Craig's List as a political weapon?

The item below is posted on Craig's List. It appears to be an attempt to discredit Frank Jager - which makes it likely a move by the Clark Campaign. It references this blog. Whoever posted this doesn't have a clue what they are talking about. There is alot more information than is posted on this blog, though I am going to be VERY HAPPY to fill in some of the gaps!

The claim it makes is false - Jager has, in fact, made a request to release and return the remains of Andrea LaDeRoute to her family. This request has been turned down by Paul Gallegos, with his usual mumbo-jumbo response(s). The emails that prove this are posted, I believe. I am checking. Andrea's sister, Lisa has a site of her own and a rather lengthy place of her own on the Court TV Message Boards - a standing link in the sidebar. She has made repeated requests to Gallegos for the return of her sister's remains.

What's Wrong with this Picture? (Eureka)
Reply to: comm-880030833@craigslist.org [?]
Date: 2008-10-15, 7:17AM PDT

Why won't Frank Jager, our esteemed county coroner, release Andrea LaDeRoute's remains to her family so they can have some closure?

Andrea was murdered in 1980 when she was 20 years old. Her murderer was arrested and jailed right here in Humboldt County. He had her bloody clothing in his car. He was set free because NO ONE SHOWED UP FOR HIS ARRAIGNMENT.

He went on to kill up to a dozen more young women.

Frank Jager was on the Eureka Police Department then. He has some explaining to do. Maybe he is covering up for his friends. Or himself.

In the mean time, release her remains, let her family have some peace.

It's the Christian thing to do.

http://watchpaul.blogspot.com/2007/07/not-just-one-local-victim.html

Location: Eureka
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
PostingID: 880030833

In Stock

I'm told Borders has 8 copies of Deadfall in stock now.

No word on whether or not any of the local bookstores have it in stock.

Frustration and determination

From Lisa's website - http://www.2006justiceforall.com - which has links to pdf documents, and recordings related to her sister's disappearance, comes this:

"And unfortunately, even now it’s been nearly 5 years since Andrea’s remains were recovered, and as far as I’m aware, her case is not any closer to being heard in court than it was when she was found, 22 years from the day she disappeared.  I have tried to get information on the status of Andrea’s case, pretty consistently not wanting to resort to drastic measures, I continue to email, fax, and leave letters for the District Attorney’s office.
 
The last real connection we had was last October, when Paul Gallegos admitted in an email he sent to me, that he had not been kept informed of the progress in Andrea’s investigation, but that he would personally take her case file, and get back to us within a couple months, since this email was written in October, we have been looking forward to a response since January 2007.   A few weeks ago, I emailed Paul again, and followed up with a copy to his office, it is now May 2007, and there has been no form of communication, what so ever."

page 12 on lisa's webpage
Has wma link to actual recording - but link is not working for me. The recording is of the actual phone audio message left from Charlie V. with the Humboldt County Coroner’s Office stating that Lisa had been given authorization to retrieve Andrea’s remains. Follow up calls determined that this was not the case, as Gallegos will not release the remains to the family.

Today

Today, July 31 would have been Andrea LaDeRoute's birthday.

Requests, Public Records And Otherwise

On 12-09-2004, Lisa LaDeRoute posted this discouraged comment on her CourtTV Message Board: "Well here it is the 9th of Dec., the DA's office was suppose to respond to my written request by 12/10/04. According to the Penal codes, and regulations that I sited. I'm not surprised that I haven't even received an acknowledgement. I'm going to mail another copy, the first I sent by fax, and I'm going to hand deliver another copy to the court house, which will include a proof of service. I want to make sure there is no room for debate that they did not receive my written request. Then I will proceed with the legal action. Wish me luck!"

On 05-11-2005, she says: "Well today's the day I'm suppose to contact one of the authorities who made a formal report, about 2 weeks ago, to the DA requesting that I receive all the information in his file regarding my sister's case, including my sister's remains. I've been trying not to be too optomistic. After all, the request was already denied by another authority, who is not involved in the case in anyway, less than 2 months ago.

Still, I've been trying to think about funeral plans, just so I'm not caught off guard, if they do release my sister's remains. I'm really not sure how to approach the services after all this time. I guess I'll find out today, whether or not I need to make those plans.

