Chelsea King -- Found Deceased 3/2/10 -- UPDATE: John Albert Gardner III admits he murdered Chelsea

The Kings Appear on Today Show

By R. STICKNEY
Updated 7:41 AM PDT, Tue, May 18, 2010

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In their first interview since their daughter's killer was sentenced, Brent and Kelly King talked about the moment they faced John Gardner in court Friday and what they hope to gain from a trip to Washington, D.C.

In a dramatic moment during Friday’s sentencing, Kelly King demanded that Gardner look at her. In an interview on NBC’s Today Show, Kelly King said she wanted him to be able to look and see all the pain and the anguish.

She said there was no way to prepare for her victim’s impact statement.

“The minute he walked into that courtroom there was a complete and total wave of disgust,” she said. “There’s an element of shock to be that close to someone who has done what he’s done to our daughter and our family.”

“There was no preparation. There was just a lot of anger and disgust and that seemed to carry it,” she said.

The Kings are in Washington, D.C. this week meeting with lawmakers and White House representatives to gain support for Chelsea’s Law.

“One strike is enough. It shouldn’t take two children to go through a terrible violent act before we lock someone away,” said Brent King.

”We also want to bring them a vision and a picture of who Chelsea is and how much we lost as not just parents but as a community,” he said.

Gardner received a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the rape and murder of both Escondido teenager Amber Dubois and Poway teenager Chelsea King as well as the sexual assault of Candice Moncayo.

Amber,14, was reported missing in Feb. 13 2009. She was killed by Gardner about an hour and a half after the two met.

Her body wasn't found until Gardner was arrested for the rape and murder of Chelsea King, the Poway High School student who disappeared during a run around Lake Hodges in February 2010.

Gardner admitted dragging Chelsea to a remote area where he raped, strangled and buried her.

After Gardner's arrest, Candice Moncayo identified him as the man who jumped her while she was jogging around Lake Hodges on Dec. 27, 2009.

Moncayo talked about the experience on cable television and described how she managed to escape from Gardner with a punch in the nose.

Prior to entering Gardner's guilty plea on April 16, his attorneys negotiated a deal with prosecutors for a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local-beat/Kings-Appear-on-Today-Show-94106029.html

Killer tried to abduct Inland girl, police say

03:53 PM PDT on Tuesday, May 18, 2010
The Press-Enterprise

Riverside County prosecutors are considering whether to file charges against convicted murderer John Albert Gardner III in a case involving the attempted abduction of a 16-year-old Lake Elsinore girl in October, authorities said today.

Gardner, 31, was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for raping and murdering Amber Dubois, 14, of Escondido, and Chelsea King, 17, of Poway, and for assaulting Candice Moncayo, 22.

After Gardner was arrested in February, a family member of the victim in the Lake Elsinore incident reported Gardner as a suspect, Riverside County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Joe Borja said. The girl recognized Gardner from a photograph in television news reports.

Borja said Gardner is suspected of assault with a deadly weapon and attempted kidnapping in the Oct. 28 incident.

At the time, the girl told police she was walking about 7 a.m. in the 32900 block of Machado Street when she was approached by a man in a gold, 1990s, four-door sedan.

The man asked the girl for directions and, after a brief conversation, he showed her a gun and demanded that she get into his car, sheriff's officials said. The girl refused and ran away.

Investigators released a sketch of the man, who was described as 30 to 35 years old, unshaven, with a fair complexion, brown eyes and a blond crew cut. The sketch bears a resemblance to Gardner.

The Oct. 28 incident was one of several reports of men approaching children and teenagers around Lake Elsinore and Wildomar last fall.

The suspect description in the Oct. 28 case was different from the other reports. Some involved a man in his 20s with dark hair and driving a new-model silver or gray compact car, who was reported approaching children on their way to and from school.

During their investigation into the murder of Chelsea King, San Diego county authorities seized an older gold car that belonged to Gardner.

San Diego County sheriff's officials said in a news conference Monday that Gardner admitted involvement in other "assault-type" crimes, but not any other killings. He spoke with investigators for more than two hours following his sentencing Friday, officials said. Authorities said he might be responsible for other attacks in Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties, but did not release details.

