John Albert Gardner

Last updated
John Albert Gardner III
John Gardner fixed.jpg
Gardner on September 18, 2000
Born (1979-04-09) April 9, 1979 (age 45)
Culver City, California
NationalityAmerican
Criminal statusIncarcerated
Parent(s)Cathy Osborn
John Gardner Sr.
Conviction(s) First degree murder with special circumstances (2 counts)
Assault with intent to commit rape
Committing a lewd act on a child under the age of 14 (2 counts)
Criminal penalty Life imprisonment without parole
Details
VictimsAmber Dubois, 14
Chelsea King, 17
DateFebruary 13, 2009
February 25, 2010
CountryUnited States
State(s)California

John Albert Gardner III (born April 9, 1979) is an American convicted double murderer, rapist, and child molester. [1] He confessed to the February 2009 rape and murder of 14-year-old Amber Dubois from Escondido, California, [2] [3] [4] and the February 2010 rape and murder of 17-year-old Chelsea King from Poway, California, after he entered a plea agreement that spared him from execution. Additionally, Gardner attempted to rape 22-year-old Candice Moncayo of San Diego County, and had been previously incarcerated for the molestation of a 13-year-old girl. [5]

Contents

Early life

Gardner was born in Culver City, California. His parents divorced and Gardner frequently relocated around Southern California as a child (including Lawndale, California, and Palmdale, California) and lived in Running Springs, California, as a teenager. [6] Gardner later said his father was an abusive alcoholic who beat him. [7] His mother, Cathy Osborn, was a psychiatric nurse, and Gardner was put on psychiatric medication starting at age 6. He was held in a psychiatric hospital for 60 days at age 10 (in 1989). [8]

As a student, Gardner was labeled "seriously emotionally disturbed." [9] He graduated from Rim of the World High School in Lake Arrowhead, California, in 1997 with a 3.2 grade point average and IQ of 113. [7] [10] He was also diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. [7]

While in high school, Gardner worked odd jobs including as a lifeguard at a resort in Lake Arrowhead. As a teenager, he was convicted of trespassing at a high school. After graduating from high school, Gardner moved to San Diego and worked at a Big 5 Sporting Goods store. [7]

Prior conviction

Gardner had been convicted in 2000 of molesting a 13-year-old female neighbor. He spent five years in prison and completed his parole in 2008 [11] although it was determined that he had violated the terms of his parole seven times, [12] including living too close to a school in 2007. Gardner was also investigated by his parole officer for possession of marijuana but this incident was dismissed. [13] Gardner was also being tracked by a GPS anklet up until four months before the murder of Amber Dubois. Gardner totaled 168 parole violations while wearing the anklet. According to GPS data, Gardner spent time close to several schools, in front of a daycare center, on prison grounds (where he was suspected of delivering contraband to a prisoner) and in remote locations where the remains of Amber Dubois were later discovered. [14]

Murders

Amber DuBois
Born
Amber Leeanne DuBois

(1994-10-25)October 25, 1994 [15]
Escondido, California, U.S. [15]
DiedFebruary 13, 2009(2009-02-13) (aged 14)
Pala, California, U.S.
Cause of deathHomicide by stabbing
Chelsea King
Born
Chelsea Alexandra King

(1992-07-01)July 1, 1992 [16]
Poway, California, U.S. [16]
DiedFebruary 25, 2010(2010-02-25) (aged 17)
Rancho Bernardo, California, U.S.
Cause of deathHomicide by strangulation

Gardner's first murder victim was 14-year-old Amber Dubois, who disappeared in February 2009. Her skeletal remains were later recovered by police in March 2010, after the police had questioned Gardner about her murder. Gardner had been arrested on February 28, 2010, in the Del Dios district of Escondido, California, when his DNA matched a DNA sample taken from the discarded clothing of Chelsea King, a senior from nearby Poway High School. [17] King had disappeared on February 25, 2010, while she was jogging in the early evening at the Rancho Bernardo Community Park, near Lake Hodges. FBI divers found her body five days later (on March 2, 2010) buried in a shallow grave on the southeast corner of the lake's inlet, where some of her clothes had been found. [18]

