GUILTY Ca - Becky Friedli, 18, Vicki, 53, & Jon Hayward, 55, Slain, Palm Desert, 17 Sep 2006

[DropthePuck]

I do NOT like how long this verdict is taking. I assume there may be a couple of jurors holding out on a verdict? Just an opinion.

Me neither. It is taking quite long. I worry this is going to be a hung jury or not guilty. JMO

 

[tmar]

I do NOT like how long this verdict is taking. I assume there may be a couple of jurors holding out on a verdict? Just an opinion.

Yes Edmo,
I am agreeing with you.
Perhaps verdict may not be Guilty.

 

[krkrjx]

There is no evidence that points to anyone else. At least none that I have heard of. I don' think this case had a lot of evidence period, but what it has all points to these two defendants.

All I can say is their families must have some clout in the area for them to be getting so much emotional support. If I lived there, I would seriously want people who could commit crimes like this to be locked away for the safety of society but for some reason that doesn't seem as important to the citizens of that area.

 

[Niner]

And here are the tweets from yesterday afternoon, 5/31:

Jeremy Chen
@JeremyChenKESQ
·
6h
Jurors are back to deliberating. #Verdictwatch for #PinyonPines murder trial continues.

Still no verdict yet in the #PinyonPines case. I have been told by the judge there will be Friday jury deliberations if there is no verdict today. Stay tuned.

No verdict today. The jury will come back tomorrow at 11 am to deliberate again in the #PinyonPines murder case. #Verdictwatch continues.

 

[Niner]

Friday, June 1st:

*Trial continues VERDICT WATCH! (Day 5) (@ 11am PT) CA - Rebecca 'Becky' Annaleigh Friedli (18), Vicki Friedli (53) & Jon Hayward (55) (Mom's BF) (Sept. 17, 2006) - *Cristin Conrad Smith (27/17 @ time of crime) faces LWOP (juvenile @ time of crime) accused/charged with 3 counts of murder w/special circumstances allegedly of committing multiple murders. Plead not guilty.
*Robert Lars Pape (28/18 @ time of crime) (ex-BF) charged with 3 counts of murder w/special circumstances allegedly of committing multiple murders; faces the LWOP. Plead not guilty.
6/1/18: The jurors have deliberated so far approximately 29.5 hours (by my calculations).

 

[Harmony 2]

published today but does not appear to have any new information.

Robert Lars Pape, 30, and Cristin Conrad Smith, 29, could each face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of three counts of first-degree murder and special circumstance allegations of taking multiple lives for the deaths of 18-year-old Becky Friedli, her 53-year-old mother, Vicki Friedli, and the latter’s boyfriend, 55-year-old Jon Hayward.

Deliberations continue in Pinyon Pines triple murder trial – Press Enterprise

 

[tmar]

published today but does not appear to have any new information.



Deliberations continue in Pinyon Pines triple murder trial – Press Enterprise

Yikes, It doesn't sound good.
No verdict after all this time.
I thought definitely GUILTY.

 

[katydid23]

Friday, end of the day, we will either have a verdict or a hung jury.

 

[Xojoanne26]

There is no evidence that points to anyone else. At least none that I have heard of. I don' think this case had a lot of evidence period, but what it has all points to these two defendants.

All I can say is their families must have some clout in the area for them to be getting so much emotional support. If I lived there, I would seriously want people who could commit crimes like this to be locked away for the safety of society but for some reason that doesn't seem as important to the citizens of that area.

I live in Palm Desert, so allow me to provide some context on how most of the general public feels regarding this case:
-Pape is from a very religious family that attends a very large, prestigious and wealthy church in the valley. This carries a lot of clout so I feel like lots of people want to support his family, so they publicly support both of the defendants
-Smith is known for being a military hero, and he is from a very wealthy family. He also has a lawyer who will talk to anyone and everyone about how he is innocent and it’s a horrible miscarriage of justice.
-there is an overarching theme of distrust towards LE in the area. Many believe the evidence collection was botched. This is why people will argue the business card was planted. This theme extends over to distrust of government/ da which is why so many people believe Javier Garcia to be the real killer. This suspicion alone cost his mom her reelection.
-most people feel uncomfortable with “two nice boys” having committed such a brutal and heinous crime. This is white privilege at its finest. If the two boys were a racial minority, everyone would be singing a different tune, guaranteed.

I know this is ridiculous but if you look on the comment section of articles on kesq.com you will find 9/10 defend the suspects, while degrading the district attorney, prosecutors, law enforcement, etc etc. I feel like people just can’t handle the fact that two seemingly normal all American boys could wipe out an entire family and just go back to playing video games.

The other thing to keep in mind about the valley—it is extremely small town for not being all that small. Everyone either knows everyone or somehow knows of them. This is most important when you consider the scope of his entire family—someone will either know him, his parents, his siblings, his ex wife, etc.

I hope and pray for a conviction, but based on the way I hear people speaking about the case everyday, I find it unlikely. Hoping the jurors see through it all.

 

[katydid23]

wow, thank you so much for the local info, Xojoanne.

It is so important to see the local context of the situation. It is very sad to think they might walk away, IF they are guilty. It seems to me that they probably are responsible for these gruesome deaths.

But I wasn't in the jury box, so I don't know exactly what they saw and heard. So ?

 

[Xojoanne26]

wow, thank you so much for the local info, Xojoanne.

It is so important to see the local context of the situation. It is very sad to think they might walk away, IF they are guilty. It seems to me that they probably are responsible for these gruesome deaths.

But I wasn't in the jury box, so I don't know exactly what they saw and heard. So ?

