ABC10
20 years later, murder of Allan Olvera remains unsolved
''SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
On Indigenous Peoples Day, friends and family of a Native American man murdered 20 years ago gathered to bring attention to the cold case.
Allan Olvera was a Miwok man who was killed the night of Oct. 11, 2001. Olvera had been beaten to death, his home had been burglarized and several items were stolen.''
''His nephew said Monday that Olvera had a big impact in the Sacramento area, helping to start one of the first Native American health programs in the region as well as working with young people in the Native American community.''
Allan Olvera: 20 years after his killing a legacy lives on | abc10.com
"In October of 2001, the sheriff’s department was called to Allan Olvera’s house. His parents hadn’t heard from him in 4 to 5 days, and he wasn’t answering his phone. The front door was locked. No answer at the door. The dad went around the back side and went through the house through an unlocked slider. They found Allan deceased. He had been bludgeoned to death. Very horrific," said Detective Micki Links, who is in charge of the cold case unit with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office.
How could something so horrific happen to a person who was so loved?
“I just feel like he invited somebody over or somebody stopped by to visit him and for whatever reason, things went bad," Links said.
Detective Links sits in her office and clicks through the crime scene photos showing the outside of Olvera's home. Above her, on a whiteboard, she has Olvera’s case front and center.''
She’s been working the case hard since 2012, when they got some new information that led them in a different path than the original suspect, which at the time was Olvera’s former roommate.
"I feel that Allan knew the person who killed him," she said.
There were also things stolen from Olvera’s home. At the time, the theory was a burglary gone bad. Now, Links says that’s not the case.
"I don’t believe it was a burglary gone bad. I believe that he knew the person. How well? I don’t know. We’d be really interested in finding out for sure," Links said.
The items stolen included Native American artifacts, electronics and other personal items.
"After you kill somebody and stick around to steal, you are dealing with an evil person," she said. ''
Olvera’s nephew, Matthew Franklin, remembers when fear sunk in. He was at a Native American event, and his uncle was supposed to be there too.
"When it came time to dance, he didn’t show up. We knew something was wrong. We danced until about 3 o’clock and that was the last time I danced. I haven’t danced since. I haven’t worn this. I haven’t worn my necklace. It’s a dishonor to him for me to celebrate and for me to wear things when somebody is still out there," he said.
Whoever took his uncle’s life also took a part of their identity in the Miwok Tribe''