DNA evidence from King's clothing, along with a December 2009 attempted attack on a female jogger who managed to fight him off, led Escondido and San Diego police to patrol the area for a man fitting Gardner's description. He was arrested on February 28 at a bar and restaurant in Del Dios on the western shore of Lake Hodges in Escondido. A witness has indicated that Gardner revisited the park subsequent to King's disappearance. [19]

Guilty pleas

On April 16, 2010, Gardner pleaded guilty to the murder and rape of both Dubois (who disappeared on February 13, 2009, and whose skeletal remains were found near the northern border of the Pala California Indian Reservation on March 6, 2010) [20] and King in 2010 after the prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty. He admitted to kidnapping, raping, and stabbing Dubois. He also admitted to dragging King to a remote area where he raped and strangled her, and then buried the body. In addition, Gardner also admitted and pleaded guilty to attempting to rape Candice Moncayo in December 2009, who was able to fight back and escape. [21] Sentencing was set for June 1, 2010, although it took place on May 14, when Gardner was sentenced to two terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole. [22] [ citation needed ] Amber's parents, Chelsea's parents, and surviving victim Candice Moncayo all made impact statements prior to sentencing. In their statements, they described the impact Gardner's crimes had on their lives and their determination to see to it that Chelsea's Law, which was introduced by Assemblymen Nathan Fletcher, was passed. The bill, designed to help prevent similar crimes in the future, was signed into California state law by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on September 9, 2010. [23] As signed, Chelsea's Law mandates that some of the worst child molester offenders face lifetime prison sentences - a punishment previously reserved in California for murderers. In addition, some paroled child molesters deemed at risk of re-offending are barred from parks. [23] For Gardener's trial, the Kings retained Michael Fell, a California criminal lawyer and former prosecutor, who specializes in representing victims under Marsy's Law, the state constitutional amendment that guarantees legal rights for victims of crime. [24]

Sentencing

On May 14, 2010, Judge David Danielsen sentenced Gardner to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole, two terms of life imprisonment without parole for the murder and rape of Chelsea King and Amber Dubois, another term of 25 years to life for assault with attempt to commit a rape, and an additional 24 years of imprisonment for prior convictions. Since he entered the plea agreement, Gardner waived his right to appeal. [22] [25]

Gardner is currently incarcerated at Mule Creek State Prison.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Men's Colony</span> American male-only state prison

California Men's Colony (CMC) is an American male-only state prison located northwest of the city of San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo County, California, along the central California coast approximately halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Prison, Corcoran</span> Prison in California

California State Prison, Corcoran (COR) is a male-only state prison located in the city of Corcoran, in Kings County, California. It is also known as Corcoran State Prison, CSP-C, CSP-COR, CSP-Corcoran, and Corcoran I. The facility is just north of the newer California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Corcoran.

Mark Anthony "Gator" Rogowski is an American former professional skateboarder who was convicted of murder. He was mainly prominent in the 1980s and early 1990s. Rogowski's career ended when he pled guilty for assaulting, raping, and murdering Jessica Bergsten in 1991. His life was chronicled in a critically acclaimed 2003 documentary titled Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator by American filmmaker Helen Stickler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Albert Taylor</span> American executed in 1996 for a Utah murder

John Albert Taylor was an American who was convicted of burglary and carrying a concealed weapon in the state of Florida, and sexual assault and murder in the state of Utah. Taylor's own sister tipped off police in June 1989 after 11-year-old Charla King was found raped and strangled to death in Washington Terrace, Utah. His fingerprints were found at the crime scene, which was located in an apartment complex where he had been staying. In December 1989, Taylor was sentenced to death and placed on death row at Utah State Prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Kidnapping Act</span> United States federal criminal law prohibitting kidnapping

Following the historic Lindbergh kidnapping, the United States Congress passed a federal kidnapping statute—known as the Federal Kidnapping Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(1) —which was intended to let federal authorities step in and pursue kidnappers once they had crossed state lines with their victim. The act was first proposed in December 1931 by Missouri Senator Roscoe Conkling Patterson, who pointed to several recent kidnappings in the Missouri area in calling for a federal solution. Initial resistance to Patterson's proposal was based on concerns over funding and state's rights. Consideration of the law was revived following the kidnapping of Howard Woolverton in late January 1932. Woolverton's kidnapping featured prominently in several newspaper series researched and prepared in the weeks following his abduction, and were quite possibly inspired by it. Two such projects, by Bruce Catton of the Newspaper Enterprise Association and Fred Pasley of the Daily News of New York City, were ready for publication within a day or two of the Lindbergh kidnapping. Both series, which ran in papers across North America, described kidnapping as an existential threat to American life, a singular, growing crime wave in which no one was safe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence Singleton</span> American murderer (1927–2001)

