It was a beer can that gave cold case detectives the evidence they needed to make an arrest in a 1987 homicide on Friday. Detective Peter Willover spends his time poring over homicide and rape crimes committed before DNA became a routine part of police work. He is a reserve officer who previously spent 40 years as a detective with the Sacramento Police Department. “I’ve probably reviewed close to 100 cases,” he said Wednesday. “We focus on cases that may provide DNA evidence.” One of those cases was the 1987 stabbing death of 52-year-old Richard Schultz in an alley near 21st and K streets. At the time, homicide detectives had a vague description of a man who had allegedly stabbed Schul

  MURDER, MAYHEM, GHOSTS AND LIVE TV. ALL IN A DAYS WORK! Everything that could possibly go wrong on a live television segment at a haunted spot happened the morning of Oct 26th, 2010. As I was preparing for investigating the site with GOOD DAY SACRAMENTO # 31 (KMAX-TV) the transmitting cable on their truck went haywire forcing them to bring in another truck, and the mikes for Marianne McClary, anchor and seasoned reporter, went dead and had to be changed several times. I knew then that we were in for a bumpy ride. Chalk another up to restless spirits causing excitement. The Dorothea Puente Murder House in Sacramento, California at this moment is a powder keg waiting to explode. Espec

Most law-abiding citizens would rather not dabble in any business involving murder and mayhem, but Evangeline’s Costume Mansion finds a way to entice even its best-behaved visitors. A quick visit can turn into an entertaining hour of aimless milling around. But now customers can infuse some purpose into their wandering as they guide themselves through a murder-themed scavenger hunt, gathering interesting facts at stations throughout the store about some of history’s most notorious villains and gruesome killers. Evangeline’s store manager Jen Kossmann is responsible for organizing and implementing the hunt into the already-overwhelming layout of the store. Kossmann said the design for eac

Before this week, he could have been best described as your average, typical 23-year-old male. A love of cars, technology and fashion is evident from the photos and descriptions that litter his online MySpace and Facebook profiles. Comments from friends show he was much loved and adored, but now those same friends are showing signs of solidarity and support for a man accused of murder. "My heart goes out to you," friend Christopher Williams wrote Michael "Mykel" Weisz's MySpace profile. "I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt someone on purpose." But that's exactly what authorities say Weisz did Wednesday morning when he allegedly ran down 64-year-old security guard Leroy Fisher with hi

From Norm Leong of the Sacramento Police Department: The Sacramento Police Department has arrested Jeremy Ackerman, Johnathan Baker and Nadine Klein for the murder of 23-year-old James Arthur. On Wednesday, June 10, 2009, at 5:18 p.m., the Sacramento Police Department responded to the 600 block of 22nd Street regarding a possible dead body. Officers arrived and found the victim with stab wounds. The victim, later identified as James Arthur, was located after his mother became concerned that she had not heard from him for numerous days. A neighbor was asked to check on James and found him dead inside the house. The Sacramento Police Department's Homicide and Crime Scene Investigations U

May 20, 2009 West Sacramento, CA Though the community near Cummins Way and Keegle Drive was packed with police cars, news vans with communications masts in the air, and a large amount of onlookers, there was a tangible quietness that hung in the night air. Neighbors and passersby looked on in stillness and hushed tones as investigators meticulously and patiently combed through the scene in the middle of the blocked off street of this West Sacramento shooting tragedy. Neighbors related that at approximately 6 p.m. two men with pistols walked up to a neighbor’s house and opened fire. Occupants of the house under fire came out with a shotgun and returned fire on the two men. When the shoo

It is probably the court rules on high profile trials, that if you leave the courtroom while it is in session you cant return back in until the next break. So here I was trying to hold myself so I wouldn't have to miss any of the courtroom action. But being in Las Vegas and drinking bottle of water after bottle of water I found myself having to dismiss myself from the courtroom. I surely didn't want my 15 minutes of fame to go down with people saying "wasn't he the man who wet his pants during the O.J. trial?" So here I was out in the hall again waiting for the next break in the court session. While I was out there I was thinking about my brief encounter with O.J. and thought to myself tha