48 Hours - A Tragic Journey

Episode Date: December 18, 2024

On December 20, 1980, teenage sweethearts Sabrina Gonsalves and John Riggins were supposed to attend a birthday party but never arrived. 36 hours later their bodies were found by police in a California ravine. The case went unsolved. Then in 2002, using advanced DNA technology, police were able to match samples stored in a FBI database to a convicted rapist. “48 Hours" correspondent Troy Roberts reports. This classic "48 Hours" episode last aired on 5/17/2014. Watch all-new episodes of “48 Hours” on Saturdays, and stream on demand on Paramount+.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Get ready for Las Vegas style action at Bet MGM, the king of online casinos. Enjoy casino games at your fingertips with the same Vegas strip excitement MGM is famous for when you play classics like MGM Grand Millions or popular games like Blackjack, Bakura, and Roulette. With their ever-growing library of digital slot games, a large selection of online table games and signature BetMGM service, there's no better way to bring the excitement and ambiance of Las Vegas home to you than with BetMGM Casino.

Download the BetMGM Casino app today. BetMGM and GameSense remind you to play responsibly. BetMGM.com for Ts and Cs, 19 and older to wager, Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. Bet MGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. We all know attention spans have never been shorter,

and it's harder to reach the right audience. But with Paramount Ads Manager, you can advertise your business on Paramount's top shows, sports, movies, TV, and of course news, even 48 hours. Your ads will get 30 second unskippable views on premium brand safe content on Paramount Plus, the fastest growing streaming service and over 15 major networks. You can use the ads you already have or make new ones with Paramount help at no additional cost.

Sign up today, be on TV tomorrow. Put your business in show business with Paramount Ads Manager. Go to adsmanager.paramount.com. That's adsmanager.paramount.com to learn more. With Audible, there's more to imagine when you listen. Whether you listen to stories, motivation, expert advice, any genre you love, you can be inspired to imagine new worlds, new possibilities, new ways of thinking. And Audible makes it easy to be inspired and entertained as a part of your everyday routine,

without needing to set aside extra time. As an Audible member, you choose one title a month to keep from their ever-growing catalog. Explore themes of friendship, loss, and hope with Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. Find what piques your imagination. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial, and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca to sign up.

It could happen to anyone. Any one of our children, any one of our family. A good, wonderful, kind person that you love could suddenly disappear. That you could never see them again. You can never talk about that person without everyone in the room thinking, oh, she's the one who was murdered. This will be homicide case number 95336. The trees that can be seen in the distance is the area of the ravine where the bodies

have been located. This was a brutal, brutal slain. My name is Carol Daly and back in 1980 I was assigned as a detective in the homicide unit with Sacramento County Sheriff's Department. Sabrina Gonsalves and John Riggins were college co-eds, 18 years old. They were just bright, lovely young couple, carefree and not a worry in the world. The disappearance was at Christmastime, 1980. They were headed to a birthday party for Sabrina's sister, Andrea.

Sabrina and John left the condo and were on their way, but they never showed. And I started thinking what could possibly have gone wrong. First, we were told they found the van. And I ran to a phone to call my dad. And he said, Andrea, they think they have found the bodies. It was sickening, the horrificness of what we were seeing and what they must have gone through. sickening the horrificness of what we were seeing and what they must have gone through.

They had duct taped around their eyes and around their mouth. Looking at them, we knew their throats had been cut and they were dumped just like trash. Whoever was responsible for that was a cold-hearted animal, thoughtless, senseless, in taking a life just for pleasure. Anybody that had done such a horrific crime, somebody was going to know who did it, and somebody was going to send in a tip,

and I really thought the case was going to be solved within weeks. was going to be solved within weeks. And as the case went on and on and on, I think we had lost hope. 32 years they have been dead. How many people, how many years, how much effort does it take to put one horrible person away for life? Thirty-two years later, it turns out, there was a critical piece of evidence in the van

that would end up solving the case. It was Sabrina's birthday present to Andrea. All this time we've been waiting. All this time. The answer was there. I'm waiting all this time. The answer was there. I'm Troy Roberts. The Sweetheart Murders. The wheels of justice turn slowly, but I've never covered a story quite like this. It's hard to imagine that it would take more than three decades to find the killer and bring him to trial.