I'm dreading making that call. My feeling is if the request had been approved last week, which is when I was told the decision would be made, then I'm pretty sure someone would have already called me. I just need to make sure I'm prepared for yet another major disappointment, before I make that call.

Regular readers here know that the DA does not like to comply with Public Records Act Requests. She has posted pdf's of correspondence and other documents at www.2006justiceforall.com

"The Book"

Everyone else is reading "the book." And you don't even have to say any more, everyone knows which one you are talking about, and don't dare be a spoiler. But I am reading the book, "Deadfall." Just arrived. Very interesting indeed. Chapter 13 talks about Stoen, the prosecution of Debi August, and the Grand Jury.

I'm told Borders has some copies "in transit" - I wonder why they don't have this book featured, given that it is a local murder mystery, with multiple unsolved stranglings of young women.

And I wonder why they didn't do a meet the author/book signing? Why none of the local bookstores held a book signing? It's not too late. If not Borders, one of our local bookstores...

Not just one local victim...

Not just Andrea LaDeRoute.

15 year old Sherry Lynn Smith was from the Garberville area and went to South Fork High School. She was last seen alive heading toward Annibel's car. She was John Annibel's sister-in-law? Or her sister's boyfriend was John Annibel's brother, James? I'll get the details from the book. He was supposed to give her a ride home from a dance in Garberville. That was 1976.

In 1980, Annibel was 22. His 20 year old girlfriend, Andrea LaDeRoute vanished. The evidence list includes bloodspattered sheets and walls. DNA evidence confirms it is her blood. In 2002, her remains - her skull - were discovered. In 2003 tests confirmed it was her. In 2004, the Fortuna Police Department handed over the case to Humboldt County DA Paul Gallegos.

In 1988 Georgina Pacheco was found raped and strangled.

In 1998 Debbie Sloan was strangled to death by John Annibel, and her body, like the others, was dumped. The Journal reported that "Annibel is now being questioned by Humboldt County investigators about the 1976 rape and strangulation of Sherry Lynn Smith and the 1980 disappearance of his then live-in girlfriend, Andrea LaDeRoute. Annibel was initially a suspect in both unsolved cases, although no charges were ever filed against him."

The Mendocino DA convicted John Annibel of Debbie Sloan's murder.

Robert Scott posted a more complete timeline of events and lists of evidence on the courtTV message board.

The more you read the more astonishing this is.

Looking at the time spans, you have to wonder if there aren't more victims. Where was Annibel between 1980 and 1988? Between 1988 and 1998?

And you have to wonder why charges weren't filed, especially once DNA testing was available to confirm suspicions. If charges had been filed, how many girls would still be alive? And, if he gets out of prison early - when will that be?

UPDATE:
◼ Mendocino Sheriff’s Office Finds Killer of (Georgina Pacheco) Young Woman Who Died in 1988 - lostcoastoutpost.com 7/16/2013

Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office has listed Robert James Parks as the suspect in the murder of Georgina Pacheco and has closed this cold case.

(On July 21, 1998, Parks telephoned a family member and advised that he was going to commit suicide by by sinking his fishing vessel in the Long Beach Harbor. Authorities from Long Beach Harbor were notified and located the sunken fishing vessel. Parks’ lifeless body was recovered from the ship.)

Best East Bay True-Crime Author

Photo Source
Best East Bay True-Crime Author: And the busiest one, too (2007)
Robert Scott
Contra Costa native Robert Scott was a delivery-company driver plying the same highways upon which thrill-killer sweethearts Michelle Michaud and Union Cityite James Daveggio raped and murdered young women in their specially outfitted "torture van." Reading about these murders, realizing that he had crossed paths with the pair, Scott became insatiably curious about what he calls the "inner demons" that make people kill. He switched careers and is now one of the nation's most prolific true-crime authors, with a string of page-turners including Rope Burns — about the Michaud/Daveggio case — as well as Unholy Sacrifice, Monster Slayer, Married to Murder, and more, including the brand-new Savage, which tracks the killing career of ruthless, rootless drifter Benjamin Pedro Gonzales, whose victims include a Livermore woman who hired him as a handyman. Skilled at evoking the look and feel of the regions where the incidents took place, Scott also is a passionate advocate for victims and their families. ...And, of course, his list of books includes Deadfall.

