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Davis Enterprise, The (CA)
No Headline
Lauren Keene/Enterprise staff writer
Published: September 11, 2005
During the summer of 2000, Joel Davis sat down to watch a C-SPAN
interview of three of his favorite authors — David Halberstam, David
McCullough and George Will.
It was during that program that two of the authors uttered words that would change the course of Davis' life."I think you always go out and do books based on what you're curious about," Halberstam said.Added Will: "I write books when I get impatient waiting for someone to write them for me."At that, a light bulb went on in Davis' head.That
day, the award-winning freelance writer and former Davis Enterprise
reporter decided he would write a book about the murders of UC Davis
couple John Riggins and Sabrina Gonsalves, who were abducted Dec. 20,
1980, from the tranquil streets of Davis and found slain in a
Sacramento-area ravine two days later.Davis, a senior at Davis High School at the time, experienced first-hand how the crime shattered the innocence of his hometown."Justice
Waits: The UC Davis Sweetheart Murders" (Callister Press; $24.95)
finally saw publication last month, culminating a five-year process
during which Davis chased down dusty, forgotten court documents,
interviewed dozens of players in the case and, at the same time, waged
his own personal battle with Parkinson's disease.Along the way,
Davis became a vital part of the Riggins-Gonsalves story, bringing the
case to the attention of Sacramento prosecutors who, more than two
decades after the murders, identified a suspect in the murders through
the use of DNA.So far, Davis has received positive feedback
about his work, which is being touted as not just a true-crime tale,
but also a story of love and hope."The thing that surprises me
the most is that people are telling me it's a page-turner. I was
worried the story might be too complex for that," Davis, 42, said
during a recent interview at his Sacramento home, where he has spent
the past five years writing the book. Documents, interview tapes and
other research fill his home office, and even spill into other rooms of
the house."I'm so impressed with the research that went into
this book," said Debbie Davis, editor and assistant publisher of The
Davis Enterprise. "I know Joel is a solid reporter — after all, he did
great work for us in the late 1980s — but I want to commend him for a
truly fine work of journalism."The bookAt 218 pages,
"Justice Waits" is presented with a "less is more" approach, Davis says
— short chapters with one- and two-word titles that are designed to
hold the reader's interest.But it's not your typical "slasher"
book, primarily because Davis didn't want it to be. A Davis native who
knew of Riggins through their involvement in school sports, Davis pays
tribute to the couple by dedicating individual chapters to them, as
well as to the town of Davis, both then and now."The fact that
this happened in Davis is what makes this a book," Davis explained.
"You'd be hard-pressed to go around Davis today and find kids this good
as (John and Sabrina) were back then."For members of the Riggins
and Gonsalves families, although "Justice Waits" opens old wounds and
brings back painful memories, they are heartened by its accuracy and by
his smooth telling of such a complicated story."Of course it was
very difficult to read the book. We read it through many tears, even
knowing the story," Kate Riggins, John's mother, said in a phone
interview from her Shell Beach home. "But we feel he was certainly
fair, and the story just keeps going on and on and on.""It was
interesting to read Joel's take on the Davis I grew up in, and his
reflections on how it's all changed," added Carrie Riggins Mack, John's
sister, now 41 and living in western Massachusetts. "I think for a lot
of people who knew my brother and Sabrina and wonder what happened, the
book did a great job of putting it all together."To George Gonsalves Jr., Sabrina's father, the book also makes a larger statement about America's criminal justice system."The
book leaves the message that while the criminal justice system is not
always sure, swift or measured, it will not rest," Gonsalves, currently
living in Hawaii, said in a phone interview. "It's as much about the
crime and its victims as it is the challenges our criminal justice
system is faced with every day."'Cold hit' on DNADavis
himself plays a significant role in the story, and not just because of
his memories of the murders and how they affected his hometown.About
two years into the project, Davis read a June 19, 2002, Sacramento Bee
article about the arrest of a suspect in the 1983 murder of Sacramento
State University student Teresa Hightower. The article mentioned
Sacramento Deputy District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, who was in
charge of her office's "cold-hit" DNA program.Davis contacted
Schubert via e-mail and faxed her copies of reports about the case,
including information about a semen-stained blanket found in Riggins'
van.On Aug. 27, 2002, DNA from that stain was linked to Richard Joseph Hirschfield,
then 55, who was serving time for child molestation at a Washington