And that said defendant did unlawfully and with malice of war thought murder Sabrina Marie Gonzalez. 32 years, unbelievable. That's why I won it over with. I want to have a little peace before I die. Okay, I think we're ready to commence. Sabrina Gonzalez' mother Kim and her father George weren't sure they'd live to see the day. It's a scab on your heart.

And it just keeps getting pulled off. And you bleed again and again and again, you know? And you just don't know how much you can keep going. It is so much worse when someone is killed instead of dying a natural death. But it is also worse to have a murder unsolved. Over the decades, Andrea Gonzalez Rosenstein has remained devoted to keeping her baby sister's memory alive.

Tell me about Sabrina. She loved kids. She loved being with kids, working with kids. She loved medicine. She wanted to be a physical therapist. And she was such a good person and so innocent and so sweet and so wonderful. Andrea named her firstborn Sabrina.

And after having her third child, she decided to adopt three more. She wanted to have six kids. And I did it for her with the thought of I'm having the family she didn't get to have six kids, and I did it for her with the thought of having the family she didn't get to have. I also wanted to keep horses in my life and introduce them to my children

and let them know that this is something that I did with Sabrina, with great joy and fun. She's still with us. I feel like her spirit is still with us. Back in the summer of 1980, Andrea was already attending the University of California at Davis when her sister moved in with her.

Sabrina was excited to begin her own college career. That summer, Sabrina met John Riggins while working for the town's recreation department. He was really her first boyfriend, and she fell in love with him. John was so much fun. He was funny and light-hearted, and he loved sports. They were perfect together. John had been a popular high school athlete in Davis, but he stood out for another reason as well. When he was much younger, he had this mop of red hair that got a lot of attention.

Even as a toddler, people came up and touched his head all the time. And it was almost like bringing good luck or something. If there was a sports photographer, John's picture was in there. Kate and Dr. Richard Riggins, an orthopedic surgeon, were proud of their son. John was considering following his father's footsteps. Do you ever think about what kind of man your son would have become? He would have been 51 years old now.

Since he was murdered, I haven't given much thought to what he would have been as an adult. I just always left him there as a freshman at UC Davis. He's still been 18 years old, and I never really pushed it beyond that. The night of December 20, 1980, Sabrina and John were expected at that surprise party for Andrea's 22nd birthday. But they never showed and never called. First thing in the morning, it was like 6 o'clock

in the morning, and then I knew something really bad had happened, because she would have never not come home. It was out of character. Oh my god. I knew where she was all the time. She knew where I was all the time. We didn't do that.

When you realized he hadn't come home, what was going through your mind? It was so foggy that night. You could not see anything. And we just got out and drove in increasing circles looking in the ditches and looking for some evidence of an auto accident. And the possibility that they'd been kidnapped and murdered was not even considered. I mean, we didn't want to consider that. Sabrina and John had been missing for 36 hours when police found the Riggins family van abandoned about 30 miles east of Davis

in Sacramento County, former detective Carol Daly. There was nothing inside the van to indicate that something horrible had happened at that point. We were hoping to find them alive. But a few hours later, Detective Daly received the call that the bodies had been found just under a mile away, discarded in that ravine. There are areas of blood on the leaves and ground in between signs number three and five. It was so traumatic to see them and their bodies disposed of the way that they were. I've just never been able to forget it. There were signs that Sabrina had been sexually assaulted.

John had a head injury, suggesting he fought to protect her. Eighteen, they're just children. How are the parents going to be able to handle all this? I understand that you wake up in the middle of the night thinking of your son. He comes into our thoughts and like a nightmare, a small nightmare most nights. I can't see ever getting rid of that haunting figures that I see every now and then. Other bodies there in the ditch. That's never going to go away. The case became known as the Sweetheart Murders.

