In 1976, Joyce Catlin had been in the hospital for about three weeks after complaining of what appeared to be flu-like symptoms. Rogers’ defense centered around claims that he was mentally disturbed due to physical and sexual abuse as a child. When confronted by his fellow KCSO detectives, Rogers admitted to killing 15-year-old Tracie Clark, but denied involvement in Janine Benintende’s death. Bullets, tire tracks, shoe prints, and eyewitness testimony all built the case against Rogers. Both young women were shot with the same weapon. The next day, her body was found floating in the same Arvin canal Janine Benintende had been found a year earlier. In February 1987, 15-year-old Tracie Clark was working Union Avenue when she was seen getting in a pick-up truck that drove out of town. She’d been shot to death.Ībout a year later, investigators made a similar discovery. About a month later, her decomposed body was found floating in an Arvin canal. Janine was last seen in a white fur coat around 8 pm. It was January 1986, when 20-year-old Janine Benintende left her Los Angeles home and traveled to Union Avenue in Bakersfield, where she worked as a prostitute. The investigation led them to one of their own, sheriff’s deputy David Rogers. In the late 1980’s, detectives were searching for the killer of two young prostitutes. The governor’s office said Stroder was in many ways a victim herself, as a result of several abusive relationships. However, in July 2017, Governor Jerry Brown commuted her sentence and Stroder was granted parole in January 2018. Stroder was convicted of the same charges and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Rountree was convicted of murder, kidnapping, and robbery in 1995 and sentenced to death. Rountree also told detectives that his girlfriend, Mary Stroder, played no role in the decision to kill Diana.

Rountree struggled to explain why he decided to shoot her to death. Rountree made Diana withdraw money from multiple ATMs before killing her. Rountree admitted his involvement in the murder and said he and his girlfriend targeted Diana because she was petite, and didn’t seem like she’d be much trouble to rob. They were wearing their wedding rings when they were arrested four days later. Two days after the murder, using Diana’s money, Rountree and Stroder got married in Las Vegas. The day of her murder and in the days following, numerous withdrawals were made from Diana’s bank accounts. The couple was arrested in Kansas a few days later, driving the victim’s car. The young couple kidnapped Diana and drove her to a remote location near Taft, where Rountree shot her to death. She’d planned to buy her mother a special necklace, but she never got a chance to give it to her.Īt some point, Diana was approached by 23-year-old Mary Elizabeth Stroder and 23-year-old Charles Rountree. In December 1993, 19-year-old Diana Contreras was Christmas Shopping at Valley Plaza Mall. He said he didn’t kill William Compton either. In an exclusive interview with 17 News in 2012, Lightsey denied any involvement in Jessica Martinez’s murder. In 2008, detectives got a swab of Lightsey’s DNA to compare to DNA found on Jessica’s clothing.

Lightsey is also a registered sex offender who served time for molesting young girls. His friends told police Lightsey was gone for several hours on the day the child disappeared, and returned to his apartment with a “fidgety demeanor.” Lightsey lived in the same apartment complex as Jessica when she went missing from her front yard. Lightsey is also well known for being the only suspect named by Bakersfield Police in the 1990 abduction and murder of 4-year-old Jessica Martinez. Lightsey had frequent outbursts in the courtroom, causing a judge to order him to be gagged with duct tape during his sentencing. In 1995 Lightsey went through numerous defense attorneys and continually fought to represent himself in his criminal trial, which was prosecuted by Lisa Green, now Kern County District Attorney. His stolen guns led detectives to solving the case. He’d been stabbed 42 times.Ĭompton was an avid firearm collector with a wide collection of rifles and handguns. After Compton missed a doctor’s appointment, police discovered him dead in his home. Lightsey was convicted of the 1993 murder and robbery of a 76-year-old cancer patient, William Compton. It is the uncharged crime in which he is a suspect gained him the most notoriety. Christopher Lightsey is one of the more well-known condemned Kern inmates but not because of the crime for which he was convicted.

Photoninja eric yarbrough