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The
murder of Polly Klaas is the first of the modern day
high-profile sexually related child murder cases, thus is
listed first on this site. There does not appear to
have been any special legislation enacted emanating from
this horrific crime, but the case is well known and the
subsequent Polly Klaas foundation has unfortunately done
much to support Megan's Law. Of course, nothing but
sympathy can go out to the parents of this young girl, but
support of Megan's Law is no answer.
Polly Klaas
Polly Hannah Klaas (January
3,
1981 - October-November
1993) was a kidnap and murder victim whose case
gained national attention in the
United States. At the age of twelve, she was
kidnapped at knifepoint from her mother's home in
Petaluma, California on
October 1,
1993. She was later strangled.
Richard Allen Davis was convicted of the
crimes in
1996 and sentenced to death.
Because she loved music and performing in plays, the
Polly Hannah Klaas Performing Arts Center was created in
her honor in Petaluma.
Background
Polly had invited two of her friends over for a
sleepover. Around 10:30 p.m. Klaas opened her bedroom
door to fetch sleeping bags, when she saw a man with a
knife. He tied the girls up, told Klaas' friends to
count to one thousand, and then kidnapped her. Over the
next two months, about 4,000 people helped search for
her.
Television shows such as
20/20 and
America's Most Wanted covered the kidnapping.
In the course of the search, police officers
encountered Davis in a nearby rural area, where his
Ford Pinto was stuck in the mud. At the time,
missing person's bulletins were broadcast on only one
police channel, to which the officers were not tuned;
this practice was changed after the case, so such
bulletins were broadcast on all police channels. It was
later discovered that Klaas was buried alive at this
time, and the meeting with the police may have prompted
Davis to kill her.
On
November 30, police arrested Davis, as his palm
print had been found in Klaas' bedroom. Four days later,
he led police to Polly's dead body, with her miniskirt
pulled up and her legs spread apart. Davis said that he
strangled her from behind with a piece of cloth.
Although there was no way to check exactly how she died,
as the body had decayed for two months, the statement
was consistent with the evidence.
Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder, who had been raised in Petaluma,
offered a $200,000 reward for Polly's safe return during
the search. After Klaas' death, Ryder starred in a
film version of
Little Women and dedicated it to Klaas' memory,
the
Louisa May Alcott novel having been Polly's favorite
book. The producers at first wanted to remove the
dedication. Ryder then said she would not do any
publicity for the film if it was removed, so it remained
in the film.
In December 2002, Polly's name was brought up during
Ryder's sentencing for shoplifting when defense attorney
Mark Geragos brought up all the work Ryder did when
Polly was kidnapped. The DA of the case accused Ryder
and Geragos of bringing up the "body of a dead child."
Ryder was visibly upset by the charge.
Marc Klaas
Her father
Marc Klaas is now a child advocate and has made
himself available to parents of kidnapped children. He
has also made appearances on
Larry King Live. He also makes appearances on
the
CNN Headline News show,
Nancy Grace.
See also
External links
Richard Allen Davis
Richard Allen Davis (born
June 2,
1954) is a convicted
murderer, whose criminal record fueled support for
passage of
California's "Three
strikes law" for repeat offenders. He is currently
on
death row in
San Quentin State Prison,
California.
He was convicted in
1996 of
first-degree murder and four special circumstances
(robbery, burglary, kidnapping and a lewd act on a
child) of 12-year-old
Polly Klaas. Klaas was abducted
October 1,
1993, from her
Petaluma, California, home.
A
San Jose, California, Superior Court jury
recommended the
death sentence for Davis on
August 5,
1996. After the verdict was read, Davis stood and
made an
obscene gesture at the courtroom with both hands.
Later, at his formal sentencing, Davis read a statement
claiming that Klaas had said to Davis "Just don’t do
me like my Dad" just before Davis killed her,
implying that Klaas' father was a
child molester. Klaas' father reacted angrily and
left the courtroom to avoid causing further commotion,
and the judge proceeded with the formality of the death
sentence, saying that it should never be easy to
sentence a human to death, but that "your (Davis')
behavior today made it very easy."
Arrest record
1960s
-
March 6,
1967: At age 12, Davis has his first contact
with law enforcement when he was arrested for
burglary in
Chowchilla, where he lived with his grandmother.
-
November 16,
1969: The first of several occasions when Davis'
father turns Davis and his older brother over to
juvenile authorities for incorrigibility.
