The Massachusetts kidnapping prosecution moved first and most quickly: the offense was recent, the evidence was immediate, the jurisdiction was clear. The 2009 conviction produced a sentence of four to five years — a significant term for parental kidnapping, though it would eventually be eclipsed by what came next.
The California murder prosecution was far more complex. The crime was nearly thirty years old at the time charges were filed. The physical evidence consisted of remains that had been buried for nine years before their discovery, remains that took an additional sixteen years to connect to a specific suspect via fingerprint identification. The evidence was entirely circumstantial. The prosecution required the jury to reason backward from a chain of established facts to the only coherent explanation.
The acquittals in the kidnapping trial — he was acquitted of one assault count and of giving a false name — are a reminder that not every charge results in a conviction, and that distinguishing charges from findings is important in any account of a case. He was not convicted of everything alleged. What he was convicted of is specific and documented.
The murder sentence of twenty-seven years to life — later reduced to twenty-six years — is a life-sentence structure under California law: he does not serve a fixed term and walk out. He serves until the parole board determines, at each scheduled hearing, whether release is appropriate. At each such hearing, he can advocate for himself, and victims’ representatives can oppose release.
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## The Book Bags and the Silence of Physical Evidence