Not in stock at any of the local bookstores that I've found. Anyone know of any place locally carrying the book?
Amazon and Borders can deliver, there are some on ebay. I ordered mine from Blake's Books in McKinleyville.

When can the Attorney General intervene?

California law gives discretionary authority to a locally elected prosecutor in filing criminal actions. In deciding whether to file charges, a district attorney must evaluate the likelihood that a jury, after weighing all the conflicting evidence, would find the defendant guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt." It may not be uncommon for members of the public to differ with the district attorney's determination, but the decision rests with the local prosecutor. The Attorney General's intervention is appropriate only where there is a demonstrated conflict of interest that would disqualify the district attorney from a particular case; or there is an obvious abuse of prosecutorial discretion. The fact that an incident has created strong feelings within the community or the prosecutor's decision may be controversial or unpopular does not provide a basis for intervention by the Attorney General. Source

"You can call or email me anytime, and I will meet with you..."

Again, this is excerpted from Lisa LaDeRoute's CourtTV Message Board. It chronicles her quest for justice in the death of her sister. To date, she cannot get an answer from Paul Gallegos as to whether or not her sister's case will ever be adjudicated.

I remember this debate (Gallegos and Dikeman on KHSU), and I remember the call. It seemed to be one of those staged to give Gallegos the advantage as he so artfully took advantage of it. But apparently it was not staged at all:

06-02-2006 Finally confronted DA and Deputy DA
Dear Readers, just thought I would share; last night they had a debate aired on a local radio talk show; not thinking that I would actually get a chance to ask a question, I went ahead and made the call anyway.

This is what I sent to a friend afterward:

I am still shaking from all the adrenaline, I tell you. I taped the show, and I even turned the tape over when it look like it was getting to close to the end, but I'm shaking so bad, when I tried to rewind it to play it for Sandy I couldn't get it to work.

It went something like this:

"Well, uh, (as soon as they said, you're on the air) So I said, I'm the sister of a homicide case, and the facilitator said, wait, we don't...........

And I said, "It's ok I won't give any specific information, about the case, then I said, I sent a letter to Worth oh about a year or so, and I'm still waiting for a response, which is why I've taken such drastic measures to make this call."

You could feel the air went really still, so I jumped in, and said, "In 1980 charges were filed against a suspect, the DA said that charges would be refiled, but not immediately, so my question is will charges ever be refiled, and if not will the family ever receive Andrea's remains.

The facilitator said, "I'm not sure we can ask that question, but I think I'll address it to Paul, unless you prefer Mr. Dikeman respond first."

Oh, my gosh, for just a moment, I felt like a little kid making a bully be accountable it was wonderful! I answered probably with too much enjoyment in my voice, and very matter of factly, "Oh, I think I'd like Worth to respond first, I'd like him to tell me why he hasn't responded to my letter yet." Oh it was a moment, I'll never forget.

Worth responded with, "Lisa I know that Mike Losey for the District Attorney's homicide case has spoken to you." (Completely dismissed my letter, or his accountability).

Then Worth says "I only have one active homicide case, and I don't know what ever happened after it was reassigned to someone else."

Anyway, the facilitator started to direct the question to Paul, and he just jumped in and said, "Lisa, haven't you and I talked?" And I said, "Yes, and I really appreciated you meeting with me and my family, he started to say something, and I was still talking, and I continued with "You were the only one that would give me the time of day".

Paul, paused for a moment, as to absorb as much of that PR as he could. Then he relaxed a bit, and said, "I know it's been a while since we spoke, but you can email me, do you have email access? (He knows I do) I said, "Yes" so Paul proceeds to give me his personal email address, and says "You can call or email me anytime, and I will meet with you, I recall now that there was an issue about your sisters' remains, but call and I'll schedule an appointment."

Then the facilitator immediately followed that last word, and said, "Ok, thank you Lisa, we'll take the next caller."

Oh, my gosh, I was shaking so bad, I know it wasn't nerves, because I really felt for the very first time, that I was as confident as I could be about anything, and I had the opportunity to finally confront them. All I know is for those brief seconds, I was basking in the moment, for all the sunshine I could.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, even though nothing was actually addressed, the true colors are beginning to shine through.

And this time they shined right through a radio, for all the listeners to come to their own conclusions.