Investigators from two counties mobilized to hunt down this sadistic killer, but they had no idea just how difficult that would be. This holiday season, give your loved ones only the best from L.L. Bean. Keep them warm and dry all winter long with weather-resistant outerwear. Versatile, durable, and available in a wide range of styles, you'll find outerwear for the whole family. From casual outings to outdoor adventures, L.L. Bean outerwear keeps the warm in and the cold out. Give only the best gifts from L.L. Bean at Oakville Place, Georgian Mall &berry, and CF shops at Don Mills.

Dracula, the ancient vampire who terrorizes Victorian London. Blood and garlic, bats and crucifixes, even if you haven't read the book, you think you know the story. One of the incredible things about Dracula is that not only is it this wonderful snapshot of the 19th century, but it also has so much resonance today. The vampire doesn't cast a reflection in a mirror.

So when we look in the mirror, the only thing we see is our own monstrous abilities. From the host and producer of American History Tellers and History Daily comes the new podcast, The Real History of Dracula. We'll reveal how author Bram Stoker rated ancient folklore, exploited Victorian fears around sex, science and religion, and how even today we remain enthralled to his strange creatures of the night. You can binge all episodes of The Real History of Dracula exclusively with Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus and the Wondria, Apple podcasts or Spotify. And now as a community of people who shared in John and Sabrina's lives.

As the town of Davis said goodbye to the two sweethearts. Their chilling murders had police fearing a serial killer could be on the loose. When you cut somebody's throat with a knife, you either have to be pretty desperate or you have to be pretty cold-blooded, I would say. Investigator Ron Garverich is with the Sacramento District Attorney's Office. The suspect did some planning. He came there with a sharp knife or some other weapon. is with the Sacramento District Attorney's Office. The suspect did some planning. He came there with a sharp knife or some other weapon.

He brought some tape with him. The videotaping is at sign number three, which indicates a large area of blood. Police received hundreds of tips. They even released this composite sketch of a suspicious man spotted in the area. The officer is standing at the side of the road at the area where the bodies are located, just over the edge. This is the kind of rough brush that the bodies were found in? Yeah.

It's just by luck that the officer officers found the bodies, right? Yeah, because the roadway was at one elevation, and the ravine was probably, you know, 8 to 10 feet down. And looking straight across, you wouldn't see it. So somebody had to be somewhat familiar with the area. But the investigation went nowhere, and the trail went cold. Year after year, the lack of answers only added to the family's pain.

I despaired that we would never find the person that killed them. I would say the first year was really bad, really devastating. I think for five years, I release was fragile. That's the best way to put it, very fragile. Six years passed, and then a tip led police to revisit another double murder that happened around the same time to see if there was any connection. The body of 22-year-old Craig Miller was found near Bass Lake in El Dorado County, shot three times in the head.

His girlfriend, Mary Beth Sowers, is still missing tonight and feared dead by lawmen. Like John and Sabrina, this college couple was abducted from a public place, killed execution style and then dumped around the Sacramento area. But in this case, police quickly made an arrest and got a conviction. Excuse me, John. Get the hell out of here! The killer was this man,

Gerald Gallego, a violent sexual predator. But on the night John and Sabrina were killed, he had an airtight alibi. He was already in jail. And that's why police, looking at the Sweetheart's case years later, arrived at an unusual theory that John and Sabrina's murder was a copycat crime,

committed by Gallego's friends to try and clear him. Well, then it couldn't be Gerald that's the murderer because of the fact that this killer's still out there. Hundreds, if not thousands of hours went in to prove that theory, and arrests were made behind it. Davis police issued murder arrest warrants for Hunt. In 1989, nine years after the Sweetheart murders, police arrested David Hunt, Gallego's half-brother, who also had a criminal past. Believing he had help, they rounded up Hunt's wife, Sue Ellen, and his partners in crime, Richard Thompson

and Doug Lainer. They became known as the Hunk Group. All four were charged with the murders of John and Sabrina. I'm so angry for being accused of something like that. Better let that anger go, brother. David Hunt and Doug Lainer maintained their innocence to this day. Did you kill Sabrina and John?

No. Did your brother mastermind these killings? No. By this time, my brother was dead to me. Both men admit they were drug addicts and thieves, but insist they would never commit murder. Both of you were described as sophisticated, savvy desperados. Well, I wouldn't go that far.

