CA CA - Douglas, 26, & Rozina Anderson, 31, Crescent City, 15 Aug 1988

[JusticeWillBeServed]

A double homicide committed in 1988 has been solved following a confession from a man wanting to "clear his conscience".

Douglas and Rozina Anderson were found murdered in their van on the campgrounds of Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park. They were both shot multiple times.

John William Kelley is awaiting sentencing for the rape and murder of Annette Thur.

A confession in the 1988 murders of a Lake Oswego couple

Doug and Rozina Anderson were young artists. They were happily married and wild at heart, camping out beneath the stars and the redwoods in northern California.

They were killed on an August night in 1988, shot multiple times while in the back of their dark green '74 Dodge van.

And the deaths of the Lake Oswego couple went unresolved and unclaimed for 27 years until, several weeks ago, John William Kelley, confessed to the slayings.

"I was told the murderer had a run-in with someone in his life," Rousett said. "He was really irritated. He said he just needed to blow off steam. He blew off steam by killing people."

David Rousett said Wednesday that he would likely travel to Crescent City later this winter for Kelley's sentencing.

"I've never been a big fan of closure. It isn't going to bring my sister back," Rousett added.

"At least you feel there is no more mystery."

Murder mystery revealed

John Kelley, 52, has already pleaded no contest to a 1986 sexual assault and murder in San Mateo County. He is expected to receive a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole on Dec. 11, according to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Following that sentence, he will be transported to Del Norte County for hearing on the 1988 killings of Douglas and Rosina Anderson, who were shot and killed near Crescent City.

“We don't intend to fight the charges. It was his desire to be charged, and he wants to go in and plead guilty,” said Lisa Maguire, Kelley’s attorney.

Maguire said her client is entering pleas, as part of a deal that guarantees his confession will not elevate his sentence to a death penalty.

“He did not want a trial or any kind of appeal. He just wanted to clear his conscience,” said Maguire.

Killer comes clean after 27 years

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

John Kelley sentenced to life in double murder cold case

http://www.times-standard.com/general-news/20151230/john-kelley-sentenced-to-life-in-double-murder-cold-case

John Kelley was sentenced Wednesday afternoon in the Del Norte Superior Court to two consecutive life terms in state prison without the possibility of parole on two counts of first degree murder with special allegations of multiple murder victims and murder involving rape in a cold case dating back to 1988.

The sentence follows another conviction from earlier this year for a 1986 cold case out of San Mateo County and a 1995 conviction for a rape case in Eureka, Del Norte County District Attorney Dale Trigg said.

He said in the release that the victims’ family members were reached prior to the sentencing deal.

“In the end, it was not a tough decision,” Trigg said. “Giving the Anderson families, still grieving and searching for answers after 27 years, closure and resolution was all that really mattered.”

 

[SophieRose]

In 2004, when a couple from the Midwest was murdered at Jenner Beach in Sonoma County, California, police and media mentioned other murders in the West where couples had been murdered camping going back many years. This was one of those mentioned. I wonder if LE checked this guy to see where he was over the years. So he was mad at someone so he just went and shot this poor innocent couple. How many other times was he mad and did something like this, knowing he had gotten away with it at least once? Was he in prison at all during nearly the three decades?

 

[Mountain Mama]

Makes you wonder what other crimes in Northern Ca. Kelley was responsible for. Hopefully police gathered his DNA.