YES!
****
06-18-2006 Deadfall

Well, I don't know why I should be surprised! I mean I took Mr. Gallegos up on his offer, I emailed him right after the radio show, when he said to contact him by email, and he would schedule a time to meet with me.

I emailed him read receipt, and I know he recieved my email the next day. A couple days later Mr. Gallegos won the DA election.

Wanting to make sure that Mr. Gallegos actually received my email, I printed a copy and mailed it to him personally certified return receipt. I received the receipt more than a week ago. Here it is now 6-18, and I still have not received a response to my email, which simply stated let me know when you will be available and I will work around your schedule to review Andrea's case. I did mention however, that I wanted to make sure he had a chance to review the case, so that we didn't repeat the same meeting we had in Oct. 2003, where he stated he wasn't familiar with the case.

So in my email I just said, lets go ahead and schedule a meeting at his earliest convenience, and hopefully by then he will have had a chance to get familiar with the case.

I guess that was asking to much, I just don't understand!

The good news is I just ordered several copies of the book "Deadfall" and I should receive them by Tuesday 6-20.

Yey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not sure what I expect from the book, if anything, but somehow I feel blessed that the story will finally be exposed!

Thank You Everyone for all your well wishes and continued support through out this past year, for that I will always be grateful!

Lisa
****

07-09-2006 No Subject
Well, another 4th of July come and gone already, hard to believe that it's been 23 years since Terry Lynn was murdered, bless her heart. Terry Lynn, Angh's and I grew up together, she was always protecting us, since she was so much bigger than most of the kids in school. Funny though, everyone was afraid of her and not only did she have a heart of gold, but she had the most gentle spirit of most people I've known.

Though Terry Lynn was found many years after she disappeared, they too only recovered her skull, her murderer was never apprehended.

I think this afternoon, I'll stop by and see her family. I've stayed in contact with her little sister, Lorri, throughout the years. It's sad but true, we have a pretty odd commonality that has kept us bonded throughout the years.

I'm curious to hear if anyone has read the book, what they think of it. I like to think that no news is good news, but my curiousity, gets the best of me sometimes.

And for any of you, who have been following, remember that email that I later sent by certified mail to the District Attorney recently, at his own invitation? Well, it's been well over a month now, since he's received both of my requests, to schedule a time to meet, like he said he would do on the live radio debate; and of course, I haven't heard a peep from the District Attorney's office.

I just don't get it! Why would someone string me on like that after all these years, and to get my hopes up that he really wanted to sit down and meet with me again, and to even go so far as to invite me to contact him on live radio, during a public debate, and then absolutely shut the door in my face, that's just unforgivable!

Ok, I've vented enough for one day!

Take Care!

Lisa

P.S. does anyone know anything about that unexpected Hero award, I'd really like to find out. I have a Hero in mind, "Harris" who really derserves the award!
****
7-23-2006 Well it's Affirmative!
Well, it's affirmative, that District Attorney had no intention of meeting with me as he stated he would do so on the live radio debate. It's now been over 6 weeks since I submitted my email request, as he instructed me to do; and of course to be sure he got it, I even sent it certified mail. But as usual I received absolutely no response, not even an acknowledgement, accept for the card that was returned documenting that my letter had been received.

I tell you, each time this situation repeats itself, where they tell me one thing and do another, or just completely ignore me, it's just another slap in the face, or rather another punch in the stomach.

I guess they, meaning the D.A.'s office, don't think I've suffered enough. Why else would they just keep making false promises? Do they really believe that I will just go away, without making them accountable? Huh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If they believe that then they are the ones who are being naive.

On a more positive note, I found on the web page about a week ago that "Deadfall" was rated 7 of Walmarts top ten new releases. That was real exciting, until I realized that's just Walmart's ranking. But still that's a good sign, I think.

Some of the people who have read the book have approached me about a petition, and to be honest, I haven't any idea how to go about circulating or developing a petition. Unfortunately, Kent seems to be too busy.

Does anyone else have any ideas, or good sources, i.e. links on how to develop? I'd be very appreciative for any suggestions at this point.

Thank you for your continued support
****
10-11-2006 I'm mad as Heck!
Hi Amenia,

You are very insightful, that's a special gift that not many people realize they have.

But you know just over a week ago, my husband and I attended a public gathering, honoring a public official who had just passed away, and to my surprise Paul Gallegos was there.