Borja said his department submitted the results of its investigation to the district attorney's office on May 6.

District attorney's officials requested that sheriff's investigators seek an interview with Gardner, Borja said. Investigators requested the interview, but Gardner, through his attorneys, declined, Borja said.

Sheriff's investigators resubmitted the case to prosecutors Tuesday, Borja said.

Borja said the department does not suspect Gardner in any other incidents in Riverside County.

John Hall, spokesman for the Riverside County district attorney's office, said today that he does not know when a decision in the Gardner case will be made.

After Gardner's arrest, Riverside County sheriff's officials said they had considered registered sex offenders in the area as possible suspects in the abduction attempt, but Gardner was not among them because at the time he was registered as living in San Diego County.

Gardner registered as a sex offender at the sheriff's Lake Elsinore Station in January. He reported a home address on Gillette Street in the unincorporated Lakeland Village neighborhood near Lake Elsinore.

http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_W_sgardner19.17ab7310.html

Gardner transferred to state prison

FOX 5 San Diego Staff
1:55 PM PDT, May 18, 2010

 
SAN DIEGO - The man who admitted raping and murdering teenagers Amber Dubois and Chelsea King began serving his lifelong prison term Tuesday at a state prison in the Central Valley.

John Albert Gardner III, 31, was transferred Tuesday morning from San Diego County Jail to North Kern State Prison in Delano, about 240 miles north of San Diego, according to a spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The former Lake Elsinore resident pleaded guilty last month to the sex- assault slayings of 14-year-old Amber on Feb. 13, 2009, and 17-year-old Chelsea on Feb. 25 of this year. He was sentenced Friday to consecutive life prison terms without the possibility of parole, plus 49 years.

A special task force is charged with determining whether Gardner -- who was sent to prison in 2000 and served about six years for sexually assaulting a neighbor girl -- is responsible for any other unsolved kidnappings, rapes or homicides.

Riverside County authorities are investigating him in connection with the attempted abduction of a girl in Lake Elsinore last October.

http://www.fox5sandiego.com/news/kswb-gardner-transferred-to-state-prison,0,2741576.story

'Chelsea's Law' would cost millions

By the Associated Press
Posted: 05/23/2010 01:00:14 AM PDT

SACRAMENTO (AP) -- A state corrections department analysis of a bill being considered by California lawmakers found that mandating life sentences for some child molesters and lifetime parole for others would cost tens of millions of dollars annually after the first decade.

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst puts the ultimate tab much higher: hundreds of millions of dollars each year, some of it to build new cells for sex offenders serving longer terms.

The projections come as the Assembly Appropriations Committee prepares to consider on Friday whether the state can afford the bill named after 17-year-old Chelsea King. Convicted child molester John Albert Gardner III was sentenced to life in prison this month after pleading guilty to raping and murdering King and 14-year-old Amber Dubois in San Diego County.

Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, R-San Diego, said Assembly Bill 1844, nicknamed Chelsea's Law, would have a relatively low cost for the first decade. He said it is worth the money to protect children.

The annual cost would top $1 million in 2015, $9 million by 2020, and $54 million by 2030, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

It would add nearly 400 inmates and increase the number of parolees by more than 7,300 by 2030, the department projects.

"We would consider this to be a conservative estimate," Jay Atkinson, chief of the department's Offender Information Services Branch, said Saturday. "The impact won't truly be seen until way far out in the future."

The legislative analyst said increasing penalties would cost "at least a few tens of millions of dollars annually within the next decade" and "at least in the low hundreds of millions of dollars annually after several decades."

Backers, who include Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic Assembly Speaker John Perez, have not suggested any funding source beyond taking the money from the existing state budget, which faces a $19 billion deficit this year.

"There's virtually no cost for a decade," said Fletcher. "If you look at a budget that annually exceeds $100 billion a year, that's a small price to pay to protect our children."

His bill would allow life sentences for a first offense of forcible sex crimes involving a child under 18, up from the current 15-year to 25-year sentence. The life term would be reserved for cases with aggravating factors that include kidnapping, using a weapon, torture, binding or drugging a victim or a previous sex crime conviction.

It would double sentences for some other sex crimes involving children and double parole to 10 years for felons released after serving sentences for forcible sex crimes.