My dumb old criminal is what I was, doing dumb old criminal things. Those dumb things, Lanner did, included stealing bed sheets from hotels. But this time, even with no physical evidence, he and the other members of the Hunk Group were facing the death penalty. It's ludicrous. Think about it.

So this wasn't designed to free Gerald? Absolutely not. You know what I have to say about Gerald? I feel the same way. On the eve of the Hunk Group's trial, there was a stunning development. And it involved that birthday gift Sabrina had intended to give her sister, Andrea, a blanket.

Apparently the killer had unwrapped it and left semen stains that went unnoticed for years. Those stains could now be tested for DNA, a forensic tool that didn't exist at the time of the murders. Police asked for blood samples from the accused. What did your attorney advise you to do? They came to me, actually, and he told me that the bottom line is, if you did this, or have knowledge of it, don't let him do this. Why?

Because it'll send you to death row. Now my response was very simple. Let's get it done, how soon? Lainer too was certain the DNA would prove his innocence. I ran down the hall tap dancing. I was so ecstatic, no one, the case was over now. We got him. Because the whole thing was a setup to begin with.

Now they couldn't get away with it. And as they predicted, the DNA on the blanket did not match any of the men in the Hunk Group. So in January 1993, all the charges were dropped. The people are moved for business are based on insufficiency, as ever. By then, David Hunt and his co-defendants had spent three years in jail. Doug Lainer is a free man today. He framed me and almost got away with it. I could be going to the gas chamber today, and that's an outrage!

Investigators were back to square one. I thought it was over with. I was doing my best to get it buried and to get on with my life. To not know who did it and why is something you never stop thinking about. Is the person out there killing other people? After their son John was murdered, Dr. Richard Riggins and his wife Kate still had two younger children to raise. Son Robert and daughter Carrie.

Why did you move from Davis? I couldn't stand all the memories. And when you went to the hospital to go to work, you passed the morgue every day. And that was just too much for me. The lack of an arrest made it even harder. But by 2002, DNA science had advanced even more. The state crime lab was now routinely comparing DNA from cold cases to that of convicted criminals stored in a new database. When they uploaded the DNA from those semen stains on the blanket, incredibly, there was a hit.

The DNA match had been found. Scientists called it a 1 in 240 trillion match. It belonged to a suspect who is currently in prison up in the state of Washington. The suspect's name was Richard Hirschfield. Local investigators had never heard of him, but they soon learned he had a very dark past. Who is Richard Hirschfield? Richard Hirschfield is a serial sexual predator. Prosecutor Don Bleday.

He has victimized children and adults throughout his lifetime. Richard Joseph Hirschfield. I just think he is a vile human being, and he is the worst of the worst. At the time of the DNA hit, then 53-year-old Hirschfield was in prison for molesting two little girls. Many years earlier, in 1975,

he had been convicted of rape in Northern California. We're lucky to be alive, really. In 2006, 48 Hours spoke to his California victims, two sisters, Marge and Michelle, who didn't want their last names used. He had the gun. It had a silencer on it. No one would have heard. They were 22 and 16 at the time he entered their apartment demanding money. When they told him they had none.

He was mad, all right then, who wants to be raped? And then my sister offered herself instead of me. Anybody in my position would have done the same thing. She was my little sister. What are you thinking about right now? How it affected my life and made me fearful. Hirschfield served only five years in prison for that crime. He was paroled in July 1980.

He was able to convince people in the corrections field that he was not a danger. Five months later, John and Sabrina were murdered. If only he'd stayed in prison a little bit longer. If only he hadn't come to Davis. It just brought it all back again. But this time, Hirschfield wasn't going anywhere. He remained behind bars in Washington in the child

molestation case, while California investigators cemented theirs. There's a lot of work that goes on after the cold hit. Some people think you hear the DNA match, we have the suspect, that's the end of the story. This person came out of the blue. Did they have any connection to Sacramento? Did they know anyone in Davis? The answer to both questions was yes.

Hirschfield once had friends in Davis who lived across the street from the condo Andrea and Sabrina shared. And that's where authorities believe Sabrina and John were abducted. So this was five days before Christmas? Yes. Most of the students had gone home.

