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The Davis Enterprise Archives
By Joel DavisSpecial to The Enterprise
Published: June 29, 2005
SACRAMENTO — Although almost a
year has passed since his arrest for the brutal 1980 double slayings of
a UC Davis couple, the man accused of stalking and killing them has yet
to enter a plea.
The
arraignment for Richard J. Hirschfield, 56, was continued again on
Tuesday in Sacramento County Superior Court. He is due back in court on
Aug. 17.Hirschfield
was arrested on Sept. 25, 2004, a little more than two years after a
DNA "cold hit" linked him to the Dec. 20, 1980, murders of UC Davis
freshmen John Riggins and Sabrina Gonsalves.The
city recreation leaders, both 18, were last seen working as ushers at
the "Davis Children's Nutcracker" at the Veterans' Memorial Theater.
They were abducted in Riggins' van en route to a surprise birthday
party for one of Gonsalves' sisters in West Davis.They were slain in Rancho Cordova, their heads wrapped in duct tape, their throats slit. Gonsalves was raped, Riggins beaten.Prior
to Tuesday's hearing, attorneys for both the defense and prosecution
exchanged computer discs containing some 30,000 pages of discovery in a
case said to have about 150,000 pages of discovery overall.Hirschfield's
court-appointed attorney, Linda Parisi, told the court that while
reviewing the discovery she will determine whether she wants to request
dismissal of the case based on the contention that Hirschfield's right
to a speedy trial was denied.More
than two years passed between the 2002 DNA match tying his semen to a
blanket found in the victims' van and his 2004 arrest, Parisi reminded
the court. The delay denied Hirschfield a right to information that
could aid his defense, she argued.Hirschfield
was confronted with the DNA evidence in November 2002, but declined to
talk to investigators, asking for an attorney instead. A few days
later, a younger brother, Joseph Hirschfield, who in 1980 lived near
the Rancho Cordova ravine where the bodies were dumped, was confronted
about the case by Sacramento investigators at his home in rural Oregon.
Soon after, he committed suicide, leaving a note that implicated
himself and his brother in the murders, but said little else.Hirschfield,
beefy, long-haired and bearded, appeared more relaxed Tuesday than
during previous court appearances, even smiling a few times during
small talk with a bailiff.He is a convicted child molester who was in prison in Washington state at the time of the DNA match.Because
he was in custody, Sacramento investigators worked the case when they
could between new homicides, and took their time in trying to build a
case against Hirschfield. They are still trying to place him in Davis
on the weekend of the murders, which has been difficult if not
impossible given the passage of time.Hirschfield
also was not arrested right away, authorities said, in part because
there was fear he would invoke his right to a speedy trial and catch
prosecutors unprepared.Friends
of both victims' families attended the hearing and were briefed at
length before and after the proceedings by Sacramento County Deputy
District Attorney Dawn T. Bladet, who declined to discuss the case.— Joel Davis
is a former Davis Enterprise staff writer. His book on this case,
"Justice Waits: The UC Davis Sweetheart Murders," is at the printer and
should be available soon.
Copyright, 2005, The Davis Enterprise. All Rights Reserved.
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