The bill also would require the state to use GPS tracking for lifetime monitoring of those convicted of forcible sex crimes against children under 14. Currently, most tracking ends when offenders leave parole, despite an existing state lifetime monitoring law.

It would ban sex offenders from parks, going beyond the state law that already limits how close offenders can live to schools and parks.

The Assembly analysis suggests deleting provisions that could potentially send offenders to prison for life for inflicting a bruise during a sex crime, or subject them to lifetime parole for acts that could include touching a child over his or her clothing. That would cut the bill's costs substantially, the analysis said.

"I think it's undeniable there are significant costs," said Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, who chairs the Senate Public Safety Committee. "It's clearly a very important issue, a highly emotional issue, and we need to be grounding ourselves in fact."

Fletcher said he is open to minor changes. But he said backers will go to voters with an initiative before they accept major amendments.

http://www.thereporter.com/wirenews/ci_15145810

I don't think any price is too high to protect our children.

State Assembly Passes "Chelsea's Law"

By: Marianne Russ
Thu Jun 3, 2010

In a rare display of bi-partisanship, the state Assembly has overwhelmingly approved a bill that increases penalties for violent sex offenders. The legislation is known as “Chelsea’s Law.”

The measure would lock up the most violent sexual predators for life. GOP Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher wrote the bill after San Diego-area teenager Chelsea King was raped and murdered in a local park. A convicted sex offender pleaded guilty to the crime. Republican Assemblyman Steve Knight says “Chelsea’s Law” sends an important message:

“What Assemblymember Fletcher is doing is saying to the State of California is that we believe there are crimes that you’re done. That’s it, that’s the end. You’re behind bars and you don’t get to come back into our community.”

The bill requires lifetime GPS monitoring for some sex offenders. It also bans them from visiting places where kids congregate, like parks. Governor Schwarzenegger supports Chelsea’s law and says he will sign it if it makes it to his desk. The bill moves next to the Senate.

http://www.capradio.org/articles/articledetail.aspx?articleid=8340

Family of Murdered Teen Chelsea King Moving Back to Illinois

The move comes four months after the disappearance of 17-year-old Chelsea while running in a park and the subsequent discovery of her body.

KTLA News
8:10 AM PDT, June 19, 2010



POWAY -- The father of murdered teen Chelsea King said Friday that he and his family are leaving San Diego and moving back to Illinois.

Brent King said in a letter posted Friday on the website chelseaslight.com that he, his wife Kelly and 13-year-old son Tyler will move next month to Naperville, Ill., where they lived for 10 years before moving to the San Diego suburb of Poway in 2007.

The move comes four months after the disappearance of 17-year-old Chelsea King while running in a park and the subsequent discovery of her body.

Read more: http://www.fox5sandiego.com/news/ktla-chelsea-king-family-moving,0,1532908.story

On my FB I am a fan of Chelsea's law and they released this photo of her today that was brought to her parents by a friend of Chelsea's during a rally - It's really quite chilling.
Her parents didnt' know it existed until just recently.

That picture is chilling Tish. I wish the system had protected Chelsea and Amber by keeping Gardner locked up like the psychiatrist recommended or by sending him back to prison for one of the several times he violated his parole.

Murdered girl's family returns to Naperville
After Calif. tragedy, 'It was like walking into a great big hug'

August 14, 2010
BY SUSAN FRICK CARLMAN
Naperville Sun

The parents of Chelsea King, a former Naperville teen who was murdered in the San Diego area by a paroled sex offender, have returned to DuPage County to raise their son.

Kelly and Brent King moved from Naperville to San Diego in 2007.

They said they returned to their old neighborhood in Naperville mostly for their son, Tyler, 14. The heavy media attention after Chelsea was killed in California took a toll on them there, they said.

"I can't imagine raising my children anywhere else," Kelly King said of Naperville.

"It was like walking into a great big hug. [Tyler] is probably the happiest we've seen him in a very long time," she said.

Read more: http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/2598828,CST-NWS-chelsea15.article

Schwarzenegger signs California's 'Chelsea's Law'

By Alan Duke, CNNSeptember 9, 2010 2:18 p.m. EDT

CNN) -- Anyone convicted of a violent sex offense against a child in California will get life in prison without parole starting Thursday, after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed "Chelsea's Law."

