‘Trailside Killer’ Found Guilty in 5 More Deaths

“Trailside Killer” David Carpenter, already facing the death penalty for two 1981 slayings, was convicted Tuesday of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of five others in 1980.

Carpenter, 58, showed no emotion as Superior Court Judge Herbert Hoffman read the verdict reached by a jury that deliberated for seven hours after the four-month trial.

Jurors, some of whom looked directly at Carpenter while the verdict was read, found the quiet, bespectacled man guilty of five counts of first-degree murder, two counts of rape and one count of attempted rape. The crimes occurred in two parks in Marin County, Point Reyes National Seashore Park and Mt. Tamalpais State Park. The trial was moved to San Diego because of heavy publicity about the case in Northern California.

Life or Death

The jury, which will remain sequestered through the penalty phase of the trial, was not allowed to talk with reporters. A penalty phase to determine whether Carpenter should be executed or should spend the rest of his life in prison on the latest convictions will begin next Tuesday in the same courtroom.

He already has been convicted and sentenced to the gas chamber for two related 1981 murders in Santa Cruz County parks.

In the Marin County case, Carpenter was charged with murdering Richard Stowers, 19, of Petaluma, and his fiancee, Cynthia Moreland, 18, of Cotati, on Oct. 11, 1980; Anne Alderson, 26, of San Rafael, on Oct. 13, 1980; and Diane O’Connell, 22, of San Jose, and Shauna May, 23, of San Francisco, on Nov. 28, 1980. Two of the victims were also raped and there was an attempted rape of a third.

The killing spree left many popular hiking trails and parks in Northern California virtually deserted until Carpenter’s arrest in San Francisco in May, 1981.

Jurors found true the special circumstances allegations of murder during the commission of felonies, relating to the sexual assault allegations as well as multiple killings. The findings mean Carpenter could receive the death penalty a second time.

In his testimony, Carpenter claimed he was miles from the crime scenes when the killings occurred.

Defense attorneys argued that Carpenter deserved acquittal because of “serious doubts” created by what they termed questionable police procedures and inconsistencies in the testimony of witnesses linking Carpenter to the undisputed murder weapon.

The prosecution, however, contended that Carpenter was a cold-blooded killer whose “ultimate goal” was to commit murder and rape and get away with it.