Like every university town, they just start their break, and this place is pretty vacant. Right. And because this place was deserted, no one could hear their cries if they were abducted in the complex. It's that and that night was extremely foggy, so your visibility is way down. Do you believe Hirschfield was stalking Sabrina?

Yes. I think Sabrina was selected because of her looks. She was very attractive and I don't think it was a coincidence that he happened upon her. Investigators also learned that Richard Hirschfield had her brother, Joseph, who was living in this house near Sacramento at the time of the murders. It's just a few miles from where the bodies were dumped. The assignment that my partner and I had was to go talk to him and ask him what he knew about his brother, Richard, in 1980.

And we let him know that Richard's a suspect in two murders from 1980. He was a little nervous throughout the interview. But my partner tells me, when you said DNA, he started shaking. We didn't know what to think. The next day, Joseph Hirschfeld got into his car and committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. The note he left behind was a bombshell. I have been living with this horror for 20 years. Richard did commit those murders, but I was there. I didn't kill anyone, but my DNA is still there.

Joseph's DNA was never found in the Riggins van, and no one knows exactly what role he played in the murders. But even with strong evidence, Richard's DNA and Joseph's suicide note, the case was moving at a snail's pace. It took ten years to bring this case to trial. That's true. Why? When the death penalty is on the table,

typically takes longer. Obviously, the stakes are higher. The sheer volume of materials was overwhelming and daunting. The case had over 200,000 pages of discovery. Hirschfield's defense team would file more than 200 motions and be granted many delays. And every delay was to his benefit, not ours. The victims should have a right to. We have a right to get this done.

It cost us, the state of California, the taxpayer millions of dollars. Is the system broken? You know what? I really do believe there is something horribly wrong with it. And time took its toll. Sabrina and Andrea's father, George, received a devastating diagnosis. He had Alzheimer's. He wanted to be at the trial.

He wanted to see justice done to the man who murdered his baby. And all he kept saying is, is it going to be fast enough? Am I going to be able to be there? Am I going to be able to testify? Finally, in September 2012, 10 years after the DNA hit and almost 32 years after the notorious murders, the trial of Richard Hirschfield was set to begin. From the award-winning masters of audio horror,

I see a face right up against the window. Bleach white, no hair, black eyes, a round hole for a mouth. It's flat, Taylor. It's completely flat. I don't know what that is. I don't know what kind of a head is flat. Look. What is that coming under the door? It's blood. Oh my god! Seven original, chilling tales, inspired by the Twilight Zone and Tales from the Crypt. Get back in your car. Lizzie, it's okay. I'm here now.

Josh, get in your car! Oh! No! No! No! No! No! Starring Bethany Joy Lenz, Clive Stanton and Michael O'Neill.

Welcome to the Dark Sanctum. Listen to Dark Sanctum Season 2 exclusively on Wondry+. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn, and it harboured a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reached the age of 10 that would still emerge. It just happens to all of them. I'm journalist Luke Jones, and for almost two years I've been investigating a shocking

story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with. In the Pitcairn trials I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery+, in the Wondery app, Apple podcasts or Spotify.

When his capital murder trial finally begins, the now 63-year-old Richard Hirschfield enters court in a wheelchair, barely resembling the menacing figure he once was. Why didn't you want to be in the courtroom to hear all that testimony, some of it graphic in nature? It's a matter of needing to be there. I wanted the jury to know that we were there, to know that we cared. Sabrina was also encompassed, her face in duct tape. These were not bodies on a slab. These were real people.

It covered her eyes, her nose, and her mouth. The prosecution has a powerful case against Hirschfield, starting with the DNA match. You cannot make somebody's DNA appear on evidence. Lead defense attorney Linda Parisi, that Mr. Hirschfield is wrongfully accused, does not deny his Hirschfield's DNA on the blanket, but insists it could have gotten there some other way. His DNA just magically appeared on its own on this blanket. I don't think it magically appeared at all. The van was open.