state prison. Though investigators in the case were mum about their
find, it didn't stop Davis from learning Hirschfield's name and following his paper trail.His
book also explores Yolo County District Attorney Dave Henderson's
failed prosecution of the so-called "Hunt group" — David Hunt, his
then-wife Suellen, and their friends Richard Thompson and David Lainer
— whose case fell apart on the eve of their trial in 1993 after DNA
evidence available at the time excluded them as donors of the blanket
semen stain.Before Hirschfield's identification as a
suspect in the case, Davis had planned to offer 20 reasons why the Hunt
group could have committed the murders, and 20 reasons why they
couldn't have. Now, the story mostly debunks the Hunt theory, though
some — namely, Henderson and former Davis police Detective Fred Turner,
who pursued the group — indicated to Davis, even after the DNA match,
their belief the group was still somehow involved.The Hunt
theory was just one element that over the years derailed the case,
which also suffered due to lost or misplaced evidence, as well as
tensions between Sacramento and Yolo County authorities who just could
not work together. "Justice Waits" explores in detail all that went
wrong."I think you'd be hard-pressed to find another case that had so many elements going against it," Davis said.The
book ends with a poignant essay by Sabrina Rosenstein, the daughter of
Sabrina's older sister Andrea. At age 14, she wrote about being named
after the slain aunt she never knew.But the story doesn't end there. The wheels of justice still churn, albeit slowly, for Hirschfield,
who after nearly a year has not yet entered a plea to murder charges
that carry the death penalty. Davis says he plans to provide updates on
the case on his Web site, www.justicewaits.com, and in a second
printing of the book if sales go well."Joel really must be
credited with reviving the official work on this case, too," Debbie
Davis of The Enterprise said. "He pushed and poked and prodded all the
right people to open it up. For that, our community should be grateful."A personal battleWhen
Davis began writing his book, authorities in Yolo and Sacramento
counties were more than happy to talk about what had for years been a
dormant case. After the DNA hit, however, many of those same people
weren't so eager to talk out of fear of compromising the case."The quieter things were, the more things were going on," Davis recalled.So
as he fought for information that at times was hard to come by, Davis
found himself facing yet another struggle — in 2002, he was diagnosed
with Parkinson's disease, a progressive, neurological disorder that for
Davis was characterized by muscle rigidity and fatigue.On June 8, 2004 — two days after The Davis Enterprise, with Davis' cooperation, broke the story of the DNA hit identifying Hirschfield
— Davis underwent deep-brain surgery to alleviate his Parkinson's
symptoms by stimulating the areas of his brain that control muscles and
movement.Within weeks, Davis was back to his book project, and by September was well enough to attend and cover Hirschfield's first appearance in Sacramento County Superior Court. He has attended each of Hirschfield's court appearance since then."He's
handled that so well," said George Gonsalves. "He hasn't let
(Parkinson's) hold him back, and I give him credit for that. He had a
mission, and he let nothing stop it.""The story really is, in a way, Joel — doing what he did while dealing with this illness," Kate Riggins said.For Davis, the battle with Parkinson's — he has come to call it "PD" — has opened up a side of him he didn't know was there."Compassion
was never a strong suit of mine, but almost by default, I have become
much more sensitive to people with disabilities and other setbacks,"
Davis wrote in a Sacramento News & Review article about his brain
surgery."When someone limps through a crosswalk, I smile at them rather than frown at my watch."Davis
said his fight against his disease has helped him to understand the
awkwardness encountered by both the Riggins and Gonsalves families
after the murders. In the book, Kate Riggins describes how, after her
son's murder, people she considered her friends changed aisles at the
grocery store to avoid speaking to her, likely out of discomfort."I
know what it's like to have people go the other way," Davis said, who
already has plans for a second book about his battle with Parkinson's
and the powerful neurological drugs he says can be worse than the
disease itself."Justice Waits: The UC Davis Sweetheart Murders"
is available for purchase on the book's Web site, www.justicewaits.com.
Davis has pledged to donate a percentage of the book's profits to
charities of the victims' families' choice, as well as to the Parkinson
Association of Northern California.DeLIVER the CureWhat: DeLIVER the Cure dinner, featuring barbecued tri-tip, chicken and all the fixingsWhen: Tuesday, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.Where: Central Park, Fourth and C streetsHow much: $16 for adults, $7 for children ages 3-10— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 747-8048.Sunday, September 11, 2005
Copyright, 2005, The Davis Enterprise. All Rights Reserved.
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