Police Investigator II : Case Review Quiz

Answer: the four officers were killed in the same gun battle

This tragic episode in California law enforcement history unfolded on a Sunday evening, April 6, 1970, in the small community of Newhall, about 35 miles north of Los Angeles.

Case Particulars:
Two California Highway Patrol officers, Walt Frago and Roger Gore, were on routine patrol when they monitored a broadcast on their police radio, of a vehicle traveling in their area that possibly contained an occupant who had been seen brandishing a firearm. The officers spotted a vehicle matching the description given, radioed for assistance (back-up), and proceeded to initiate a "traffic stop" of the vehicle in the parking lot of "J's Coffee Shop and Standard Station", just off of the Interstate 5 freeway. Once stopped, the officers approached the vehicle, one officer on each side of the vehicle. The door on the passenger side unexpectedly swung open, and the passenger exited the vehicle, pointed a gun at Officer Frago, and fired two shots, point blank, striking him in the chest. Frago was killed instantly. Officer Gore, who was on the drivers side of the vehicle, surprised by the sound of the gun shots, pulled his service weapon, and fired one shot at the suspect. At the same time, the driver of the vehicle fired two shots at Gore, mortally wounding him. Within seconds, the back-up police unit arrived. Not seeing either the suspects or the fallen officers, the two responding officers, James Pence and George Alleyn, immediately found themselves under gunfire. Officer Pence was able to radio what would be his last radio message, "11-99" (officers need help) "shots fired". Following a brief, violent gun battle, both officers were killed, and the two suspects escaped.
The two gun battles lasted less than five minutes total.
Law enforcement officers in the area flooded the location and launched a massive dragnet. Some eight hours later, the suspects were located, barricaded in a house, nearly four miles from the original shooting scene.
Officers from the California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department quickly surrounded the house. When a sheriff's department tactical team breached the house, one suspect, Jack Wright Twining, committed suicide by placing the muzzle of the shotgun he had taken from Officer Frago under his chin, and pulling the trigger. The second suspect, Bobby Augustus Davis, surrendered, and was taken into custody.

Final outcome/Disposition of Case:
* Bobby Davis, was convicted of four counts of murder, and sentenced to die in the California Gas Chamber.
In 1972, the California Supreme Court ruled the death penalty to be "cruel and unusual" and Davis' sentence, along with those of all other inmates on California's death row, was commuted to a "life sentence".
* A thorough investigative review of the incident resulted in sweeping changes in law enforcement procedures, especially regarding the stopping and approaching of hi-risk or felony subjects, the use of bulletproof vest, and methods used to place suspects under arrest.
* CHP Officer James E. Pence was killed in the line of duty. (gunshot wound)
* CHP Officer Roger D. Gore was killed in the line of duty. (gunshot wound)
* CHP Officer Walt C. Frago was killed in the line of duty. (gunshot wound)
* CHP Officer George M. Alleyn was killed in the line of duty. (gunshot wound)
* Jack Wright Twining, suspected killer of four CHP Officers, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to avoid capture by law enforcement officers.

Answer: slammed into a tree during a downhill ski run

While on a holiday ski trip, Congressman Bono was killed during a downhill ski run, when he collided with a tree.

Case Particulars:
During the holiday ski trip to Heavenly Ski Resort, on the Nevada side near South Lake Tahoe, Bono, while on a downhill ski run, collided into a tree, resulting in fatal injuries.
According to his wife, Mary, at the time of his death, Bono was addicted to pain killers, taking as many as 20 pills a day.

Bono, an accomplished entertainer, business man, and restaurateur, represented the 44th Congressional District, which covered portions of San Diego, Orange, and Riverside counties in Southern California.

Before being elected to Congress in 1994, Bono served a term as Mayor of the City of Palm Springs, California from 1988 until 1992.
On the Republican ticket, Bono ran two successful campaigns for Congress in 1994 and 1996, receiving 55.9% and 57.8% of the popular vote, respectively.

Bono gained fame prior to his political career as a pop singer, teaming up with his then wife, Cheryl Sarkisian LaPiere, performing as Sonny and Cher.
Together, the duo released their first album, "Look At Us" (1965), which contained their number one hit single, "I Got You Babe". Between 1965 and 1972, Sonny and Cher charted six "Top Ten Hits" on the Billboard music Chart. The couple also hosted two television variety shows, "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour" (1971), and the year following their divorce ("The Sonny and Cher Show") in 1976.
At his funeral, the eulogy was delivered by his former wife, Cher.

Final Outcome/Disposition of Case:
The death of Congressman Salvatore Philip "Sonny" Bono was ruled "accidental", with blunt force trauma as the direct cause of death, both by police investigation and by a coroner's inquest.

