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Times investigation: Shocking murders, lingering doubts in a California mountain town

The remains of two Jane Does were found near Pollock Pines, California on September 23, 2024.
Ferrari Mill Road in the Eldorado National Forest where the remains of two Jane Does were found near Pollock Pines, California on September 23, 2024.
(Max Whittaker/For The Times)
By Jessica Garrison
 and Anita Chabria
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A shocking series of murders stunned the rural California mountain town of Placerville in the 1980s. Authorities were under intense pressure to solve the cases, and for a while it seemed they did. But Times reporters Anita Chabria and Jessica Garrison spent more than a year reexamining the crimes and found troubling questions about both justice and the justice system.

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Part 1: A false confession

In Eldorado National Forest where the remains of two Jane Does were found
In Eldorado National Forest where the remains of two Jane Does were found
(Max Whittaker/For The Times)

Nearly two decades after a woman falsely confessed to a shocking murder, her sons finally see her exonerated from a wrongful conviction that derailed their lives.

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Connie Dahl smiling in a photograph. Words from a transcript are overlayed: "That's not what happened." "What do you mean?"

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Pressured by cops, a mom made a false murder confession. Now, her sons can prove she’s innocent

Nearly two decades after a woman falsely confessed to a shocking murder, her sons finally see her exonerated from a wrongful conviction that derailed their lives.

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Part 2: Shocking murders, lingering doubts

Where one victim's remains were found in 1984, near Pollock Pines, California
Where one victim’s remains were found in 1984, near Pollock Pines, California
(Max Whittaker/For The Times)

Forty years ago, Michael Anthony Cox was convicted of the murders of three girls in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Years later, the two main witnesses at his trial, also teenagers, recanted, saying police had pressured them into false stories. So why is Cox still on death row?

The area off Ferrari Mill Road in the Eldorado National Forest where the remains of two Jane Does were found near Pollock Pines, California on September 23, 2024.

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Three dead girls and a man on death row. Did lies put him there?

Forty years ago, Michael Anthony Cox was convicted of the murders of three girls in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Years later, the two main witnesses at his trial, also teenagers, recanted, saying police had pressured them into false stories. So why is Cox still on death row?

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Part 3: A war over cops who lie

Eldorado National Forest
(Max Whittaker/For The Times)

California law enforcement is in the midst of a culture war, as experts inside and outside the system question a commonly used police interrogation method that they say can lead to false confessions and wrongful convictions.

Anaheim Hills, CA - December 11: Thomas Perez Jr, and his father, Thomas Perez, Sr., are photographed in Anaheim Hills Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. Thomas Perez Jr. falsely confessed to killing his father, who was alive and well, after a 17-hour interrogation by Fontana police during which they lied about their evidence and told him his dog would be euthanized. The city of Fontana was ordered to pay Thomas Perez Jr $898,000 in damages, following the incident in 2018. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Cops lie to suspects during interrogations. Should detectives stick to the truth?

California law enforcement is in the midst of a culture war, as experts inside and outside the system question a commonly used police interrogation method that they say can lead to false confessions and wrongful convictions.

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Jessica Garrison

Jessica Garrison writes about Northern California for the Los Angeles Times. She has previously covered Los Angeles City Hall, courts, education and the environment. As a reporter, her work has won a National Magazine Award for Public Service, among other honors. Work she has edited has won a George Polk Award and was a finalist for a Goldsmith Prize. Her book, “The Devil’s Harvest,” told the story of a contract killer who stalked Central Valley farm towns for years while authorities failed to bring him to justice. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley.

Anita Chabria

Anita Chabria is a California columnist for the Los Angeles Times, based in Sacramento. Before joining The Times, she worked for the Sacramento Bee as a member of its statewide investigative team and previously covered criminal justice and City Hall. Follow her on Bluesky @anitachabria.bsky.social and on X @anitachabria.

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