The law was named for 17-year-old Chelsea King, who was murdered earlier this year by a registered sex offender who also admitted killing 14-year-old Amber Dubois.

"Because of Chelsea, California children will be safer," Schwarzenegger said. "Because of Chelsea, this never has to happen again


http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/09/09/california.chelseas.law/?hpt=Sbin

Chelsea King Remembered In Skywriting Message

By Erik Anderson
September 9, 2010



SAN DIEGO — Two big hearts flanking the initials C.K. graced the sky over Interstate 15 today. A skywriter drew the five mile long message to remember Poway teenager Chelsea King, who was killed last fall by a convicted child molester.

Worldwide Sky Advertising owner Christina Kuiper says it is a fitting remembrance for a young lady who’s disappearance and death touched an entire community.

Read more: http://www.kpbs.org/news/2010/sep/09/message-sky-remember-chelsea-king/

Piper wrote:Schwarzenegger signs California's 'Chelsea's Law'

By Alan Duke, CNNSeptember 9, 2010 2:18 p.m. EDT

CNN) -- Anyone convicted of a violent sex offense against a child in California will get life in prison without parole starting Thursday, after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed "Chelsea's Law."

The law was named for 17-year-old Chelsea King, who was murdered earlier this year by a registered sex offender who also admitted killing 14-year-old Amber Dubois.

"Because of Chelsea, California children will be safer," Schwarzenegger said. "Because of Chelsea, this never has to happen again

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/09/09/california.chelseas.law/?hpt=Sbin

Thanks for the Link! I saw this on CNN today! Excellent law.

Hi Ann! I totally agree. Lock them up for life the first time they are caught. I know some people feel it's a drain on the taxpayers but the safety and lives of our children are more important than that. No more probation after serving 3 to 7 years only to reoffend.

Calif told to reject claim by father of slain teen

The Associated Press
Updated: 10/20/2010 11:53:23 AM PDT

~Snipped~

The rejection would clear the way for Brent King to sue the state over the Feb. 25 murder of 17-year-old Chelsea King.

His claim seeks more than $25,000. It says his daughter would be alive had parole agents done a better job tracking John Gardner, who has since pleaded guilty to the murder.

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_16387344

Chelsea King's Father Loses Compensation Bid in Daughter's Death

October 22, 2010 11:59 AM
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CBS/AP)

snipped:
On Thursday, a board that considers compensation for California crime victims rejected Brent King's claim, but that doesn't mean that the battle is over. The decision actually clears the way for the King family to sue the state in court.

Read more:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20020446-504083.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody

Killer of San Diego teens: 'I am the most dangerous type of sexual predator'

November 5, 2010 | 8:18 am

The man who killed San Diego County teens Amber Dubois and Chelsea King described himself in his first interview since pleading guilty as "the most dangerous type of sexual prediator."

"I am the type that needs to be locked up forever," John Albert Gardner III, 31, told CBS News in an interview to be broadcast Saturday on "48 Hours".

Gardner pleaded guilty in April to strangling King during a rape attempt and stabbing Dubois during a rape attempt. He also admitted attacking another female jogger, who escaped.

Read more: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/11/killer-of-san-diego-teens-john-albert-gardner-i-am-the-most-dangerous-type-of-sexual-predator.html

Today Marks 1-Year Anniversary Of Chelsea King Abduction

John Gardner Pleaded Guilty To Murdering King, Amber Dubois

UPDATED: 4:41 am PST February 25, 2011

SAN DIEGO -- It was one year ago Friday that 17-year-old Chelsea King disappeared while jogging on the trails above Rancho Bernardo Community Park, touching off a frantic search by hundreds of volunteers that ended with the discovery of her body on the shore of Lake Hodges.

Registered sex offender John Albert Gardner III later pleaded guilty to murdering the Poway High School senior and Amber DuBois, a 14-year-old freshman at Escondido High School, in 2009. He is imprisoned for life.

The bright-eyed Chelsea was an avid long-distance runner, a straight-A student with a quirky sense of humor and member of the San Diego Youth Symphony.

Read more: http://www.10news.com/news/26993796/detail.html