Answer: mass suicide

In what has been described as religious cult mass suicide, members of a UFO based religious group known as "Heavens Gate" ended their existence with the deaths of 39 members. Their Earthly departure was planned to coincide with the 1997 appearance of the Comet Hale-Bopp.

Case Particulars:
The concept of the religion was the brainstorm of its creator, Marshall Applewhite, who experienced "visions" while in the hospital, recovering from a near fatal heart attack. Applewhite shared his "insightful visions" with one of his hospital nurse, Bonnie Nettles, and the structure of the religious cult was initiated.
Applewhite envisioned the end of the world, and believed that the only escape and chance for survival would be to leave the planet before the catastrophic Earth ending event, and to return at a later time.
Suicide was not a part of Heaven's Gate creed, but it was felt that survival depended on the ability for their spirits to leave the Earth, and return later to reform the world. Applewhite and his followers believed that their spirits could "hitch a ride" from the Earth when the Comet Hale-Bopp passed the Earth in 1997.
Members of the group lived in a communal environment in a rented mansion in San Diego County.
Group members maintained strong convictions to an "ascetic" lifestyle, avoiding many personal luxuries, and dedicated to the equal sharing of all resources. Several male members of the group, including Applewhite, underwent voluntary surgical castration as proof of their commitment.

In their mansion, located in the upscale community of Rancho Santa Fe, in San Diego, 39 bodies were discovered on March 26, 1997.
The investigation revealed that the cause of death in each case was due to the ingestion of phenobarbital (mixed into applesauce) and consumption of vodka, along with plastic bags secured around the heads of the victims to induce asphyxiation.
All victims were found neatly in their individual bunk beds, with their faces and torsos covered by a square purple cloth. All 39 members wore identical outfits, black shirts and sweat pants, and a new pair of black and white Nike athletic shoes. Each member wore an armband patch which read "Heaven's Gate Away Team."
Each member carried in their pocket, a five dollar bill, and three quarters.
It appeared that the suicides had been committed in small groups, with the remaining members cleaning up the premises after the deaths of each group.
So overwhelmed was the San Diego County Coroner's Office with the mass suicide, they requested and received assistance from the Los Angeles County Coroners Office, a much larger department, that was able to dispatch personnel and several refrigerated truck to assist in managing the tragic situation.

Final Outcome/Disposition of Case:
* The deaths of all 39 members of "Heaven's Gate" congregation was determined by law enforcement and coroner office officials to have been the result of mass suicide.

Answer: Ronald Lyle Goldman

Ronald Lyle Goldman was born on July 2, 1968 in Cook County, Illinois. His murder came on June 12, 1994, at the age of 25. By all accounts, Goldman was a good natured, innocent victim who had the misfortune of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Case Particulars:
At the time of his murder, Goldman, a male model, was working as a waiter at Mezzaluna Trattoria, an upscale restaurant in the fashionable Brentwood section of Los Angeles, California. Nicole Brown Simpson, a casual friend of Goldman, called the restaurant to report that her mother, Juditha Brown, had left her eyeglasses in the restaurant earlier that evening.
Following a brief search, the eyeglasses were located, and Goldman offered to bring them to her home when his work shift ended.
When he arrived at Brown's condominium, also located in Brentwood, he was murdered along with Nicole Brown Simpson on the walkway leading to the entrance of the residence.
Speculation by police investigators was that Goldman arrived either during or shortly after the stabbing death of Nicole Brown Simpson, and was himself attacked and stabbed. The autopsy of Goldman's body revealed that death was the result of several stab wounds to his torso, any one of which would have been fatal. A superficial slit of the throat, and a deep gash wound to the throat were also apparent.
Football Hall of Famer and celebrity O. J. Simpson, the former husband of Brown, was subsequently arrested, charged, and tried for the murders. Following a widely publicized jury trial, often referred to as the "trial of the century", Simpson was acquitted of criminal charges.

Final Results/Disposition of Case:
* Death of Nicole Brown Simpson was the result of homicide.
* Death of Ronald Lyle Goldman was the result of homicide.
* Orenthal James "O.J." Simpson, the only person ever arrested and tried for the double murders, was acquitted of criminal charges.
* In a civil action, O.J. Simpson was found to be liable for the two deaths, and assessed with a multi-million dollar fine. Results for a civil trial are based on "a preponderates of evidence", a lesser standard that is required in a criminal trial, where "proof beyond a reasonable doubt is required for a conviction.

Answer: committed suicide by shooting herself while on air

In addition to a career as an on-air newscaster, Christine Chubbuck suffered from major depression, due in part to a failed romance with a co-worker and occasional conflicts with her television broadcast staff members over the content of her news stories.

