People v. Kraft8/10/2000
botham was aware of other recent murder cases involving young men who were killed by ligature strangulation. These included Eric Church, whose body was found on January 27, 1983, on the northbound on-ramp to the 605 Freeway after apparently having been dumped from a vehicle; Geoffrey Nelson, whose nude, emasculated body was found on the Euclid on-ramp to the Garden Grove Freeway on February 12, 1983; and Rodger DeVaul, whose body was found in the Mt. Baldy area about February 14, 1983. A photograph found in defendant's car depicted an individual wearing clothing similar to that worn by Church when his body was found. A photograph of DeVaul, apparently taken post-mortem, was found in the trunk of defendant's car. Nelson and DeVaul had last been seen alive together. All three had alcohol and Valium in their systems, and Nelson and DeVaul also had propranolol in their systems.
Based on the foregoing factual recitation, Judge Beacom issued a warrant authorizing the search of defendant's home and the seizure of, among other things, weapons, blood, fingerprints, bodily fluids, hair samples, fiber samples, drugs, written or pornographic material pertaining to homicides, papers tending to show the identity of any victims, homosexual literature, and certain clothing belonging to Nelson. Service of the warrant began around 6:30 p.m. on May 14.
(2) Second warrant
On the evening of May 17, 1983, Sidebotham presented to Judge Beacom a telephonic affidavit for a further search warrant, incorporating the affidavits for the search of defendant's car and the prior search of his house. Sidebotham stated that, after completing his first search of the house, he learned there was relevant evidence at that location that he had not recovered. Specifically, four officers of various law enforcement agencies in the State of Oregon had described to Sidebotham unsolved murder cases in their respective jurisdictions, mentioning certain evidence Sidebotham had seen at defendant's house.
Officer James Reed of the Oregon State Police told Sidebotham about Michael O'Fallon, a young man whose body had been found on an on-ramp to Interstate 5, a victim of ligature strangulation who had alcohol and diazepam in his system at the time of death. Missing from O'Fallon's possession was a pocket Kodak Instamatic camera with the initials "MJO" scratched onto the camera. Under the authority of the first warrant, Sidebotham had seized such a camera from defendant's house during the prior search. Reed also described to Sidebotham a certain backpack and other property O'Fallon had had with him before he died, as well as the clothing he was wearing. In conducting the first search of defendant's house, Sidebotham had seen boots, a T-shirt, corduroy pants and a leather belt matching the description of the clothing O'Fallon had been wearing when last seen. O'Fallon's body had been found on July 17, 1980, a date when defendant had been in Oregon on a business trip.
Detective William Kennedy of the Lane County Sheriff's Department, near Eugene, Oregon, had told Sidebotham that the dead body of Michael Duane Cluck had been found off Interstate 5 on April 10, 1981. Cluck had been bludgeoned to death, and alcohol and Valium were found in his system. Certain property and clothing Cluck had in his possession, including a pair of black men's roller skates with white wheels, were missing. Sidebotham had seen such a pair of skates in the master bedroom of defendant's house, as well as a backpack matching the description of the one owned by Cluck. Defendant had been working in the Portland area from March 1, 1981, through May 9, 1981.
Sergeant Will Heningston of the Marion County Sheriff's Department in
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