CA CA - Sacramento Deputy Jeffrey Mitchell, 38, killed with his own gun; Allan Shubert, 43, and Nicole Welch, 28, also found deceased

[Passeridae]

I just ran across this case while looking for something else. I'd never heard of it before.

At about 3 a.m. on Oct. 27, 2006, Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputy Jeffrey Mitchell made contact with a white Chevy van with no plates near Sloughhouse and Rancho Murieta, northeast of Wilton; he radioed it in to dispatch. He reported that the van had one occupant - this will be important later.

Less than 10 minutes later, dispatch heard his radio clicking, but couldn't get a response. When other deputies arrived at the scene, he'd been shot and killed with his own gun, and the van was gone. There was evidence that Mitchell had been in a violent struggle with someone over the gun, and evidence at the scene indicated he might have tried to handcuff someone.

A matching van with bent plates was found floating in the nearby Cosumnes River in El Dorado County about 12 hours later. When it was pulled out, two bodies were found inside: Allan Shubert, 43, and Nicole Ann Welch, 28. However, they had not drowned, but showed evidence of carbon monoxide poisoning. Additionally, there were no signs either of them had been in a fight, so they were likely not the person who Mitchell had fought with. And Mitchell had reported only seeing one occupant in the van. Had that been Shubert or Welch, or a third person who had been driving the van with two bodies inside? Due to the lack of injuries, investigators tentatively think both of them were dead before Mitchell pulled the van over.

Investigators have not named any suspects, but they've confirmed to media that they've had them. Investigators told ABC News in 2020 that it was an unsolved case but not a cold case. SFGATE reported that they visited one house in Wilton four separate times, but did not arrest anyone; the resident is not named.

DNA evidence is available. As of 2013, there was not enough for more than a partial profile that was not strong enough to upload to any of the crime databases, but given advancements in DNA technology I wonder whether it could be used now?

Sources:

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/unsolved-jeffrey-mitchell-murder-sacramento-17382062.php

Who killed Sacramento County Sheriff Deputy Jeffrey Mitchell? | Unsolved California

"To say there are no suspects of person of interests would be lying to you," Detective Sgt. Turnbull said about the case, 14 years later.

www.abc10.com

https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article2581679.html

Shubert's obituary is here: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/sacbee/name/allan-shubert-obituary?id=13658767

I didn't find much about Nicole Welch outside of the stories above.

 

[kemo]

I am familiar with this case and the area the murder occurred. It is basically open rangeland about 25 miles out of Sacramento. It occurred on a road leading out of the town of Wilton which is a rural hamlet of homes on large parcels; some nicer, some just trailers or shacks. Communities like that are often associated with “cooking meth” because homes are far apart so unusual smells are less noticeable. Allan Schubert had a long record of minor crimes; particularly those involving Meth. He had apparently been living out of the van he and Welch were found it. Welch apparently was Shubert’s girlfriend. The place the van with the bodies was found was about 20 miles away, off a main highway: Hwy 49 at a bridge with a side road that offered access to the Cosumnes River, a small informal campground and a couple of houses. Law Enforcement seems to believe that the scene was staged to appear that the couple (who were found in the front seat) got stuck crossing the river and stayed in the vehicle with the engine running and died of Carbon Monoxide poisoning. They appear to believe that the couple actually died earlier and were being driven to that spot by a third party when the murder of the sheriff occurred. If that is what happened, there was probably a second vehicle involved that gave the driver of the van a ride back. At the traffic stop, the sheriff report only one vehicle; the van, so a second vehicle may have arrived at the scene and interfered with the arrest.

Wilton was small enough for a suspected meth lab site to be identified but, while one house was apparently searched, no arrests were made. There is no obvious connection between death by Carbon Monoxide poisoning and any particular crime. It is usually associated with unsafe heating arrangements. On October 27, it would not have been cold enough to require heating. Being in an enclosed area with a vehicle or other gas motor running can also result in carbon monoxide poisoning. Neither way suggests obvious criminal activity but I suppose anyone engaged in any illegal activity would not want people dying of carbon monoxide poisoning on their property, even if was an accident unrelated to any crime. Still, killing a sheriff’s deputy is pretty extreme. It would seem that even partial fingerprints and DNA would be enough to match with a known suspect, but as yet, none have been identified. This is an unusual case and it is strange that it remains unsolved.

 

[Passeridae]

I grew up just south of Wilton and I know due to a relative getting tangled up in that life that there was at least one gang that was taking drugs from the area and selling them in Reno and the Bay Area during the early 2000s. I stopped talking to the relative when they got into all that and moved away not long after, so don't know anything beyond hearing about them getting busted for possession with intent to sell in Reno (so I know for a fact there was that connection at least). I can't add much more than that. It was all boondocks out there back then, and a lot of the area still is. There are still illegal pot grows out there sometimes (why, when it's legal here, idk) and lots of meth and it wasn't much different back then.

I have no idea if this case has anything to do with any of that - I somehow never even heard of it before the other day, and I thought I knew all the local cold cases - but figured I'd add that context. Even if Shubert and Welch died accidentally due to carbon monoxide, there were people out there at the time who would have had a vested interest in moving the bodies to another area to keep investigators away.