Case Particulars:
It all came to a head on the morning of July 15, 1974, when Christine started her daily news broadcast. The first eight minutes of the broadcast appeared routine to viewers as she reported on three national news stories. Her fourth story was involved a shooting at a local restaurant. The video tape for the story jammed, and could not be broadcast as planned. Chubbuck continued with her news report, announcing to her live viewing audience, "In keeping with channel W's policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts, and in living color, you're going to see another first ... attempted suicide."
With those words, Chubbuck pulled out a revolver she had previously placed under her desk, and shot herself behind her left ear. Chubbuck fell forward as the television screen faded slowly to black. Many of the crew and viewers thought it was an elaborate hoax. When Jean Reed, the camera person for the broadcast, saw Chubbuck's twitching body, she realized that the event was authentic.
Chubbuck was rushed to Sarasota Memorial Hospital. Fourteen hours later, Chubbuck was pronounced dead.
In an ironic twist, following the incident, the news director, Mike Simmons, found that the notes Chubbuck had been reading for her news stories, contained a complete script of her program, including both her shooting, and the fact that she would be taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital. Her script also contained a third-person account of the shooting, to be read by her replacement. That script called for Chubbuck's condition in the hospital to be listed as "critical."
When news of Chubbuck's death reached the assignment desk of the news stations producers, the staff of the television station, WXLT-TV, were directed to release the information to other stations using Chubbuck's script.

Final Outcome/Disposition of Case:
The death of Christine Chubbuck was ruled suicide, from a self inflicted gunshot wound.

Answer: died in the crash of a small airplane

Murphy perished when the private plane in which he was a passenger, crashed into Brush Mountain, near Roanoke, Virginia. The pilot and four other passengers died when the small plane went down.

Case Particulars:
During World War II, Murphy received 33 awards and medals, including the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest military award for a U.S. Armed Forces member.
Following the war Murphy, who was credited with the killing of over 240 enemy soldiers and the wounding of many more, during 27 months of combat duty, Murphy experienced months of post war nightmares, bouts of insomnia, and reportedly slept with a loaded .45 caliber pistol always nearby.
Murphy suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which was then known as "combat fatigue".
Murphy later became an actor in Hollywood movies and was featured in nearly 50 motion pictures, 33 of which were Western movies. Murphy's fatal plane crash came as he was en route to a business meeting, as the private plane flew in thick fog.

Murphy was buried with full military honors, in Arlington National Cemetery (grave 366-11, section 46). His grave site is the second most visited site in the cemetery, surpasses only by that of John F. Kennedy.

Final Outcome/Disposition of Case:
Audie Murphy, along with five others aboard the plane, died of injuries sustained during the crash of their aircraft.

Answer: ambushed and murdered by cult members

Congressman Leo J Ryan, along with several members of his entourage were killed in an ambush by members of the People's Temple" religious cult, on a jungle airstrip, preparing to depart from Guyana, in South America.

Case Particulars:
Without warning, Larry Layton, a People's Temple member aboard one of the two aircraft posing as a cult defector, pulled a gun and opened fire on the occupants of the plane, while it was on the ground preparing for take off, wounding several passengers, When the shooting started, several heavily armed People's Temple members who had escorted the group to the airstrip opened fire on the second plane, killing Ryan, three news journalists, and a defecting People's Temple member, and wounding nine other passengers. The gunmen continued to spray gunfire on Congressman Ryan's fallen body before shooting him at point blank in the face.

Ryan was visiting the People's Temple compound in Jonestown, Guyana as part of a U.S. government fact-finding investigation into the rumors of mistreatment lodged by his constituents who had relatives as part of the People's Temple Congregation. The trip was part of Ryan's role as the chairman of a congressional subcommittee with jurisdiction over U.S. citizens living in foreign countries. Ryan's full entourage included 17 Bay Area relatives of People's Temple members, several newspaper reporters, a NBC TV news team, and members of Ryan's congressional office staff. Ryan's mission was in part to determine if any members of the People's Temple group were being held in Guyana against their wishes, as was widely reported by media sources and concerned relatives of some members.
The group departed Washington D.C. on November 14, 1978. and arrived in Georgetown, the capitol of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, and about 150 miles away from the People's Temple compound in Jonestown.

Final Outcome/Disposition of Case:
* U.S. Congressman Leo J. Ryan died at the hands of another, from multiple gunshot wounds. Ryan was the first, and only Congressman to be killed in the line of his official duties.
* Larry Layton, the People's Temple member who boarded one of the planes posing as a defector, and who initiated the gunfire, was tried and convicted in the United States, for criminal acts relating to the murders in Jonestown.
* On March 3, 1987, Layton was sentenced to concurrent sentences of life in prison for "aiding and abetting the murder of Congressman Leo Ryan", "conspiracy to murder an internationally protected person, Richard Dwyer, Deputy Chief of Mission for the United States in the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, as well as fifteen years in prison for other related counts.
Layton was released from prison in April of 2002, after spending eighteen years in prison.

