Ryan Hoyt | |
---|---|
Born | Ryan James Hoyt August 10, 1979 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Known for | Murder of Nicholas Markowitz |
Conviction(s) | First degree murder with special circumstances |
Criminal penalty | Death; commuted to life imprisonment |
Ryan James Hoyt (born August 10, 1979) is a former associate of Jesse James Hollywood who was convicted of the murder of Nicholas Markowitz on August 9, 2000. [1] He reportedly owed Hollywood money for drugs and was offered the opportunity to kill Markowitz as a way of erasing his debt. [2]
During his trial, Hoyt took the stand and told the court he did not remember confessing to killing Markowitz. [3] [4] In November 2001, Hoyt was convicted of first-degree murder [5] and was sentenced to death. [6] In January 2024, Hoyt had his death sentence commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole. [7]
In the film Alpha Dog , the character Elvis Schmidt was modeled after Hoyt. The role was played by actor Shawn Hatosy. [8]
Diane Alexis Whipple was an American lacrosse player and college coach. She was killed in a dog attack in San Francisco on January 26, 2001. The dogs involved were two Presa Canarios. Paul Schneider, the dogs' owner, is a high-ranking member of the Aryan Brotherhood and is serving three life sentences in state prison. The dogs were looked after by Schneider's attorneys, Robert Noel and Marjorie Knoller, a husband and wife who lived in the same apartment building as Whipple. After the fatal attack, the state brought criminal charges against the attorneys. Noel, who was not present during the attack, was convicted of manslaughter. Knoller, who was present, was charged with implied-malice second-degree murder and convicted by the jury. Knoller's murder conviction, an unusual result for an unintended dog attack, was rejected by the trial judge but ultimately upheld. The case clarified the meaning of implied malice murder.
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Jesse James Hollywood is an American former drug dealer who kidnapped and ordered the murder of Nicholas Markowitz in 2000. He was arrested in 2005 and is serving life at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California.
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Nicholas Samuel Markowitz was an American teenager who was kidnapped and murdered at the age of 15 after a feud over drug money between his half-brother Benjamin Markowitz and Jesse James Hollywood.
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