GUILTY CA - Jason Allen, 26, & Lindsay Cutshall, 22, slain, Jenner Beach, 15 Aug 2004 *Arrest*

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This is so sad...

Slain Counselors Had a Passion for Nature
By JIM WASSERMAN, AP

COLOMA, Calif. (Aug. 21) - They were young adults from America's heartland with a passion for the wild outdoors, backpacking, sailing and camping when they could, working together as counselors at a Christian retreat and dreaming that they would someday open one of their own.

Then, just weeks before their Sept. 11 wedding date, they were killed in their sleep - perhaps after taking in one last Pacific sunset under the open sky they loved.

They died instantly, each shot in the head as they lay in sleeping bags on a wild shoreline 2,500 miles from their homes and families, Sonoma County authorities said Friday.

By all accounts, Jason Allen of Michigan and Lindsay Cutshall of Ohio possessed outgoing physical natures to match their Midwest-grown spirituality. Friends, neighbors and family members recalled a couple who backpacked, sailed and rafted whitewater rivers, some day hoping to open an outdoor Christian camp like the one where they were counselors together.

''They both enjoyed that, and they just wanted to find some mission where they could reach young people for the Lord,'' said John Hart, a close friend of the Allen family in Michigan.

The couple's bodies were discovered Wednesday when deputies rescuing a stranded hiker spotted the crime scene from a helicopter. ''It appears to be a terrible crime absent of motive, which is a concern to us,'' Sheriff's Lt. Dave Edmonds said.

There were no signs of sexual assault or robbery, and murder-suicide was ruled out because no weapon was found, authorities said.

''From all indications, the victims were very upstanding citizens, they were very honorable people. They had an absolute absence of enemies,'' Edmonds said. Police said they had no suspects.

Authorities said the slaying apparently occurred Sunday or Monday. Autopsies were being performed Friday.

Allen, 26, and Cutshall, 23, had been engaged for two years. Both were born into active churchgoing families. Allen's father, Robert Allen, was an elder at his Immanuel Baptist Church near the family home in Zeeland, Mich; Cutshall's father, the Rev. Chris Cutshall, is pastor of the Fresno Bible Church in rural Ohio.

edited to avoid copyright issues
 
This breaks my heart. All murders are senseless, but this one especially. What monster walks up to complete, SLEEPING strangers and shoots them at close range in the head? Truly the work of the devil. The only thing that made me smile a little at this case was the father's quote ''We're sure they really enjoyed the sunset that evening".
 
Not unlike the BTK Kansas killer that has come back... what does everyone think about the Zodiac coming back? This is his MO.

Just a thought.
 
Blueclouds, I heard about the similarites last night during a news report. I don't know anything about the Zodiac killer, but the similarities reported in the newscast made me wonder (e.g., happened in the same area, victims were shot in the head, and the victims were male/female couples). Since it all happened 30 years ago, though, I don't know...

Yet another senseless, and very sad, murder.
 
So sad, it is unimaginable.

I had forgotton the Zodiac killer was never caught. Blueclouds, I thought about the BTK killer too. It isn't impossible for the Zodiac killer to return, especially if he was very young 30 years ago.

Does anyone think a crime like this could be a first killing? I don't think so. You'd have to be very bold to shoot two people, don't you think. I don't know much about these things though. Anyone know?



Scandi
 
Have been hearing from several news outlets there is speculation this was a hate crime of some sort directed at them because they were Christians-but if you check out the link below-there may be a connection to some previous unsolved murders in 2003 and 1989


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5800363/


And this is strictly speculation on my part-there must be a ballistics link here since LE was very clear there was no sexual assault or robbery.



Remember Maura Murray
 
Cops Search for Wisconsin Man in Slain Counselor Case

SANTA ROSA, Calif. — A 21-year-old Wisconsin man was being sought for questioning in the mysterious shooting deaths of two camp counselors, according to a newspaper report.

Sonoma County detectives (search) sent out a statewide alert Monday seeking Nicholas Edward Scarseth, of Chippewa Falls, Wis., the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported Tuesday.

"We have information he may have been in the area at the time of the incident," Sheriff's Lt. Dave Edmonds told the newspaper. "He could have information related to the case."

Edmonds wouldn't say why detectives are interested in Scarseth.

Scarseth was stopped on Friday by police in Fort Bragg (search) — about 100 miles north of Jenner, where Lindsay Cutshall (search), 23, and her fiance, Jason Allen (search), 26, were found last week shot to death in their sleeping bags.