But what I still can't get over, is that this guy, Gallegos, went out of his way a few times, to let me know he was there, but not once did he approach me to even attempt to explain why he has not responded to my last letter, in which he publically requested that I send.

At one point, I actually had to walk around him, so not to bump into him, even though there was at least 2 feet distance all the way around him, if I didn't move in a different direction, I'm sure I would have stepped on his shoe, maybe I should have.

We had discussed approaching him, asside from the fact that we didn't want to make a big spectacle at a memorial service, if Paul really wanted to address the issues, he would have. And to confront him in a public place, he would have side stepped the real issue, just like he did on the radio, "Send me an email, and I'll sit down and talk to you', Yeah Right! I mailed him right away, that was June 7th and here it isanother birthday only a few days away, and all I want for my birthday is my sister!

Sorry, but I just had to vent, I've had it bottled in ever since I saw Gallegos.

Lisa
****

Petition To Governor Schwarzenegger:

Want to help Lisa LaDeRoute? Sign this Petition Tired of waiting on Gallegos, she's asking the Governor to intervene.

Email the Governor: http://gov.ca.gov/interact#email
Try the Attorney General.

Use and abuse

Source: courttv.com>message boards>old cases>remains of sister found after 22 years

"You know, back in 2003, I supported Paul Gallegoes during the recall election, because I thought that Paul was sincere about stepping up to the plate...

...Me and my family went to see Paul, thinking back now I should have known better, when he said back then, that he wasn't familiar with Andrea's case, and that Worth Dikeman was the prosecutor assigned to the case.

As a District Attorney, Paul should be informed and involved in each homicide case, as he proudly states, he would rather be the one to prosecute as many cases as possible. Hmmmmmm!

But not only that, once the Fortuna Police Dept. named their suspect and completed their final complaint, at that point it would be up to the District Attorney to assign a prosecutor or to close the case for lack of evidence. I mean 26 years and the prosecutor, Worth Dikeman nor the District attorney can decide whether they have enough evidence.

I supported Paul back then, which is why his office coordinated a press conference at my home during the recall, but knowing what I know now, I wish I hadn't supported him. I wasn't asking Paul to do me any special favors, but I believed him when he said he would review Andrea's case with Worth, and get back to me.

But wouldn't you know it, as soon as I did the press conference, Paul didn't even know who I was at the picnic that was organized for all his campaign supporters. Heck I didn't even get an invitation..."

Sadly, this is not surprising. I have heard many stories - Gallegos does not communicate with the victim's families. Promises are implied, if not made directly, expectations are raised and hopes dashed. People who were used by Gallegos and Salzman during campaigns, then abruptly 'discarded'... Shunka certainly believed Gallegos would file charges in the David Chain incident, but was soon disabused of that notion... This is Lisa LaDeRoute talking about it happening to her. And this is only part of it. Her message board on court TV's site runs from November 2004 to June 28, 2007. In her search for answers, for justice and closure, she has posted correspondence with Gallegos, pdf files of any court documents, interviews and evidence she could gather at http://www.2006justiceforall.com/

Must read: Deadfall

Deadfall By Robert Scott

This is about a Humboldt/Mendocino County serial killer, John Annibel. Victims? Debbie Sloan, and suspected victims: Georgina Pacheco, Sherry Lynn Smith and Andrea LaDeRoute.

A post by the author on Lisa LaDeRoute's Court-TV message board:
In 1980, according to the Fortuna, California, PD, John Annibel murdered his girlfriend, Andrea LaDeRoute. This was Lisa's 20 year old sister. In 2002, some of Andrea's remains were found on land where Annibel once worked. The Fortuna PD in 2004, handed all of its evidence over to the Humboldt County DA's office, and said that John Annibel is the only suspect in the murder of Andrea LaDeRoute. Since that time, the DA's office has failed to move forward on this case, and will not return any calls of Lisa's questions about the status of the case. This is very much out of the norm in other counties and other cases, where the DA's office is always looking for publicity in a high profile case.

As she seeks information, and asks that her sister's remains be returned to the family for burial - the message board includes letters to Gallegos - one is very clearly a public records act request, yet it does not appear that he complied with that request. Haven't finished reading the LENGTHY threads, will update as I go.

