that marked the 34th year since her abduction, in order to give Millicent a bit of closure with the loss of her friend by the hand of convicted rapist and child killer Michael K. Green.  

Dreamers, this is the 4th and final part of our series where we are taking a look at the questionable conviction of Kevin Cooper. The crime itself, a horrifying massacre that stunned a quiet, rural community, was only compounded by a police investigation tainted with lies, manufacturing AND destruction of evidence, cover ups, witness intimidation, racism, and the overwhelming desire to force evidence to fit their narrative by any means necessary. I believe Kevin Cooper is an innocent man sitting on death row as we speak. In our series, we will be looking at all the reasons why this case needs to be reevaluated before it’s too late, and by the time we are finished, I’m certain, most of you will agree, this man has unjustly spent 35 years condemned to die…

Dreamers, this is Part 3 of our series where we are taking a look at the questionable conviction of Kevin Cooper. The crime itself, a horrifying massacre that stunned a quiet, rural community, was only compounded by a police investigation tainted with lies, manufacturing AND destruction of evidence, cover ups, witness intimidation, racism, and the overwhelming desire to force evidence to fit their narrative by any means necessary. I believe Kevin Cooper is an innocent man sitting on death row as we speak. In our series, we will be looking at all the reasons why this case needs to be reevaluated before it’s too late, and by the time we are finished, I’m certain, most of you will agree, this man has unjustly spent 35 years condemned to die…

Dreamers, this is Part 2 of our series where we are taking a look at the questionable conviction of Kevin Cooper. The crime itself, a horrifying massacre that stunned a quiet, rural community, was only compounded by a police investigation tainted with lies, manufacturing AND destruction of evidence, cover ups, witness intimidation, racism, and the overwhelming desire to force evidence to fit their narrative by any means necessary. I believe Kevin Cooper is an innocent man sitting on death row as we speak. In our series, we will be looking at all the reasons why this case needs to be reevaluated before it’s too late, and by the time we are finished, I’m certain, most of you will agree, this man has unjustly spent 35 years condemned to die…

Dreamers, this is Part 1 of our series where we are taking a look at the questionable conviction of Kevin Cooper. The crime itself, a horrifying massacre that stunned a quiet, rural community, was only compounded by a police investigation tainted with lies, manufacturing AND destruction of evidence, cover ups, witness intimidation, racism, and the overwhelming desire to force evidence to fit their narrative by any means necessary. I believe Kevin Cooper is an innocent man sitting on death row as we speak. In our series, we will be looking at all the reasons why this case needs to be reevaluated before it’s too late, and by the time we are finished, I’m certain, most of you will agree, this man has unjustly spent 35 years condemned to die…   DISCLAIMER: THE DEVIL WE KNOW PODCAST

Dreamers, we are about to dive into a case that I would argue is the mother-load of all things you would expect to never happen in our justice system here in the United States.  By the end of this story, if you are angry, sad, if you find yourself in disbelief or disillusioned and embittered about this travesty of justice, trust me, you are not alone.  The crime itself, a horrifying massacre that stunned a quiet, rural community, was only compounded by a police investigation tainted with lies, manufacturing AND destruction of evidence, cover ups, witness intimidation, racism, and the overwhelming desire to force evidence to fit their narrative by any means necessary. There is who I believe to be an innocent man sitting on California’s death row as we speak.  15 years and 7 months ago, he was scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection in what is known as the death chamber in San Quentin State Prison.  At the age of 46 at the time, he had been in prison for more than 20 years and was slated to become the 11thman executed in California since the death penalty was re-established in 1978.  The Governor at the time, Arnold Schwarzenegger refused to order a stay for what would be the very first execution of his term, citing overwhelming evidence of the condemned man’s guilt. But I say Schwarzenegger, you were wrong. And by the grace of the 9th circuit federal appeals court, who intervened in the final hours of what was to be this man’s last night on Earth, they ordered his execution to be stayed.  3 hours and 42 minutes before the State of California was set to end this man’s life.  3 hours and 42 minutes away from putting an innocent man to death. And just a few hours after that, the United States Supreme Court refused to overturn the federal appellate court’s decision, marking the first time in a very long time that our country’s highest court agreed with a stay of execution in California. As it stands now, nobody on California’s death row is going to be executed anytime soon.  If ever again.  As a matter of fact, even though it is still on the books and defendants can still be sentenced to death, the death chamber has essentially been decommissioned and dismantled as of this year.  So, this man, who I believe is factually innocent, along with more than 700 men and women currently living on death row, all have a reprieve.  For now.  So, how and why is this condemned man still alive today?  How did he manage to dodge death, to live another day?  Well, he has lot of supporters.  Not just your run of the mill picketers.  He’s got some big names backing him…Sean Penn, Danny Glover, Jeaneane Garofalo, Angela Davis, Kim Kardashian, Reverend Jesse Jackson, even the Pope…dozens of politicians, and countless everyday people pulling for him.  And it’s not because they are anti-death penalty advocates, though they may or may not be, that is not the issue at hand here.  They are pulling for him because he is innocent. Coming up later this week, Killafornia Dreaming will be delving deep into this story, how this all happened and why I strongly believe an innocent man is sitting on death row for murders he did not commit.  We will be presenting a multiple part series, going over all the facts of the case in great detail, and by the time we are finished, I’m certain, most of you will agree, this man has unjustly spent 35 years condemned to die…   Stay tuned dreamers…I promise, it will be worth the wait…

This past week, a California jury rendered its verdict in the case we covered in Episode 63 entitled The Tale of the Ghost Ship Fire. Joining me to discuss this verdict is long time Killafornia Dreaming listener Abigail Armistead, who herself experienced the loss of a dear friend in a fire in Portland Maine in 2014, which is eerily similar to the Ghost Ship Fire in a number of ways. Thank you again, so much Abi for taking the time to speak to me about this tragic case. PROMO: Froot Loops

In 2008, Aimee, a single woman in her mid-30s, finally purchased her own little dream home.  It was the perfect style, the perfect neighborhood, and the perfect price.  Before long, she realized the person living next door was far from the perfect neighbor...

On the evening of August 1st, 1942, leading into the early morning hours of the 2nd, Jose Diaz had attended a birthday party in what is today known as the city of Maywood. He would be discovered beaten, stabbed and unresponsive just outside the fence surrounding the house. With so many conflicting witness statements, law enforcement, becoming more and more frustrated with the influx of Mexican Americans flooding into Los Angeles, they decided to conduct a dragnet, arresting anyone who was Mexican. Tensions between them, along with the incoming servicemen in California preparing to head off to fight the War the US had been thrust into following the attacks on Pearl Harbor, would erupt the following summer. 5 days of rioting would ensue, leading to one of the most pivotal events in Mexican American History.

On May 2, 2013, Army Veteran Maribel Ramos apparently went out someplace and never came home. Friends and Family were concerned, but when she failed to show up for her softball team, a thing she never missed, that’s when panic set in and police were called. For days, police were baffled, and they had a parade of suspects to try and sort through…when the truth was closer to home than anyone thought.