Sonoma County officials had sent out an alert for someone matching Scarseth's description. Fort Bragg police notified officials in Sonoma County on Sunday that they had talked with Scarseth. Edmonds said he did not know why Scarseth was stopped.

* * *

Scarseth's mother, Karen Scarseth, said he was last home about a month ago and she last talked to him on the telephone about a week ago.

"I know he was in California somewhere," she said, but she did not know where.

"He's just roaming around," she said. "If he ran into those people (who were killed), he would have befriended them."

* * *

Karen Scarseth said her son has an alcohol problem. "He is not violent," she said.

She said she was confident he did not kill the two people.

* * *

www.foxnews.com
 
A 21-year-old Wisconsin man contacted police Tuesday and was questioned in the mysterious shooting deaths of two camp counselors.

Sonoma County detectives sent out a statewide alert Tuesday seeking Nicholas Edward Scarseth, of Chippewa Falls, Wis., as a "potential witness" in the killings. When Scarseth heard about that from media reports, he got in touch with authorities, Sonoma County Sheriff's Lt. Dave Edmonds said.

"We have located him and we are speaking with him," Edmonds said. "We want to question him to determine what he knows about this case. He has not been charged. This is consensual contact. We're not holding him." --->>

Fort Bragg Police Sgt. Rogelio Orozco said Tuesday that Scarseth was stopped because he was skateboarding downtown, which is prohibited by city ordinance.

"He was polite. He stated he was traveling through Fort Bragg," Orozco said. "We would've had no clue he was wanted for anything on Aug. 20."

Sonoma County officials had sent out an alert Saturday for someone matching Scarseth's description. Fort Bragg police notified officials in Sonoma County on Sunday that they had talked with Scarseth. --->>

Scarseth's mother, Karen Scarseth, said he was last home about a month ago and she last talked to him on the telephone about a week ago from California.

"He's just roaming around," she said. "If he ran into those people (who were killed), he would have befriended them."

However, she also said her son, who was raised Roman Catholic and attended Bible school, harbors anger toward religious people.

"He'll go down to the bars where he knows where the jocks hang out and he sticks out like a sore thumb, so he knows he can irritate them," she said. "He brings up religion and politics to irritate people. He likes to stir people up."

Scarseth, who is about 6-foot-5 and weighs 185 pounds, wears his dirty blonde hair in long dreadlocks.

Scarseth's mother said her son often relied on Christian charity just to survive. --->>

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/the_valley/9485241.htm

booking photo: http://a.abcnews.com/images/autowirestory/AP/FX10308242104.jpeg
 
This one Bothers me big time!! And to hear they are looking into a case in AZ last year really gets me. What a senseless killings here
 
Scarseth Cleared
California
Aug 25, 2004

Police in California question a Chippewa Falls man who then passes a polygraph test. After that, Nick Scarseth was let go. His mother calls it a big mix-up. Police are investigating a double-murder in Sonoma County, California. They didn't call Scarseth a suspect. They just wanted to know if he knew anything about the crime. "We released him because we do not suspect him at this point of being involved in this crime. The term 'released' is a little bit too strong because he was a person who came forward and was cooperative with us. So, it was never a detention really," said Lt. Dave Edmonds, from the Sonoma Sheriff's Department. - http://www.wqow.com/news/articles/article_1376.shtml
 
I don't remember their names, but this was a few months ago where an engaged couple, counselors at a Christian camp, were found murdered in their sleeping bags on the beach in the Big Sur area, I think.

Anyway, the story died rather quickly, and I don't think there were any suspects and no arrests have been made. If anyone has an update on this story, please post!

Thanks!
 
December 09, 2004
Reward Increased in Campers' Murder Case
Four months after two Christian counselors were shot while they slept in their sleeping bags at Fishhead Lake in Jenner, California, investigators are no closer to finding a suspect than they were Aug. 18 when the bodies were found. Recently the governor's office increased the reward for information in the case $50,000. Jason Allen and Lindsay Cutshall, who were planning to be married, were both shot in the head at close range with a rifle. Authorities said an apparent complete lack of motive has hampered their investigation.

http://crime.about.com/b/a/131491.htm
 
Here is the original thread, Pepper.

Hope this helps, Lanie
Praying for justice for these two young people.
 
dont know much about the zodiac killer but when was the first time he took someones life? ex year, also if he was in his 20s back then how old do u think he would be now? what if the zodiac person passed away and someone who was following his path of distruction decided one day he was gona do what the zodiac did
 
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