Answer: murdered by terrorist

Angell and his wife, Lynn, were passengers on American Airlines Flight #11, flying from Boston to their home in Los Angeles, California, when their plane was hijacked by terrorist on September 11, 2001, and deliberately flown into the North tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

Angell served as the creator and or executive produces for the award winning television series "Cheers" (1983) and "Frasier" (1993).

Final Outcome/Disposition of Case:
* David Angell's death was classified as a homicide, committed by terrorist.
* Lynn Angell's death was classified as a homicide, committed by terrorist.
* All 87 passengers and crew of the ill fated fight (including the terrorist) perished in the crash.

Answer: drowning

Mary Jo Kopechne died on the evening of July 18, 1969, on Chappaquiddick Island, just off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
While crossing a small bridge, the vehicle in which Kopechne was a passenger, veered off of the side of the bridge, and landed upside down into a body of water. While the driver of the vehicle was able to escape, Kopechne drowned in the submerged vehicle. The driver of the vehicle was United States Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass).

Case Particulars:
The "Boiler Room Girls" was the name given to six young, single women who had played a key roles in the late Robert F. Kennedy's presidential campaign, and had worked to close the files and office of Kennedy after his assassination in Los Angeles, California.
Earlier that evening, the six girls, along with six men (all married, but without their wives present) attended a party in honor of the Boiler Room Girls, at a small rented cottage on the Island.
Kopechne reportedly accepted a ride offered by Sen. Kennedy, to the marina landing where she was to catch the last ferry that was due to depart the island that evening.

Following the accident, Kennedy stated that he made several unsuccessful attempts to reach Kopechne, repeatedly diving into the water. Exhausted from his rescue attempts, Kennedy stated that he rested for about 15 minutes before walking another 15 minutes back to the location of the party. Kennedy then reportedly informed several of the male guests of the incident, and they returned with Kennedy to the scene of the accident to attempt a rescue. The group was unable to reach Kopechne due to the strong currents in the water.
For reasons not fully explained, no one in the group bothered to contact the authorities to report the accident at the time.
Authorities were notified eight hours later, when two local fishermen happened upon the accident scene and observed the submerged vehicle. Police diver responding to the location were able to extricate Kopechne's body. A police check of the vehicle revealed that the vehicle was registered to Sen. Kennedy, who was contacted and questioned about their gruesome find. Kennedy originally denied any knowledge of the accident, but under police questioning, later acknowledged his involvement in the accident.
Kennedy later pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident after causing injury.
The unusual circumstances of the matter, along with Kennedy's inability to explain fully his actions is believed to be one of the major reasons that he was never able to mount a successful bid for Presidency of the United States.

Final Outcome/Disposition of Case:
* Mary Jo Kopechne died as a result of drowning, after being involved in an automobile accident, in which the vehicle was submerged after plunging into a body of water.
* United States Senator Ted Kennedy, the surviving driver of the vehicle, received a two month suspended jail sentence and one year of probation after pleading guilty and being convicted of "leaving the scene of an accident after causing injury."

Answer: gunshot wound

Jones died from an apparently self inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He died with over 900 members of his religious cult congregation at their compound, known as Jonestown in Guyana.

Case Particulars:
Jones was the leader of a religious sect known as "The People's Temple". Jones and his San Francisco, California-Bay Area church relocated to a jungle location in Guyana, that was leased by the church in 1974. Jones set up a governmental structure for the community of church follower, maintaining absolute rule over the congregation. Reports of harsh treatment of church members and members being held against their will circulated back in the United States, primarily by former church members and defectors.
In November of 1974, United States Congressman Leo J. Ryan took an entourage to Jonestown, Guyana, on a fact-finding mission of the allegations against the church.
On November 18, 1974, as Ryan and his group were in the process of leaving Guyana after their four day visit, when the group was ambushed at Port Kaitama, a jungle airstrip, by members of the People's Temple, under the direct orders of Jones. Five people, including Congressman Ryan were murdered.
Jones and his group had been under increased media scrutiny based on the allegations of former members, and he knew that once word of Ryan's murder
reached the United States, he would be forced to face the wrath of an angry government.
That evening, Jones ordered his congregation to drink a cyanide-laced grape flavored Flavor Aid drink, as a show of their solidarity and commitment to Jones. This drill had been rehearsed numerous times without the addition of the fatal component.
That evening, 918 members of the congregation, including over 270 children died in a mass suicide, which became one of the greatest single loss of America civilian life in a non-natural disaster, a record that was not surpassed until the World Trade Center murders on September 11, 2001.

Final Outcome/Disposition of Case:
The investigation and autopsy on Jim Jones revealed that the angle of the gunshot wound that caused the death on Jones was consistent with a self-inflicted wound.