Jon Scott Dunkle (born October 11, 1960), known as The Peninsula Serial Killer, is an American serial killer who murdered three young boys in Belmont, California between 1981 and 1985.[1] Dunkle was convicted of two of the murders in 1989 and was sentenced to death early the following year.[2] Dunkle received an additional sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in 1994 after pleading guilty to a 1985 murder.[3] In addition to the three boys that were murdered, Dunkle assaulted numerous other boys and was arrested for other crimes, including burglaries and hit-and-run incidents.[1]
Jon Dunkle | |
|---|---|
 Dunkle in a 2007 prison photograph | |
| Born | Jon Scott Dunkle October 11, 1960 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Peninsula Serial Killer |
| Conviction(s) | First-degree murder |
| Criminal penalty | Death (1989) Life imprisonment (1995) |
| Details | |
| Victims | 3 |
Span of crimes | 1981–1985 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | California |
Date apprehended | July 5, 1985 |
| Imprisoned at | San Quentin State Prison |
Murders
editOn November 8, 1981, John Thomas Davies, 15, disappeared from his Belmont home. Following Davies' disappearance, his family became advocates for missing, abused, and exploited children. They helped establish the Violent Crimes Information Center, which provided law enforcement agencies a network to share their resources.[4][5][6]
On November 5, 1982, Steve Murphy was hit by a car while walking home from a party. He was then placed in the trunk of the car, driven to a remote area of Belmont, and dumped in a ravine.[7][8][9] The following month, on December 31, 1982, Dunkle struck Monte Hansen, 15, with a two-by-four board at his San Mateo home.[10] Both Murphy and Hansen survived.
On October 2, 1984, 12-year-old Lance Turner was found dead near Water Dog Lake in Belmont, having been stabbed 23 times. On November 19, Turner's grandmother received a phone call from an unidentified man stating, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry -- should I do it again -- I'm sorry, really sorry."[11][12][6]
On July 2, 1985, 12-year-old Sean Gregory Dannehl disappeared while riding his bike in Fair Oaks. His body was found six days later, near the south side of the American River. During Dunkle's trial, it was revealed that Dannehl was forced to remove his clothing before he was stabbed in the chest and throat. After Dannehl was dead, Dunkle stabbed him once in each eye.[13][10]
Arrest and convictions
editDunkle was arrested for burglary on April 4, 1985, after he was seen entering a home in Rancho Cordova while under surveillance by the police department. In November, Dunkle was charged with felony hit-and-run after a transcript of a conversation between an undercover Belmont police officer and Dunkle was released, in which he admitted to being responsible for the incident involving Steve Murphy three years earlier.[14][8][9]
For the burglary, Dunkle was sentenced to six years in prison, the maximum sentence, due to aggravated factors including four convictions for drunk driving, two hit-and-run incidents, and probation violations.[15]
On December 7, 1989, Dunkle was found guilty of first-degree murder in the fatal stabbings of John Davies and Lance Turner. He was sentenced to death via the gas chamber on January 10, 1990. Nearly five years later, on December 30, 1994, Dunkle was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for the murder of Sean Dannehl.[16][17][18]
Imprisonment
editDunkle has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.[19] In 2016, The Los Angeles Times reported that Dunkle had been described as "gravely disabled", frequently banged his head against the wall, and was "said to believe he is controlled by computer chips and dies at night to become a new being."[19] Dunkle was appointed a legal guardian in 2002.[20]
On August 4, 2005, the Supreme Court voted unanimously to affirm Dunkle's death sentence.[21]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Holcomb, Ashley. "Jon Scott Dunkle" (PDF). radford.edu. Department of Psychology , Radford University. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- ^ "Man Found Guilty of Boys' Deaths". Orange County Register. Ron Hasse. Knight-Ridder Newspapers. December 11, 1989. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- ^ "Dunkle gets life in prison". SFGate. Hearst Newspapers. January 6, 1995. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- ^ "Baffling end to murder case". Peninsula Times Tribune. October 8, 1986. p. 1. Retrieved July 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Events leading to discovery of murder victim's body". Peninsula Times Tribune. October 8, 1986. p. 12. Retrieved July 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "The long, winding road to justice". Peninsula Times Tribune. December 1, 1989. p. 23. Retrieved July 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "PEOPLE v. DUNKLE (2005)". August 4, 2005. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
- ^ a b "Turner suspect named in hit-run". Peninsula Times Tribune. November 28, 1985. p. 1. Retrieved July 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Turner suspect named in hit-run". Peninsula Times Tribune. November 28, 1985. p. 20. Retrieved July 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Jury hears grisly details of third slaying". Peninsula Times Tribune. January 3, 1990. p. 9. Retrieved July 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Suspect denies killing boy". Peninsula Times Tribune. January 9, 1985. p. 90. Retrieved July 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Suspect denies killing boy". Peninsula Times Tribune. January 9, 1985. p. 99. Retrieved July 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Futile end to baffling Turner case". Peninsula Times Tribune. June 22, 1986. p. 5. Retrieved July 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Belmont suspect arrested". Peninsula Times Tribune. April 6, 1985. p. 1. Retrieved July 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "One-time murder suspect jailed for burglary". Peninsula Times Tribune. May 16, 1986. p. 1. Retrieved July 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Dunkle verdict: guilty". Peninsula Times Tribune. December 7, 1989. p. 1. Retrieved July 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Verdict is death". The Modesto Bee. January 11, 1990. p. 17. Retrieved July 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Killer of two boys gets life for third slaying". The Modesto Bee. December 31, 1994. p. 7. Retrieved July 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b St. John, Paige (June 5, 2016). "Schizophrenia, psychosis and paranoia. Are these California death row inmates too insane to execute?". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
- ^ Dolan, Maura (September 15, 2002). "Court Alters Outlook for Death Row's Mentally Ill". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
- ^ "Court affirms death sentence". Oakland Tribune. August 6, 2005. p. 10. Retrieved July 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.