Authors: Corey Mitchell
Dead And Buried (22 page)
FORTY-FIVE
March 11, 1999
Branch Street, San Luis Obispo, California
2:00
A.M.
Branch Street, San Luis Obispo, California
2:00
A.M.
Rex Krebs sat in his Ford Ranger pickup truck parked on Branch Street. Even though he knew he had drunk to the point of intoxication, he felt fine. He was a little stressed out about Roz’s decision to have the baby, but he felt all right—maybe because he had spent more time drinking at the Gaslight Lounge on Broad Street. On the other hand, maybe because of the attractive young college girl he had been following for the last week.
The average-size dark blond girl caught his eye. She lived on Branch Street and drove a white 1988 Ford Mustang. He had noticed her the week before when he left the Gaslight and drove down Broad Street to go home. She parked her car in the driveway, got out, and headed for the front door of her duplex.Krebs liked how she looked in her white jeans.
He liked her so much he came back three more times.
He usually stayed until the young woman undressed; then he drove home and drank.
On this particular night Krebs decided he wanted an even better view. He slowly drove past her duplex and saw the white Mustang. He noticed all of the lights were off inside the house. He drove around until he eventually came back directlyin front of the duplex. He killed the lights, cut the engine, and exited the truck. He headed straight for her front door, jiggled the door handle, and realized it was locked. Instead,he snuck up her driveway and made his way to the sliding glass door. He grabbed the back door handle.
Locked!
He checked the kitchen window next to the sliding glass door. It too was locked.
Krebs was getting frustrated. He considered leaving when he looked up and saw an opportunity. He noticed that the tiny bathroom window appeared to be unlocked. He walked up and attempted to open it. It scooted up with a bit of noise. He took a step back, surveyed the area, and reached into his pants pocket. He pulled out a dark pair of panty hose. He calmly pulled them over his head and turned his attention back to the window.
March 12, 1999
Davis Canyon Road, Davis Canyon, California
8:10
A.M.
Davis Canyon Road, Davis Canyon, California
8:10
A.M.
Debbie Wright climbed into her car for her usual seventeen-milejaunt to work. She drove her car up out of the driveway and onto the two-tire-track dirt road. About halfway between her residence and the A-frame, she spotted something unusual.
Rex Krebs.
He stood beside his parked truck in a clearing next to the Wright woodpile. Debbie could not quite make out what he was doing. She assumed he must be splitting wood with an ax. As she pulled up alongside his truck, she noticed Krebs huffing and puffing. He glanced up at her and began to speak.
“I can’t do this anymore.” He exhaled as he wiped sweat from his brow.
Debbie thought he meant cutting wood.
“I’ve gotta quit smoking. It makes this kind of work too hard,” he wistfully stated.
They conducted their small talk for another minute or so when Debbie told Krebs she had to be on her way.
Krebs waved to Debbie as she drove off.
He then hurried back to the barn apartment. He had plenty of time now to do what he wanted to with the girl.
Five days later, David Zaragoza, Rex’s parole officer, paid him an unexpected visit.
PART VI
TRIAL
FORTY-SIX
The local media jumped all over the discovery of the bodiesof Rachel Newhouse and Aundria Crawford. Word of the arrest of Rex Krebs had the entire county of San Luis Obispo buzzing with fear and relief.
“I’m glad and relieved for the students in the area,” Santa Maria resident Sherry Zimmer told the
San Luis Obispo Tribune
. “I know a lot of the students are relieved too.”
San Luis Obispo Tribune
. “I know a lot of the students are relieved too.”
“This lets all of us know that things like this can happen here,” warned Pismo Beach resident Ray Gentry. “But this is good in that we can hopefully get some closure in this case.”
Despite Krebs’s arrest, some residents still felt fear. “When I first got here, it seemed like a quiet town,” said Cuesta College student Natalie Smith. “We could go out to parties and walk home. Now I’m afraid to walk from work to my car at night.”
When the residents found out that Krebs was a paroled rapist, they became furious. Krebs’s detailed information in Michael Krikorian’s article in the
Fresno Bee
extracted strong sentiment from its readers: most agreed with Krebs that he should receive the death penalty.
Fresno Bee
extracted strong sentiment from its readers: most agreed with Krebs that he should receive the death penalty.
“I hope he gets what he wants,” stated Cal Poly student Tiffinee Brougham. “He’s a freak and he’s going down. We don’t need sex offenders in this county.”