During that period of time, Mr. Hirschfield was in transition in terms of having a residence, and in fact, a person was seen sleeping in that van. That just makes no sense whatsoever, that someone who is a sexual predator happened upon a van that just was used in a double homicide and somehow deposited his semen. Prosecutor Dawn Bladet points out Sabrina's DNA was found mixed in with Hirschfield's, evidence of a sexual assault. That tells you that they were there at the same time.

Then there's Joseph Hirschfield's suicide note, implicating his brother Richard in the murders. Over defense objections... Did people call Lana Hirschfield? ...the jury hears from Joseph's widow, Lana. I then called Joseph to tell him that some detectives had been to her home and that they wanted to question him. It was 2002.

Shortly after the DNA hit, when investigators came calling, Lana sent them to Joseph's workplace. When he came home, can you describe how he was acting? He was very upset, and he was very red-faced. Was that normal for him? No, he was actually a very calm person. The next night, Lana discovered her husband's body in his car, along with that suicide note.

But I've been living with this horror for 20 years. I was there. My DNA is there. The prosecutor reads only part of that note to the jury because the defense has succeeded in getting the most incriminating part redacted. What the jury doesn't hear or see is this. Richard did commit those murders and I didn't kill anyone. We didn't believe that the suicide note is relevant or reliable. When people are planning their own death,

it is not at all uncommon for them to rewrite history. The prosecutor wants the jury to have no doubt which brother was capable of committing the murders. Judge Michael Sweet allows testimony from Richard Hirschfield's other victims because of similarities in the murders. Judge Michael Sweet allows testimony from Richard Hirschfield's other victims because of similarities in the crimes. The woman Hirschfield raped in 1975, Marge, is eager to help put him away for good. I think we've wasted enough time, enough energy, enough years.

I think he should get the death penalty. Marge takes the stand and confronts her rapist for the second time in 37 years. He took off his clothes, everything but his T-shirt, and then he sat on the couch. And where was the gun? He was still holding it. Was he pointing it anywhere? At my head.

I could feel it on my tumple. Marge's words are chilling as she identifies her attacker. Do you recognize the man in that photo? Yes, I do. And who is that? Richard Joseph Hirschfeld. And how do you know him? I will never forget him.

He is the man that raped me in 1975. Whoever did this had a... Faced with such damaging testimony, defense attorney Parisi decides her best strategy is to point the finger right back at the Hunk Group, in spite of the DNA pointing elsewhere. The focus is really on this Dave Hunk Group. This group was exonerated years ago.

They were not exonerated. It was not where there was a finding that they were not involved. It was a finding that their DNA did not match with what was found on the blanket. We would ask to call Raymond Gonzalez. The defense's star witness is a paid police informant who at one point committed robberies with David Hunt. Good morning, Mr. Gonzalez. 48 hours agreed not to show his face.

In 1987, detectives sent Ray Gonzalez to meet with Hunt associate Richard Thompson to try to get him to implicate David Hunt in the murders. Did he tell you about his participation in these murders? Yes, he did. What did he tell you? We talked and he had indicated that him and David Hunt were involved in it. You asked him some questions about that guy putting up a struggle. Do you have a recollection of that conversation? I talked about John Riggins? Yes.

He put up a struggle and David saw him down real quick. Apparently he had hit him with some sort of object or something and settled him down real quick. Although he was supposed to be secretly recording this meeting with Thompson, Gonzalez failed to get any of this alleged confession on tape. You ask me a lot of things I don't even remember. Some things I just don't recall. And maybe that's because he had 16 beers that night. How many beers did you have? I don't recall. A couple, two, three beers. Do you recall testifying previously in 1992

that you had about seven in the motel room and another nine in the bar? I don't recall that. If you had testified to that, would you have been testifying truthfully? Mm-hmm. But I don't recall. Ray Gonzalez is not an uncommon type of witness that we see. He's gotten cash for snitching on various people

since he was a teenager. While Gonzalez spends a great deal of time on the stand saying he couldn't remember, for David Hunt, this is one case he'd rather forget. How does it feel right now with the Hunt group back in the news? Well, it sucks. Ha ha ha.

