CA CA - El Cajon, Michael Eugene Richardson, born c. 1953, North Carolina

[vermontaigne]

Richardson pleaded guilty in 2013 to the murders of Jovita Calazzo, wife Thao Richardson, and his mother-in-law, Phan Lai. He had killed the latter two in June of 2009, pushing them over a cliff on CA Route 67 near Lakeside in a car to try to make their deaths appear a traffic accident. He hadn't done a very good job. The car was discovered in park, with the key out of the ignition. Tire impressions and other evidence were inconsistent with a high speed launch over a cliff. The mother-in-law had obviously had her throat slit.

Earlier, in 1992, Richardson had been questioned in the disappearance of Jovita Calazzo, his girlfriend, from National City. At the time, authorities were unaware Richardson was wanted in North Carolina, having escaped 6 years into his sentence for the stabbing or shooting in the face (depending on which account one reads) of a cab driver in 1976. He was on a work detail when he bolted. Jovita and Richardson were at this time an item, though her divorced husband testified that she and he were talking about reconciling at the time of her disappearance.

Richardson is accused of various acts of sexual molestation of underaged girls and the statutory rape of a niece. It seems likely he is responsible for other crimes.

 

[zwiebel]

Samantha Goodwin has been missing from up the hill since 2007, and I think she has similar physical characteristics to his victims.

http://cms.sbcounty.gov/Portals/34/MissingPersons/05-09/Goodwin_Samantha.pdf

 

[zwiebel]

Murder victim Jovito Calazzo