1970s
-
September 15,
1970: Arrested for participating in a motorcycle
theft. A
probation officer and
judge accept his father's suggestion that he
enlist in the
Army to avoid being sent to the California Youth
Authority.
-
July 1971: Entered the Army. His military record
reflects several infractions for
AWOL, fighting, failure to report, and
morphine use.
-
April 21,
1973: Arrested in Redwood City for being a minor
in possession of liquor, burglary and contributing
to the delinquency of a minor. Charged with
trespassing, later dismissed.
-
August 13,
1973: Arrested in Redwood City leaning against
hedges extremely intoxicated. Released upon
sobriety.
-
October 24,
1973: Arrested in Redwood City on traffic
warrants. Between April and October, he was
implicated in more than 20 La Honda burglaries,
leading a probation officer to report that residents
were so angry at him, he might be in danger if he
returned to La Honda. He pleaded guilty to burglary
and was sentenced to six months in county jail and
placed on three years' probation.
-
May 13,
1974: Arrested for burglarizing South
San Francisco High School. He was sent to the
California Medical Facility,
Vacaville, for a 90-diagnostic study. A county
probation officer recommended prison, but
proceedings were suspended when Davis enrolled in a
Veterans Administration alcohol treatment
program. He quit on the second day.
-
September 16,
1974: Sentenced to one year in county jail for
the school burglary. He was allowed to leave jail to
attend a
Native American drug and alcohol treatment
program. He failed to return, leaving behind two
angry fellow inmates who had given Davis money to
buy drugs and bring the contraband back to jail.
-
March 2,
1975: After being released, the two inmates
tracked Davis down and shot him in the back. He was
rearrested on a probation violation for failing to
return to jail. Later, he testified against the
inmates, earning him the epithet of "snitch" from
fellow inmates. He was placed in protective custody.
-
August 13,
1975: Probation revoked after arrest for San
Francisco burglary and grand theft. He was sentenced
to a term of from six months to 15 years in prison.
-
December 8,
1976: Transferred to
Napa State Hospital for psychiatric evaluation
after he tried to hang himself in a cell at
Alameda County Jail. He later admitted he faked
the
suicide attempt in order to be sent to a state
hospital, where he could more easily escape. He was
mistakenly admitted as a voluntary patient rather
than a prisoner.
-
December 16,
1976: Escaped from Napa State Hospital and went
on a four-day crime spree in
Napa. He broke into the home of Marjorie
Mitchell, a nurse at the state hospital, and beat
her on the head with a fire poker while she slept.
He broke into a car to kidnap Hazel Frost, a
bartender, as she climbed into her
Cadillac outside a bar. When she saw he had
bindings, she rolled out of the car, grabbed a gun
from beneath the seat and fired six shots at the
fleeing Davis.
-
December 21,
1976: Broke into the home of Josephine Kreiger,
a bank employee, in La Honda. He was arrested by a
San Mateo County sheriff's deputy hiding in
brush behind the home with a shotgun.
-
June 1,
1977: Sentenced to a term of one to 25 years in
prison for the Mays kidnapping. A sexual assault
charged was dropped as part of a
plea bargain. He was later sentenced to
concurrent terms for the Napa crime spree and the La
Honda break-in.
1980s
-
November 30,
1984: With new girlfriend-accomplice Sue
Edwards, he pistol-whipped Selina Varich, a friend
of Edwards' sister, in her Redwood City apartment
and forced her to withdraw
$6,000 from her bank account. Davis and Edwards
make a successful escape.
-
March 22,
1985: Arrested in
Modesto when a police officer noticed a
defective taillight. He and Edwards were charged
with robbing a Yogurt Cup shop and the Delta
National Bank in Modesto. Authorities in
Kennewick, Washington, were unaware for several
years that the pair had robbed a bank, a Value Giant
store and the Red Steer restaurant during the winter
of 1984–1985. Davis later confessed to the crimes in
an attempt to implicate Edwards, whom he believed to
have welshed on a promise to help him while he was
in prison.
1990s
-
June 27,
1993: Paroled from the California Men's Colony,
San Luis Obispo, after serving half of a 16-year
sentence for the Varich kidnapping.
-
October 1,
1993: Davis kidnapped Polly Klaas during a
slumber party at her
Petaluma home and murdered her.
-
October 19,
1993: Arrested in
Ukiah for drunken driving during the search for
Polly. He failed to appear in court.
-
June 18,
1996: Convicted of kidnapping/murder of Polly.
Source:
Sonoma County district attorney's office, court
records, trial testimony.
External links
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