This was such an ugly thing from the beginning. You know, just a straight, ugly, horrible story. I'm just tired of it. David Hunt and his crime associate, Richard Thompson, figured quite prominently. In the end, the defense never called on David Hunt to testify, and he was greatly relieved. He says he left his criminal life behind long ago

and found redemption through his Christian faith. I've done my best to straight my life out. That's all I can do. I understand that you're very, very ill. I have stage four cancer, pancreatic cancer, and I probably won't last that long. Hunt is hoping to live to see his name cleared once and for all with a guilty verdict against Hirschfeld.

My name is Richard Riggins, and I am the father of John Riggins. And as the case draws to a close... Our John and Sabrina were simply destroyed and left to die. Sabrina and John's families are hoping they can help make that verdict happen. I am physically sickened and enraged when I think of the terror, pain and horror they must have felt as they died in a ditch. of the terror, pain, and horror they must have felt as they died in a ditch. They say Hollywood is where dreams are made,

a seductive city where many flock to get rich, be adored, and capture America's heart. But when the spotlight turns off, fame, fortune, and lives can disappear in an instant. When TV producer Roy Raden was found dead in a canyon near LA in 1983, there were many questions surrounding his death. The last person seen with him was Laney Jacobs, a seductive cocaine dealer who desperately wanted to be part of the Hollywood elite.

Together, they were trying to break into the movie industry. But things took a dark turn when a million dollars worth of cocaine and cash went missing. From Wondery comes a new season of the hit show Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder. Follow Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of The Cotton Club Murder early and ad free right now by joining Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of the Cotton Club Murder early

and ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus. Harvard is the oldest and richest university in America. But when a social media fueled fight over Harvard and its new president broke out last fall, that was no protection. Claudine Gay is now gone. We've exposed the DEI regime, and there's much more to come.

This is The Harvard Plan, a special series from the Boston Globe and WNYC's On the Media. To listen, subscribe to On the Media wherever you get your podcasts. ["The New York Times"] The case against Richard Hirschfield is about to be handed to the jury, and the stakes couldn't be any higher. He deserves death?

Absolutely. You don't hesitate? No. Prosecutor Dawn Bleday delivers an emotional closing argument. I struggled because these crimes are so incomprehensible. They are so horrific that none of these words really capture the kind of evil that happened that night. Bleday reminds the jury of the strong physical evidence.

That DNA on that blanket is sex. Seamen is sex. This is a sexual crime. To cast doubt on the DNA, Linda Parisi suggests the blanket could have been contaminated through careless handling by investigators. They put it in this bag. We didn't make up this bag.

This bag isn't a stage prop. This bag is the for real bag. Lade doesn't mince words as she pounces on that other defense theory of how Hirschfield's DNA might have gotten on that blanket. So now what do they suggest to you? He's the random masturbator. He just happens to have the urge to relieve himself on an item inside that van.

It is November 5, 2012. We've been waiting and waiting and waiting. That's good. So nervous. The jury of seven men and five women deliberates less than three hours. We the jury in the above entitled cause... The verdict...

Find the defendant, Richard Joseph Hirshfield, guilty... Guilty in the murders of both John and Sabrina. Oh, my God. It is a huge relief for the families. We won't be able to bring him back, nor supreme, but we hope this is the beginning of justice for this horrendous case. The jury reconvenes three weeks later for sentencing. The people call Dr. Richard Riggins.

To decide whether Richard Hirschfield deserves the death penalty. Visualizing the way he died, wrapped up in tape, throat cut, thrown in a ditch, trying to breathe, knowing he's dying, and... it's good. A private man, Dr. Richard Riggins has never so publicly shared the deep pain of his loss. I wasn't there.

There was nothing I could do. So I'd failed in my biggest duty to him. And there is more gut-wrenching testimony from Sabrina's mother. This is really hard for me. I don't like to cry in front of other people. And I really don't like to cry in front of him. It ripped my heart out and it killed me. Or I wish it had, I wish it had been me.