You’re most welcome! I am perplexed by it. I don’t know how people can know the evidence points to them, yet people seem so DEFINITE in their innocence.

For example, I was looking at twitter and saw several comments where people claimed they think that the verdict will purposefully be held off until after Tuesday, because a non guilty verdict would hurt District Attorney Mike Hestrin’s re-election (for any non Americans reading this, we have midterm elections this upcoming Tuesday). It’s insane. Even if the verdict is not guilty, I respect Hestrin for bringing the case forward and trying to push for justice for the Friedli family.

 

[tmar]

You’re most welcome! I am perplexed by it. I don’t know how people can know the evidence points to them, yet people seem so DEFINITE in their innocence.

For example, I was looking at twitter and saw several comments where people claimed they think that the verdict will purposefully be held off until after Tuesday, because a non guilty verdict would hurt District Attorney Mike Hestrin’s re-election (for any non Americans reading this, we have midterm elections this upcoming Tuesday). It’s insane. Even if the verdict is not guilty, I respect Hestrin for bringing the case forward and trying to push for justice for the Friedli family.

Xojoanne, Reading both your recent posts, is so disheartening.
Perhaps local folks aren't aware of loads of phone evidence which certainly points to these two. They may only be hearing that these are 'good guys', etc from Wealthy and/or Religious families.
However the Jurors will have all the Court evidence available to them, and I hope the 'local feelings' are not shared there.

 

[Xojoanne26]

Xojoanne, Reading both your recent posts, is so disheartening.
Perhaps local folks aren't aware of loads of phone evidence which certainly points to these two. They may only be hearing that these are 'good guys', etc from Wealthy and/or Religious families.
However the Jurors will have all the Court evidence available to them, and I hope the 'local feelings' are not shared there.

I completely agree. I feel like people either don’t know or choose to ignore it. The good news is that this case was tried in riverside...our most local courthouse is in Indio, so it is separated from the valley (Indio is probably a 30-40 min drive from Pinyon, where as Riverside is probably 1.5 hrs). I’m hoping the jury could be completely objective. Riverside is a larger area, so the probability of being able to get a juror who doesn’t know anything about the case would be much better.

 

[tmar]

I completely agree. I feel like people either don’t know or choose to ignore it. The good news is that this case was tried in riverside...our most local courthouse is in Indio, so it is separated from the valley (Indio is probably a 30-40 min drive from Pinyon, where as Riverside is probably 1.5 hrs). I’m hoping the jury could be completely subjective. Riverside is a larger area, so the probability of being able to get a juror who doesn’t know anything about the case would be much better.

Thanks Xojoanne for the quick reply.
Your answer is encouraging.
I am wondering, if the Jurors are in contact with folk in the area, or do they remain in isolation: in hotels etc, until they reach a possible verdict.
I would imagine, Jurors cannot have access to papers, news reports etc, anything that may influence their decision.

 

[Xojoanne26]

Thanks Xojoanne for the quick reply.
Your answer is encouraging.
I am wondering, if the Jurors are in contact with folk in the area, or do they remain in isolation: in hotels etc, until they reach a possible verdict.
I would imagine, Jurors cannot have access to papers, news reports etc, anything that may influence their decision.

I believe access to outside information would be limited. The only thing That makes me unsure was a post from kesq on twitter said that jurors didn’t convene last Friday because a juror had a previous commitment out of town. So that’s a tad bit confusing

Sorry for the lengthy posts, it’s just that, if you are all reading the comments and tweets from locals without knowing anything about the area, I can’t even imagine trying to make sense of it...it doesn’t make sense to me and I live here.

 

[Niner]

Xojoanne to WS & this thread.

Thanks for the "local" feel on this trial. Interesting! Wonder if this why they dismissed the charges in 2014....

 

[Xojoanne26]

View attachment 135262

Xojoanne to WS & this thread.

Thanks for the "local" feel on this trial. Interesting! Wonder if this why they dismissed the charges in 2014....

Thanks niner! I believe part of the release was due to political upheaval...I can look for an article right now, but long story short, DA Zellerbach was the one to arrest the pair the first time. They were unexpectedly released. Then Hestrin was elected, and Hestrin claimed that he wanted to review the case, strengthen it, and reprosecute when the time was right and they were more sure of conviction. Da zellerbach left his position in disgrace and had lost the trust of the community. He was accused of using the murders as political leverage.

This article from before the refiling briefly touches on those points

DA Hestrin: Pinyon Pines decision coming soon

 

[tmar]

Thanks niner! I believe part of the release was due to political upheaval...I can look for an article right now, but long story short, DA Zellerbach was the one to arrest the pair the first time. They were unexpectedly released. Then Hestrin was elected, and Hestrin claimed that he wanted to review the case, strengthen it, and reprosecute when the time was right and they were more sure of conviction. Da zellerbach left his position in disgrace and had lost the trust of the community. He was accused of using the murders as political leverage.

This article from before the refiling briefly touches on those points

DA Hestrin: Pinyon Pines decision coming soon

Xojoanne,
Being local, and posting, is such an asset to all of us.
Thanks again for further local info about the 'release initially': very much appreciated.

 

[Niner]

Jeremy Chen
@JeremyChenKESQ
·
5m
We have arrived at the Riverside courthouse for #verdictwatch in the #PinyonPines triple murder trial. The jurors have arrived ready to deliberate at 11 am.

 

[Niner]

Jeremy Chen
@JeremyChenKESQ
·
3m
Jurors have entered their room to begin deliberations in the #PinyonPines triple murder trial. #Verdictwatch begins again.