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On Dec. 20, 1980 the weekend of the winter solstice UC Davis
freshmen John Riggins and Sabrina Gonsalves, the All American Couple in
a quaint California university town, were abducted after working as
ushers at a local childrens production of The Nutcracker. Their
bodies were found two days later in a ditch east of Sacramento.
The murders remain the most shocking crime in the
history of Davis and profoundly influenced the lives of hundreds of
people. Writer/college journalism lecturer Joel Davis, a Davis native who was a
year behind John Riggins at Davis High School, unravels the complex,
compelling story by drawing on court documents and exclusive interviews
with key investigators, family and friends of the victims, even suspects
who were charged with the murders.
Acclaim...
" If it wasn't for
Joel Davis, Richard Hirschfield might be a free man, out on the streets,
not locked up in the Sacramento County Main Jail awaiting trial for
murder with special circumstances."
Sam Whiting
San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, March. 20, 2006
"Meticulously researched and highly readable...In this most
gripping of true-crime stories, Joel Davis concluded that while there
may be answers -- brutal and nightmarish ones -- there is no closure.
Justice still waits."
William Endicott
Sacramento Bee book review, Nov. 13, 2005
" 'Justice Waits is the gripping true-crime story of
a horrific double-murder that changed an entire town. Joel Davis
dogged investigation and perseverance propels the story and prompted the
long-dormant case to be reopened. Davis writes with the skill,
compassion and soul of a spellbinding storyteller.
Gary B. Pruitt
Chairman, CEO and President of The McClatchy Co.
(Parent company of The Sacramento, Modesto and Fresno Bees)
Joel
Davis' "insider point of view--as an acquaintance of one of the victims
and as a young man in the city of Davis at the time--makes his
storytelling take on an immediacy that's missing from most books in the
true-crime genre."
Kel Munger
Sacramento News & Review
'"Justice Waits: The UC Davis Sweetheart Murders' is gripping and
gutsy reportage."
Dan Barnett
Chico Enterprise-Record
"A well-reported and compellingly written account of a crime Davis
will never forget.
Bob Dunning
The Davis Enterprise
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