Pepe, who told investigators that when alone in the desert he carried a gun, did not respond to multiple letters seeking comment sent by the Weekly. Lead investigator Dan Williams says they have a super strong person of interest, after the Weekly linked the unsolved desert murders to a modern atrocity: sexual predator Michael Joseph Pepe and his sentencing in Los Angeles in 2014 for vicious crimes against children in Southeast Asia. On June 18, 1980, Christiansen was sentenced to life in a maximum security prison. He remembers learning about the mystery after looking through his fathers scrapbook and seeing newspaper clippings on Shorts death. He thinks Domingos may have known his killer. We Remember Them . Old police interviews obtained by the Weekly show that the last day they were seen alive, Barry and Louise hung out with Pepe and a laid-back bunch of other strangers at Saline Valley's natural hot springs. Trailers housed permanent residents, including Chili Bob, the campground host, and Major Tom Ganner, now a glacier guide and photographer in Alaska. [4][17], To the prosecution's surprise, when the trial began on May 28, 1980, Christiansen pleaded guilty to all three counts of murder. They had families and friends. Friends of his lived in the other cottages, including jewelry maker Arthur Korb and healer Mary Sullivan, all disciples of the same guru master. All this was just getting off the ground when Tramel and Kurtzman murdered Stephenson. On Dec. 30, 1979, Debra Manning and Robert Offerman were killed in Goleta, near Santa Barbara. It turned out to be Michael Joseph Pepe. On April 18, 1979, Christiansen offered Lydia Preston, 24, a ride. The NCIS, the Los Angeles U.S. Attorney's Office and Inyo County Sheriff's Office all knew and shared with one another the fact that Pepe had been the key suspect in an old double murder, but they never went public with it. Henry Han originally opened his clinic in the Lobero Building in downtown Santa Barbara and subsequently at its current location behind Chucks steak house on upper State Street. District Attorney Joyce Dudley will make that decision at a later date. The death of Short remains one of Los Angeles oldest unsolved murders. Authorities believe he could still be alive. Gnesa was a part of the party that found the bodies of Domingos and Edwards. Han, he said, ran a lab in Los Angeles in hopes of catching this Holy Grail. We were pretty sure he's the guy. But they had no bodies yet, and no evidence. Any number of people could be a suspect, Zemaitis said. Barry and Louise had strong spiritual grounding 'what has to be has to be,' recalls Ray Castellino, a Santa Barbara natural health care practitioner. Around midday, a man and a woman, who've asked not to be identified, rolled into camp. Peter Cacavas . A nightmare beyond a nightmare.. The deaths of Domingos and Edwards are more than just a grim footnote in Californias history. Michael Joseph Pepe handcuffed in Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Credit: AP Photo/Heng Sinith. He caught the attention of investigators in February 1977, when he was cited for being a minor in possession of liquor. Neither Frederick Smith nor Courtney responded to questions from The Santa Barbara Independent. A March 25 KGTV San Diego newscast featured Oceanside neighbors, who remembered Haobsh as off. The night of Haobshs arrest, the suburban neighborhood saw authorities search his home with flashlights. The younger Haobsh left a scarce Internet trail (he had a Facebook page with one profile picture visible to the public). He beat, raped and left her for dead. Zemaitis remembers his fathers frustration about the FBIs inaction after contacting the agency regarding Shorts time in Santa Barbara County. Santa Barbara Jugglers Association & Club Jugglers at UCSB, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thor_Nis_Christiansen&oldid=1138542881, My Favorite Murder Podcast, Episode 27 "Your Hometown Murder Email Round-up", This page was last edited on 10 February 2023, at 06:57. He had spent more than 20 years trying to make a Hollywood film depicting the Armenian genocidethree million dead, killed by the Turks in 1915. The body of. But for the longest time, the killer has gotten away with it. On January 27, 1973, in his Biltmore cottage, Yanikian sat down to lunch with two senior diplomats from the Turkish consulate. 1980-1984 [ edit] Pastel drawing of scar Romero, murdered Archbishop. He eventually was turned over to U.S. agents and flown to Los Angeles to stand trial committing a sex crime against a minor anywhere in the world is a federal offense. Though more than a half-century-old, the mystery of the Zodiac lingers, and police believe he could still be at large. Santa Barbara, CA 93102 Noozhawk is a founding member of the Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers . By allowing himself to be arrestedhe immediately reported the crime to the hotels front deskhe hoped his trial would become an international showcase convicting Turkey of crimes against humanity. Words were exchanged. Higher education no longer denoted a member of a parasitic class. Louise was concerned that they were falling apart, recalls her son Michael Westerman. It was a terrible irony when flash floods in a distant desert uncovered the remains of his friends. Where have you been? he asked the sheriffs deputies when they showed up at the Biltmore Hotel to arrest him for the murder of two Turkish diplomats. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers. On Wednesday evening, March 23, authorities discovered all three wrapped in clear plastic and duct taped in the garage of their 4640 Greenhill Way home near Goleta. There were people coming and going at all hours of the night.. Fingerprint records discovered by detectives showed that she had applied for work at the commissary at Camp Cooke, which is now Vandenberg Air Force Base, according to Zemaitis. Hughes was convicted in 1980 of the three murders and sentenced to three concurrent terms of 21 years to life in prison. LAWeekly Instagram: Featuring the culture of LA since 1978 , Relationship with the Victim* He added that bruises were on Domingos fist, indicating that he may have fought his attacker, although police werent able to confirm this. His crimes motivated large demonstrations opposed to violence against women, and in favor of better transportation for the young people residing in Isla Vista. Accordingly, the killings in Isla Vista were dubbed the "look-alike" murders. He killed at least eight women and men in Santa Barbara, Ventura and . Not just any property it was adjacent to President Ronald Reagan's Rancho del Cielo. In response to the uprising of Tiananmen Square, Han reportedly signed a statement in support of the protestors. On Jan. 5, 1986, Barry and Louise drove through the tiny outpost of Panamint Springs, and about 20 miles later left the pavement for a 50-mile dirt road trek into Saline Valley. Jim Zemaitis of Santa Maria-based Overland Security said his father, Bruno Zemaitis, a security guard and amateur sleuth, briefly investigated Shorts death. The bullet struck one of Glanceys wrists, broke both bones, entered his stomach, and blew a hole through him. By the time Han was 18, the political winds shifted. Many from Lompoc High School went off to a beach on this day, June 4, 1963. Yanikians plan was simple. Their excursion to Saline Valley was meant as a make-up trip: They'd visit Death Valley and tour Scotty's Castle to see its exquisite ironwork. Short would dress in all black and wear a black flower in her hair. According to 73-year-old Lee Gnesa, a childhood friend, Domingos was dating Edwards at the time and they were most likely going to get married right out of high school. Weekly Poll Louise and Barry Berman at the ashram in India known as the Dera. Recently, in the doorway of her desert trailer home, the woman told the Weekly that she saw Mike the Marine return down the Corridor in his pickup that afternoon. After a whirlwind of attorney swaps and continuances for the four Santa Barbara men charged in connection to the murder of 52-year-old Camarillo resident Richard Dion Gutierrez near Stearns Wharf last December, all four appeared in Santa Barbara Superior Court for arraignment on Monday morning, where each pleaded not guilty and set a date to return for preliminary trial setting on April 6. But Casey, now a mechanic living in Browns Valley, California, tells the Weekly that he saw Mike the Marine unloading gear from his pickup, apparently preparing for a day trip. By 20, Yanikian had seen thousands of dead Armenians26 bodies were members of his own family. For a while, Han worked with an herbal practitioner named Jean Yu, owner of the Herb Clinic. Wouldyou sign up for any of the relief plans for natural gas bills? If you believe an Independent.com user or any material appearing on Independent.com is copyrighted material used without proper permission, please click here. Zemaitis recalled his father saying she was so strikingly beautiful that everyone would drop what they were doing to catch a look at her. It was a very short interview, Williams says. Site design and development by Hop Studios Hop Studios When asked if he thinks the Zodiac is responsible, he said he doesnt believe it. Then, in a narrow side channel of the wash, which easily could have been overlooked, the men discovered a grave-sized pile of rocks. She had been a community volunteer with organizations that advocated against violence to women. Desert campers who hung out with the couple the day they vanished had no clue that Barry was heir apparent to a vast fortune. From the lack of any kind of clues, I think they were taken out of the area and probably killed somewhere else, he said. The stories vary, but according to Bardach, Hans childhood was unspeakable. Carlson said Han was beaten routinely. Han, his older sister, and his parents were exiled to a re-education camp in the rural outposts of western China. At his home in Carpinteria, Korb recalls telling Barry, Man, you've got to check this out., The stark desert site where the Bermans' remains were found; Credit: Photo by Doug Kari. Tom Ganner, the new campground host, called the sheriff on his two-way radio. He said Jennie would bring Emily every week to eat at his Hollister Avenue restaurant. Lucas, Mottweiler, Ganner and the hiker drove up the Corridor for miles, beyond where most of the searching took place in 1986. Glancey stumbled into the Morris Hotel at State and Haley and collapsed in the reading room. Retired deputy Leon Boyer says that Chili Bob finally radioed in on Jan. 10, five days after the Bermans were last seen in camp, to report an abandoned Datsun truck at the Palm Spring campground. Boyer, who pegged Mike the Marine as a likely suspect, drew a composite sketch of him and set out to find him. It was devastating. Theyve entered the annals of American crime lore, and have been the subject of Hollywood movies, countless books and articles, and the obsessions of numerous sleuths whove attempted to solve the crimes. A kindergartener at Foothill Elementary School, Emily would have turned 6 on March 26. Barry spent time in India at a sprawling ashram known as the Dera, home to the spiritual society Radha Soami Satsang Beas, attending a daily satsang, or truth group, led by a guru master. Although they began as roommates in Barry's seaside cottage, Korb recalls how one day he saw Louise playfully grab Barry's balls and realized that the two had become intimate. It was the last time they were seen alive. Their deaths are tragic and mysterious. By 11:30 p.m., Sheriffs detectives had launched a suspicious-death investigation, which led them to the San Diego suburb of Bonsall. Retired Inyo County Sheriff's deputy Leon Boyer, who has lived with the baffling case for three decades, today says, You can't commit a homicide and get away with it.. Bringing together non-profits with an audience of affluent donors. Four suspects convicted; one trial pending. During this time, Christiansen gained a great deal of weight, at one point weighing 275 pounds (125 kg). Unlike some herbalists and acupuncture practitioners who saw themselves as distinct from traditional Western medicine, he practiced an East-West blend of practices. No other details wereprovided. 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