You love your kids and you want the best for them their whole life. While the prosecutor pushes for the death penalty, defense attorney Parisi hopes the jury will show mercy and spare Hirschfield's life. Mr. Hirschfield didn't have an easy life. Some will say he didn't have a chance. His mother was raped by Mr. Hirschfield's father. His father was a very cruel man, physically, emotionally abusive. A lot of people have horrendous childhoods,

and they do not go out and murder and torture and become pedophiles. You had indicated earlier... And Parisi believes there's another reason her client cannot help being prone to violence. These are very abnormal scans. This constitutes brain damage. Defense witness Dr. Douglas Tucker has studied MRIs of Hirschfield's brain. This is a serious brain abnormality in an area of the brain that's involved with emotional processing and control over behavior. Okay, you're not saying that he can't exercise free will. No, I'm not saying anything like that. Not saying that he's not capable

of making decisions about what is right and what is wrong. I'm not saying that. You're not even saying that he's mentally ill, correct? I'm not saying that. The case goes to the jury for the second time. He chose death over life for John and Sabrina. He chose murder over mercy for his victims that day. This is the time to punish, but it's time for the killing to stop. This time, they deliberate for only two hours.

We, the jury, find that the penalty shall be death. It is the order of this court that you shall suffer the death penalty. And as Judge Michael Sweet later upholds the death sentence, he directly addresses Sabrina and John's families. It is January 25th, 2013, 32 years after the murders. You have endured so much. The tortured history of this case must have taken away any hope you

had that the person responsible for these acts would be discovered and held to answer. And it's my sincere and deep felt apologies for the tragedies you have suffered. Richard Hirschfield is evil. He is a very evil man and this is a very appropriate penalty. If you think about Hirschfield's contributions to society, what does he contribute? He's contributed humiliation, pain, and death. I can't believe it. It's over. I'm so relieved.

I'm so happy. And the families are forever grateful to the prosecutor who finally closed this case, a case she herself will never forget. Did you make a silent promise to these young victims? More than once, yeah. And I felt gratitude that I was able to come through for them.

I know that you'll never forget her, but emotionally, are you free now? I'm not free because I miss her, but he's out of our life. We never have to think about him again. I can just miss her. I can just think about that. And I'm really, we're really ready to do that. I'm really, we're really ready to do that. I'm really, we're really ready to do that. I'm really, we're really ready to do that.

I'm really, we're really ready to do that. Richard Hirschfield remains on death row, but California now has a moratorium on the death penalty. David Hunt died during the trial without seeing his name cleared. If you like this podcast, you can listen ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus and the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at Wondery.com slash survey. You don't believe in ghosts?

I get it. Lots of people don't. I didn't either until I came face to face with them. Ever since that moment, hauntings, spirits, and the unexplained have consumed my entire life. I'm Nadine Bailey. I've been a ghost tour guide for the past 20 years. I've taken people along with me into the shadows, uncovering the macabre tales that linger in the darkness, and inside some of the most haunted houses, hospitals, prisons, and more. Join me every week on my podcast, Haunted Canada, as we journey through terrifying and bone-chilling stories of the unexplained. Search for Haunted Canada on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Amazon Music,

or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. He was hip-hop's biggest mogul the man who redefined fame fortune and the music industry. The first male rapper to be honored. Did he built an empire and lived a life most people only dream about. Everybody know, ain't no party like a Diddy party, so. Yeah, that's what's up. But just as quickly as his empire rose, it came crashing down.

Today, I'm announcing the unsealing of a three-count indictment, charging Sean Combs with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, interstate transportation for prostitution. I was. I have brought bottom I made no excuses. Disgusting so sorry. Until you're wearing orange jumpsuit it's not real now it's real.

From his meteoric rise to his shocking fall from grace from law and crime this is the Rise and Fall of Diddy. Listen to the Rise and Fall of Diddy exclusively with Wondery+. Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondery Show American Scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in U.S. history. Presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud. In our latest series, NASA embarks on an ambitious program to reinvent space exploration with the launch of its first reusable vehicle, the Space Shuttle. And in 1985, they announce their

sending teacher Krista McAuliffe into space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger along with six other astronauts. But less than two minutes after liftoff, the Challenger explodes. And in the tragedy's aftermath, investigators uncover a series of preventable failures by NASA and its contractors that led to the disaster. Follow American Scandal on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season only on Wondery Plus. You can join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Start your free trial today.