Krebs’s friends and acquaintances were shocked and confusedby the revelation. One woman, who requested anonymity, stated that she befriended Krebs when he lived in Atascadero. She recalled that he would come over to her house and spend the night on the top bunk bed above her child: “If you were to ask me six months ago, I would have said he seemed to be a nice guy, polite. He never really did anything to me. If you were to ask me now, I would say he’s an animal.”
Krebs’s friend Dan Thompson stated, “Rex was a great guy. Is a great guy. But apparently it seems as though he has a demon.”
The Newhouse family did not speak to the press after the discoveryof their daughter’s body. Captain Bart Topham informed the press that “of course they are saddened, we all are, but they are doing good. They are amazing and strong people.”
One member of Aundria Crawford’s family did speak to the press. Aundria’s grandfather, Don Crawford, lashed out at Krebs. “I don’t care what he says. He asks, ‘Am I a monster?’ I say, ‘No, you are a piece of slime. Pure, unadulterated slime.’ ” Don Crawford also expressed his desire for the executionof Krebs. “If it gets down to that, I would tell the jury, ‘If you don’t fry him, you have no heart.’ ”
Jason Rerucha, husband of one of Aundria Crawford’s best friends, summed up the sentiment best. “Our whole judicial system is screwed up. If he would have never been released in the first place, none of this would have happened. He had better get what he deserves this time.”
There were two commemorative events to honor Rachel Newhouse and Aundria Crawford. The first event, a previously scheduled annual “Take Back the Night Rally” to raise awarenessfor victims of sexual abuse and sexual violence, turned into a candlelight vigil for the two girls. Over five hundred supportersshowed up at Cal Poly and vowed to remember Rachel and Aundria. The vigil opened with moving renditions of “You Were Loved” and “Amazing Grace,” sung by Cal Poly student Pili Hawes. The tears flowed instantly. Several speakers followed,including San Luis Obispo mayor Allen Settle, to tell the gathered crowd to remember the girls’ lives and not their gruesomedeaths. After the speakers finished, the marchers lit white candles, cradled them delicately in the palms of their hands, and silently marched up Higuera Street.
“I am so sorry this had to happen to them,” said attendant Debbie Semling. “I want to let the families know that their daughters were very special, that they are loved.”
The second commemorative event took place on Thursday, April 29, at Cal Poly. Sister Mary Pat White of the Newman Catholic Center and Reverend Donald Smiley of the UniversityChristian Community organized a memorial for Rachel Newhouse. More than 750 people attended, most of whom did not know Rachel.
Biochemistry senior KC Cooper told the Cal Poly
Mustang Daily
newspaper “the whole situation is scary and I think it’s not necessarily knowing her, but the fact that it could have happened to anybody. It affects everyone here at school.”
Mustang Daily
newspaper “the whole situation is scary and I think it’s not necessarily knowing her, but the fact that it could have happened to anybody. It affects everyone here at school.”
The memorial opened with a welcome from the Cal Poly vice president of Student Affairs, Juan Gonzalez. The messagehe conveyed to the mourners was that the memorial should be the beginning of the healing process.
“This memorial came from the heart. It was an expression of love. I’m speechless,” stated the administrator.
Several of Rachel Newhouse’s friends attended. They paid tribute to her by lighting a candle and reading a poem entitled “Slow Dance.”
Rachel’s friends wanted the memorial to celebrate her life—not focus on the tragedy. Irvine High School friend Megan Carter recalled, “She was always real caring and she had this laugh; whenever you heard it, you wanted to laugh too.”
Rachel’s friends also made sure to include Aundria Crawford, as well as Kristin Smart, during the memorial. Volunteers lit two more candles for each girl, placed them next to a candle for Rachel, and tearfully stated, “Remember, we remember Kristin Smart. Remember, we remember Aundria Crawford.” The song “Brown-Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison, which was Rachel’s favorite song, played quietly in the background.
The emotional ceremony ended with a prayer offered by Sister Theresa Harpin: “Peace behind us, peace under our feet. Peace within us, peace over us, let all around us be peace.” Harpin closed the service with the final line “Neither death nor separation can keep us from their presence.”
On Friday, April 30, over six hundred friends and family members gathered in the New Covenant Community Church in Fresno, California, to bury Aundria Crawford. Once again the participants did not come to wallow in pity over her tragic, early end, but rather to celebrate her life. Reverend Jan Van Oosten told the large crowd, “This is a story of tragedy, but also a story of love and immense human kindness.”