Lawrence Bernard "Larry" Singleton was an American criminal known for perpetrating an infamous rape and mutilation of adolescent hitchhiker Mary Vincent in California in 1978, and then perpetrating a second attack on a woman after being released from prison eight years later. He raped Mary and cut off her forearms, then left her to die in a culvert off Interstate 5 in Del Puerto Canyon. Mary managed to hike to safety and later acted as a critical witness against Singleton. Released from prison on good behavior after serving eight years of his fourteen-year sentence, he later murdered Roxanne Hayes, a mother of three. On February 19, 1997, police found him covered in blood after stabbing her in his new home.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Erskine</span> American serial killer

Scott Thomas Erskine was an American serial killer on California's death row, convicted in 2003 for the 1993 murder of two California boys. He was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parole Board of Canada</span>

The Parole Board of Canada is the Canadian government agency that is responsible for reviewing and issuing parole and criminal pardons in Canada. It operates under the auspices of Public Safety Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mule Creek State Prison</span> California State Prison for men

Mule Creek State Prison (MCSP) is a California State Prison for men. It was opened in June 1987, and covers 866 acres (350 ha) located in Ione, California. The prison has a staff of 1,242 and an annual operating budget of $157 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Ray Hatcher</span> American serial killer

Charles Ray Hatcher was an American serial killer. He was convicted in Missouri of one murder, has been linked to four others in Illinois and California, and confessed to having murdered a total of 16 people between 1969 and 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ripper Crew</span> American cult and organized crime group

The Ripper Crew or the Chicago Rippers was an organized crime group of serial killers, cannibals, rapists, and necrophiles. The group was composed of Robin Gecht and three associates: Edward Spreitzer, and brothers Andrew and Thomas Kokoraleis. They were suspected in the murders of 17 women in Illinois in 1981 and 1982, as well as the unrelated fatal shooting of a man in a random drive-by shooting. According to one of the detectives who investigated the case, Gecht "made Manson look like a Boy Scout."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Cara Knott</span> 1986 murder

Cara Evelyn Knott was an American student at San Diego State University who disappeared on December 27, 1986, while driving from her boyfriend's home in Escondido, California, to her parents' house in El Cajon. The following day, December 28, Knott's car was found on a dead-end road at the Mercy Road offramp from Interstate 15 in San Diego County. Her body was recovered at the bottom of a 65-foot ravine nearby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Carpenter</span> American serial killer on death row

David Joseph Carpenter, known as The Trailside Killer, is an American serial killer and serial rapist known for stalking and murdering a variety of individuals on hiking trails in state parks near San Francisco, California. He attacked at least ten individuals and was convicted in seven murders and was confirmed to be the killer in an eighth murder; Carpenter is also suspected in two additional killings. Two victims, Steven Haertle and Lois Rinna, mother of television personality Lisa Rinna, survived. Carpenter used a .38 caliber handgun in all but one of the killings. A .44 caliber handgun was used in the killing of Edda Kane on Mount Tamalpais.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility</span> Prison near San Diego, California

Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility (RJD) is a California state prison in unincorporated southern San Diego County, California, near San Diego. It is a part of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The facility sits on 780 acres (320 ha). It is the only state prison in San Diego County.

Robin Ann Sax is an author, lawyer, clinical therapist, legal analyst, radio host, an HLN contributor, and a former prosecutor for the State of California, County of Los Angeles and Riverside County District Attorney's Office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Fell</span> American lawyer

Michael L. Fell is a California criminal lawyer and former prosecutor, who concentrates in representing victims under Marsy's Law, the state constitutional amendment that guarantees legal rights for victims of crime. He is the founder of Justice 4 Crime Victims (J4CV), representing crime victims and their families during the criminal prosecution of their offenders. J4CV offers legal representation to crime victims before, during and after the perpetrators have been tried for their crimes. Fell has represented victims' families in such notable cases as the molestation-murder of San Diego teenager Chelsea King, and the deaths at the hands of a drunken driver of major league baseball pitcher Nick Adenhart, aspiring sports agent Henry Pearson and Cal State Fullerton cheer leading beauty Courtney Stewart, as well as the serious injury of former Cal State Fullerton baseball great Jon Wilhite.