On 03-30-2006, Robert Scott also mentions "many aspects in common as to motive, the actual murders, evidence found and disposal of bodies, that link in a backward chain from Sloan to LaDeRoute to Smith. The evidence is not things that we have uncovered - but rather what trained, professional detectives uncoverd in their investigations. Why the Humboldt County DA's office has not seen fit to pursue the cases in the murders of LaDeRoute and Smith remains a mystery.

In closing, here is just one instance of the frustration that Lisa has had to face over the years. In the May 29, 2005, issue of the Eureka Times Standard, they did an article on Humboldt County cold cases. Chris Durant was the journalist, and from what I've read in the past by him, he seems to be a competent and knowledgeable reporter. So it is unfathomable, why the following paragraphs of the article are so contradictory. Here are the exact words as written.

"In May 2003, DNA led to the closing of a Fortuna homicide. The remains of Andrea LaDeRoute were found by foresters marking trees on Pacific Lumber Co. property near Carlotta in August 2002. LaDeRoute was last seen in 1980 and her live-in boyfriend at the time, John Annibel, was arrested. But LaDeRoute's body was not found and there was not enough evidence to charge Annibel at the time.

"When DNA tests on blood found at their shared apartment matched LaDeRoute, Annibel was charged. He was already in custody in the California Department of Corrections and serving a life sentence, for the murder of Deborah Sloan in Laytonville in 1998.

"The Humboldt County District Attorney's Office said it has received a report from the Fortuna Police Department, but charges have yet to be filed."

So - in paragraph one - DNA supposedly led to the closing of the case.

In paragraph 2 - Annibel was charged.

In paragraph 3 - charges have yet to be filed."

Related:
NCJ 12/17/98 Unsolved mysteries link? - A man accused of murdering a Laytonville woman may also be linked to the deaths of two Humboldt County residents dating back 20 years.

John Annibel, a 41-year-old Fort Bragg resident, was arrested in Mendocino County Dec. 4 and charged with murdering 42-year-old Deborah Sloan. Sloan's nude body was spotted by Mendocino County road workers Nov. 30. The suspect had apparently met the slain woman just prior to her death.

Annibel is now being questioned by Humboldt County investigators about the 1976 rape and strangulation of Sherry Lynn Smith and the 1980 disappearance of his then live-in girlfriend, Andrea LaDeRoute. Annibel was initially a suspect in both unsolved cases, although no charges were ever filed against him.

In 1976, when Annibel was 18, he was questioned in connection with the death of 15-year-old Smith, who disappeared after going to a dance in Garberville. Her body was later found in Myers Flat, where Annibel's family lived at the time.

Annibel lived with DeLaRoute in Fortuna when he was 22 and she was 20. He reported her missing March 18, 1980. Her body was never found.

Blood evidence from the 18-year-old case taken from the couple's apartment will now be tested for a possible DNA match, a procedure that was not available in 1980.

Annibel continues to deny any involvement in either woman's death.

***

NCJ 9/23/99 Murder suspect convicted - A 42-year-old Fort Bragg man, a prime suspect in two unsolved Humboldt County murders, was convicted of first-degree murder by a Mendocino County jury in connection with the death of a Laytonville woman, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported last week.

John Annibel's sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 8 in Mendocino County Superior Court.

Humboldt County authorities have tried to link Annibel to the murder of Andrea La DeRoute, who turned up missing at age 21 from her Fortuna home and hasn't been seen since her disappearance in 1980.

Four years before, Sherry Lynn Smith, 15, was raped, strangled and found dead on the property where the Annibel family lived near Myers Flat. In both cases, authorities said they couldn't develop sufficient evidence to charge Annibel in connection with the slayings.

Meanwhile, authorities are looking into a new case that appears to be a homicide of a white female. The woman identified as June Lawson, 19, of Redway, was found at Holbrook Grove State Park north of Redway on Redwood Drive at 9 a.m. Sunday, the sheriff's department announced.

***
The story of Lisa LaDeRoute's efforts to find justice have taken many years.

***
UPDATE:
◼ Mendocino Sheriff’s Office Finds Killer of (Georgina Pacheco) Young Woman Who Died in 1988 - lostcoastoutpost.com 7/16/2013

Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office has listed Robert James Parks as the suspect in the murder of Georgina Pacheco and has closed this cold case.