The crowd then enjoyed a five-minute slide show of Aundriain various states of frolic throughout her short, albeit full, lifetime. There was Aundria swimming with a huge grin on her face, looking elegant while dancing at the Clovis High School senior prom, and playing with a majestic horse. The soothing sounds of Sara McLachlan’s “Angel” whispered comfort to the parishioners in the background.
Several of Aundria’s closest friends stepped up to the podium to share fond memories of their dearly departed pal. “One word that pinpoints Aundria’s personality is loyalty,” said Aundria’s closest friend in San Luis Obispo, Stephanie Nicolopoulos. “You could open up your heart to her. I am glad I got to be a part of her life. She will always be a part of mine.”
Mark Crawford, Aundria’s uncle, delivered the eulogy. He recalled his niece’s love of horses, ballet, and cars. He spoke of how at the age of sixteen Aundria switched hobbies from ballet to horses. “That was probably the hardest thing she ever had to do. She always begged her grandma to get her a horse.”
He concluded by calling Aundria’s life an “unfinished work in the beautiful ballet of dreams.”
Reverend Van Oosten mentioned that Aundria’s internment at the Clovis District Cemetery would be a private ceremony. He then concluded the service with an attempt to console those gathered. “Right now, the grief hurts like the torments of hell. But the person who took Aundria from you must not take your soul too.”
That was the only allusion to Rex Krebs.
FORTY-SEVEN
To prevent Rex Krebs from getting “what he deserves,” he needed some of the best lawyers in San Luis Obispo County. Krebs’s lack of personal finances made hiring a “dream team” unfeasible, so he received court-appointed attorneys from the San Luis Obispo County Public Magistrate’s Office. The office, located across the street from the county courthouse on Osos Street, was the business office of two top-notch public defense attorneys, James Maguire III and Patricia Ashbaugh.
If Maguire and Ashbaugh walked out of their office front door and went to the San Luis Obispo City/County Library, they would have witnessed, firsthand, the emotions that the Krebs case had conjured up. A young woman held a sheet of paper that simply stated in bold black letters, FRY HIM.
Thirty-three-year-old Sharron Williamson, the protester, who wore a heavy sweater, dark round glasses, and had her black hair pulled back, understandably wore her emotions on her sleeve. She was a former rape victim. “He should receive the full extent of the law. We live in a society that locks up drug users longer than rapists.”
Hastings College of the Law graduate and twenty-nine-year veteran lawyer James Maguire III knew this would be the exact sentiment he would have to battle in representing Rex Krebs. The fifty-five-year-old law firm partner was ready for a fight.
He and his partner, forty-seven-year-old University of California-DavisLaw School graduate and twenty-two-year veteran lawyer Patricia Ashbaugh, had renewed their contract in the summer of 1998 as the primary public defender for the County of San Luis Obispo. As per their agreement, their firm provides public-defender services for indigent criminal defendants. According to the official contract, Maguire & Ashbaugh, the law firm, would be the highest paid of three law firms. The firm would receive $2,003,480 for the 1998 to 1999 term, with a 3 percent increase for each of the followingtwo terms. The total amount of the contract: $6,192,556.
The work of the public defender in San Luis Obispo County seldom dealt with death penalty cases. However, these attorneys were more than capable. They would also receive assistance from death penalty expert William McLennan.
Deputy District Attorney John Trice would represent the state of California. Trice received his law degree from Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles, California. After law school, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force as a captain in the JAG Department. He worked for the air force’s legal assistance programfor retired personnel. After leaving the military he became the San Luis Obispo County deputy district attorney in 1984. He worked on one previous death penalty case in 1988. He successfullyhelped to convict Dennis Duane Webb, who murdered John and Lori Rainwater of Atascadero.
Trice would be ably assisted by thirty-eight-year-old Deputy District Attorney Timothy Covello, who graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School.
San Luis Obispo Superior Court judge Barry LaBarbera would oversee the proceedings. He also happened to be the former district attorney for San Luis Obispo County.
For the next two years, Judge LaBarbera mostly oversaw motions filed on behalf of Rex Krebs, first to delay the trial and then to relocate it. The defense argued that due to the intensemedia coverage of the murders of Rachel Newhouse and Aundria Crawford, there would be a substantial bias against their client. The defense succeeded in their quest for relocation—the trial moved 150 miles north along U.S. Highway101 to the Superior Court of California in Monterey.
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