Jonathan Sellers
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Jonathan Lee Sellers (1984- March 27, 1993) was one of two boys found murdered in San Diego, California in March 1993. His older half-brother is Alton Williams, cast member of The Real World: Las Vegas.
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[edit] The Crime
On Saturday March 27, 1993, Jonathan's older brother Alton Williams had plans to spend the day bike riding with Charlie Keever. Plans changed and Alton stayed behind while Jonathan went instead. Jennifer, Jonathan's twin sister, also wanted to go along but Jonathan said he didn't want a girl tagging along so she remained at home. Around noon, Jonathan and Charlie departed on their 20-inch royal-blue bicycles and went to Rally's restaurant (a local fast food place) in the Palm City neighborhood of San Diego. Afterwards, they went to a nearby pet store and played with some of the dogs and cats, chatting with the manager and customers. After leaving the pet store the boys were not seen alive again.
Police surmise that somewhere along their bike ride the boys were lured or went to a make-shift igloo-like fort made out of brush along the Otay River in Palm City where they were molested and killed.
On Monday March 29, 1993, Jonathan and Charlie's bodies were discovered by a bike rider 10 yards from their bikes in overgrown brush on the west bank of the Otay River. Jonathan was found hanging by a rope from a caster bean tree. His legs and arms were bound with rope, his mouth gagged and he was naked from the waist down. He also had a noose tied around his neck. A rope was wrapped tightly around his neck and his genitals were damaged. [1] The brutal murder sparked fear in the county and till this day remains one of the most horrific crimes in San Diego history.
[edit] Quest for the Killer
For nearly nine years the identity of Jonathan and Charlie's killer remained unknown. In March 2001 a DNA database identified Scott Erskine as a suspect from DNA (found at the scene in Charlie's mouth and from two cigarette butts found near the bodies) at the time of the murder. Erskine, a man with a long history of violent sexual assaults was already in prison, serving 70 years, for a rape and kidnapping he committed six months after the boys' murder.
[edit] Conviction
In 2003 Erskine went to trial on the charges of two counts of murder with the special allegations of sodomy, oral copulation, child molestation and torture and three counts of special circumstances: torture, sexual assault and multiple murders, he was found guilty. During the penalty phase one juror did not want to give Erskine the death penalty so the judge declared a mistrial for the penalty phase portion of the trial. In April 2004 a new jury was convened and they voted unanimously for a death sentence. September 1, 2004 a California judge sentenced Erskine to death row and he was sent to San Quentin State Prison.
[edit] References
- ^ Jonathan Sellers and Charlie Keever murder case. "The long and costly trail leading to Erskine's conviction in slayings". Retrieved on July 23, 2007.