(On July 21, 1998, Parks telephoned a family member and advised that he was going to commit suicide by by sinking his fishing vessel in the Long Beach Harbor. Authorities from Long Beach Harbor were notified and located the sunken fishing vessel. Parks’ lifeless body was recovered from the ship.)

Deadfall author Robert Scott on Paul Gallegos' plagiarized My Word

Obviously, Robert Scott is still following events here in Humboldt County. When he made this post, he must not have known that Paul Gallegos' "My Word" was largely plagiarized. Perhaps he has followed the story since then:

Response to Editorial
Recently the District Attorney of Humboldt County, Mr. Paul Gallegos, wrote an editorial in the Eureka Times Standard. This is my response to that editorial. I am posting it here, because according to Lisa, the Times Standard does not take editorial comments from people who live outside the county. Mr. Gallegos' editorial was entitled - Vigilantism a force of anarchy.

Though Mr. Gallegos' recent editorial about vigilantism didn't make specific references to any particular case, I'm wondering if he had the cases of Sherry Lynn Smith and Andrea LaDeRoute in mind when he wrote it. The reason I believe this may be is that both the surviving sisters of Sherry and Andrea have been very vocal in their displeasure at the way the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office has handled those cases. If he was not referring to Smith and LaDeRoute, then it has to be wondered how many victims family members feel disenfranchised by the DA's office in that county.

As has been written about many times over the years in Humboldt County newspapers, including the Times Standard, Mr. John Annibel is the main suspect in the murders of Smith and LaDeRoute. In fact, the Fortuna Police Department has stated that Mr. Annibel is the only suspect in the murder of Andrea LaDeRoute, and has submitted all its evidence to the DA's office in that regard.

No one is advocating vigilantism, which would take Mr. Annibel out of the court system and somehow administer arbitrary justice. Instead there is an agreement that the system should work exactly as Mr. Gallegos stated, "the report of a crime and its investigation, the review of that investigation and possible accusation, the disposition or trial on the accusation, a verdict, and a judgement." Neither Pam Smith Annibel nor Lisa LaDeRoute Lawler disagree with that assessment. What they do agree on is that the system on these cases has failed at the District Attorney level.

In the probable cause report concerning Mr. Annibel, Detective Mike Losey wrote, "Based on the evidence and information, probale cause exists to believe LaDeRoute has been murdered. Further, the available physical evidence, as well as circumstantial evidence, indicates that John Annibel murdered Andrea LaDeRoute." It was only the failure to proceed by then District Attorney Bernard C. dePaoli that short-circuited the trial. Mr. DePaoli was later arrested and convicted for taking a bribe to change a witness' statement in the murder case of Philip Kellotat. To say the least, it should cast doubt on his handling of other murder cases during his tenure as District Attorney of Humboldt County, especially Andrea's case.

One thing Mr. Gallegos failed to mention in his editorial on vigilantism is the role of the District Attorney's Office. It is to stand up for the rights of a victim of crime. In the case of Sherry Lynn Smith and Andrea LaDeRoute, the District Attorney's Office is their voice, because they can no longer speak for themselves.

Once again, Pam Smith Annibel and Lisa LaDeRoute Lawler do not want to railroad John Annibel. All they want is for Sherry and Andrea to have their day in court. Without the district attorney's office, functioning as it should, they can never have that happen. This is a far cry from vigilantism. Both sisters understand that neither the prosecutor, nor defense attorney, or even a judge is the trier of fact. The trier of fact in these cases are twelve ordinary citizens of Humboldt County who would decide upon Mr. Annibel's guilt or innocence. Mr. Annibel's rights would be protected by his defense counsel, as they should be. It is the duty of the of the District Attorney's Office to stand up for Sherry and Andrea's rights.

Robert Scott

Mr. Scott, if you read this post, here are links to stories relating to Paul Gallegos' "My Word" Op-Ed on Vilgilantism:
THE OX-BOW INCIDENT by ROBERT LOUIS FELIX
a copy of THE OX-BOW INCIDENT in case the link goes down
TS - Paul Gallegos' My Word
ER - WHOSE WORD WAS 'MY WORD'?
ER - A second Gallegos column raises questions about attribution

And, another take on what he was trying to say, who he was trying to go after:
When law enforcement fails, 'vigilantism' sometimes needed

There may be other answers to some of your questions, and Lisa's questions here as well.