Caitlin Rother is a New York Times bestselling non-fiction, true crime American-Canadian author and journalist who lives in San Diego, California.

<i>Lost Girls</i> (non-fiction book) 2012 non-fiction book by Caitlin Rother

Lost Girls is a 2012 non-fiction book by the American-Canadian author and journalist Caitlin Rother about the rape and murder of teenage girls Amber Dubois in 2009 and Chelsea King in 2010 at the hands of John Albert Gardner. It was published in July 2012 by Kensington Books. It was the author's eighth book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Kirkland</span> American serial killer on death row

Anthony Kirkland is an American serial killer. Between 2006 and 2009, Kirkland murdered two women and two girls in the Cincinnati area, following a 16-year prison term for the 1987 killing of his girlfriend.

Roberto V. Arguelles, known as The Salt Lake City Strangler, was an American serial killer and sex offender who, while serving a life term for child molestation, confessed to raping and killing at least one woman and three teenagers in West Valley City, Utah, from February to March 1992. He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death for the murders, but died from a bowel obstruction at the Utah State Prison before the sentence could be carried out.

References

  1. Gustafson, Craig. "Suspect pleads not guilty to Chelsea King murder". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
  2. Lohr, David. "Did System Fail Slain California Teen Chelsea King?". AOL News. Archived from the original on 2010-03-09. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
  3. "Amber Dubois' Father Speaks After Gardner Arraignment". 10news.com. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
  4. "Police: Remains of California teen Amber Dubois found". CNN. 2010-03-08. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
  5. "Gardner Plea Agreement" (PDF). The San Diego Union-Tribune . Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-06-06. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
  6. Figueroa, Teri (March 9, 2010). "Old report offers peek into Gardner's past". North County Times. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Marosi, Richard (March 10, 2010). "A chilling early view of an accused killer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  8. Tony Perry (October 14, 2012). "Review: 'Lost Girls' by Caitlin Rother is a close look at a killer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  9. Matthew T. Hall and Jeff McDonald (March 6, 2010). "Picture emerges of suspect as deeply troubled". U-T San Diego. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  10. Musa, Jennifer. "Sex Offender John Gardner's Former Friend Speaks Out". KSWB. Retrieved November 17, 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  11. Search for Chelsea King: Monday. "Search for Chelsea King focuses on Lake Hodges area". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
  12. Gardner, Michael (2010-03-13). "Gardner not kept on short leash, documents show". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
  13. "Convicted sex offender John Albert Gardner III violated parole before allegedly committing murder". Daily News. New York. Associated Press. 2010-03-12. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
  14. "Parolees' GPS alert backlog targeted". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Jun 16, 2010. Retrieved Oct 18, 2019.
  15. 1 2 Rother 2012, p. 155.
  16. 1 2 Rother 2012, p. 8.
  17. Edecio Martinez (2010-03-04). "Chelsea King: Official Says DNA Found in Clothes Links Sex Offender". CBS News. Archived from the original on March 7, 2010.
  18. Gustafson, Craig (2010-03-02). "Thousands of mourners gather for Chelsea King". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
  19. "Woman describes encounter with Gardner at RB park". cbs8.com KFMB Channel 8. Archived from the original on 2010-03-09. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
  20. "Police: Remains of California teen Amber DuBois found". CNN. Retrieved Oct 18, 2019.
  21. "CNN.com". CNN.
  22. 1 2 Elliot Spagat, Associated Press Writer (2010-05-15). "Killer of 2 California girls gets life in prison". ABC News. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
  23. 1 2 Lagos, Marisa (2010-09-10). "Today in History". The San Francisco Chronicle.
  24. "Victims? Bill of Rights - Office of Victims' Services - California Dept. Of Justice - Office of the Attorney General". Archived from the original on 2011-10-26. Retrieved 2011-08-26.
  25. Joseph Peña, SDNN. "Confessed killer John Gardner sentenced to life for Chelsea and Amber's murders". Sdnn.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2010-05-15.

Sources