The Murder Of Polly klass

2022-09-22 19:25:21 Written by Robert

On October 1, 1993. It was a Friday night, and Polly Klaas, 12, and her friends, Kate,12, and Jillian, also 12, were having a slumber party in Petaluma, California. They were dancing, listened to music, and having a great time. The girls could never imagine the horror that would happen to them in a few hours. Polly’s mother was in the next room, asleep.

Polly Klaas was born on January 3, 1981. She was just 12 years old when she was taken from her house and killed

At around 11:00 pm, a man entered Polly’s bedroom carrying a knife. He gagged the girls and took pillowcases to cover their faces. He told them if they screamed, he would slit their throats. He grabbed Polly by knifepoint and dragged her out of the house. The crime took less than five minutes.

Polly was never seen alive again.

The other two girls freed themselves and ran to the mother’s bedroom.

Mom called the Police, and they called the FBI.

The search for Polly became the largest search ever carried out for a missing child. It involved 4000 volunteers, working together in any way they could to help find Polly. The search involved both humans and Bloodhound dogs and took place over 1,000 square miles of ground surrounding Petaluma. 

Everyone was shaken and horrified by this unthinkable crime that had taken place in this safe, quiet city. 

Polly Klaas was born on January 3, 1981. She was just 12 years old when she was taken from her house and killed

Polly’s missing poster was also a first for its time. The rise in technology by 1993 meant that the images were digitized and of greater quality than any other missing child poster ever before. Thanks to the Internet, word of Polly’s disappearance not only crossed state lines but crossed oceans. Polly’s disappearance revolutionized techniques used to find missing children.  

In kidnapping cases, family members do most of the kidnapping. However, upon investigation, the Police quickly cleared Polly’s family.

The two girls were witnesses but still terrified. However, they described the stranger, and they were able to make a composite sketch.

 

In a kidnapping case, the investigators know that the first twenty-four to forty-eight hours are crucial to finding the missing person alive. The police needed to act fast.

The Evidence

The FBI’s forensic team found a palm print on the bed railing in their investigation. But the palm print is only good after you find a suspect.

The investigators questioned Polly’s neighbors. A helicopter was flying overhead, a police dog was used, volunteers passed out fliers, and the police department worked twenty-four hours to bring Polly back.

 

There was an all-points issued to find her as the police frantically searched for the kidnapper. Even famous actress Winona Ryder, also from Petaluma, offered a $200,000 reward for Polly’s return.

Neighborhood kids told the FBI they saw a man standing in front of Polly’s house. He matched the description the two girls gave. Other people noticed a strange man hanging around, but no one called the police.

 

Time Was Slipping

 

The chances of finding Polly alive were running out for the police with every passing day.

 

The same day that Polly was kidnapped, two sheriff's deputies stopped a trespasser, Richard Allen Davis, and ran his car into a ditch. They helped him get the car out and then let him go. They had no way of knowing he was the man who kidnapped Polly.

 

However, the police still did not know who had taken Polly. There was no sign of her anywhere.

 

Two Months Later

 

Two months later, near where the police found the trespasser, a local property manager named Dana went to inspect her property when she noticed a pair of girl’s tights, a piece of cloth, and packaging tape on the ground. She immediately called the police.

 

The FBI later confirmed that the items belonged to Polly Klaas. The police, then, connected Davis with the trespasser.

A deputy stopped Davis on the road, and he was arrested and taken into police custody. The detectives learned that Davis had a massive rap sheet including robbery, kidnapping, and attempted rape. He was out of jail most of his life.

In a lineup, the two girls identified Davis as the kidnapper. The police had finally got their man.

 

The palm print came back as a match. The police had him, and he knew it.

Davis confessed to the kidnapping and murder. He told the authorities where to find the dead girl’s body. He buried Polly in a shallow grave 30 miles from Petaluma.

He strangled her, and she was likely raped.

A jury found Davis guilty of kidnapping, murder, and a lewd act on a child.

The Murder Of Polly klass

His charges were first degree murder, as well as robbery, burglary, kidnapping and a lewd act on a child. Emotions ran particularly high at the trial, due to Davis’ riotous behavior in the courtroom, where he flipped off the jury as he entered, and made comments about Polly’s father, Marc, raping Polly. 

Judge Thomas Hastings sentenced Davis to death by lethal injection, saying: 

“It is very easy for me to pronounce this sentence, given your revolting behavior in this courtroom.”

He was sentenced to die from lethal injection. He is currently on death row in San Quintin, California.

Source.

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