by Robert Scott
Detective Marziano answered, “Only if this goes to trial.” Then he asked her, “Do you have a cell phone?”
She answered that she did.
She told them that she would soon be going to Dallas and Denver for part of a promotion tour. The detectives wanted to get in touch with her again.
The next day, Marziano decided they needed to talk to Keri in person. They agreed to meet her at her lawyer’s office in Las Vegas. Then the detectives flew down to Vegas on Friday, August 11.
The interview was taped and all the detectives wore casual dress. They said later they didn’t want to intimidate her. No guns or other weapons were displayed. Looking for more background on Taylor, Keri told them, “Most people will talk behind your back. Taylor would do it to your face. He would make you mad. I had given up what little self-esteem I had to be with him. He’d say something and you’d go, ‘Ooohhh!’
“I never saw Taylor get angry. It was the other person who got angry. Actually, everything wasn’t about Harmony. It was all about Taylor. He’d talk about walls and bringing them down. If you disagreed with him, he’d say, ‘If you don’t want to listen to me, I don’t want to be in your space.’ And then he’d leave.”
Concerning Justin, she said, “He was very much a follower.”
Detective Marziano asked Keri if she thought Taylor could have brainwashed Justin. He asked, “Do you think he could make Justin do whatever he wanted him to do?”
Keri answered, “Absolutely! If you were around him for a little bit of time, he could brainwash you. He would say, ‘this is God’s plan. You’re my number one. I need you. He could also make a person feel like nothing, unless you were right on the same path with him. Otherwise, you were doomed.”
Keri elaborated about Justin’s life as well. She said, “He didn’t have any friends, except Dawn and Taylor. He was very odd. He had things he didn’t like about himself. About life. About people.
“Taylor told Justin to get that house (on Saddlewood Court) in his name. And Justin did. I felt bad for Justin. I knew that Taylor was never going to pay him back.”
Keri told Justin about this and he replied, “You don’t trust him and don’t believe in him. He’s going to make a lot of money.”
Keri also talked about how Taylor began to dominate Dawn Godman. “He fed off people. I started getting jealous about his relationship with Dawn. I asked him, ‘Why are you spending so much time with her?’ He said, ‘Because she believes in me. I have stuff to teach her.’”
The detectives asked Keri about In To Me See and Impact America. She admitted that she had helped with In To Me See. She said she was even the one who designed the colorful business cards.
She told of Taylor’s ideas that changed so rapidly she could barely keep up with them. Underage girl prostitutes, Feline Club, yuppies and blackmail. It all started sounding too bizarre and unrealistic to her.
Keri said, “Impact America—I didn’t want to be a part of it. I knew from the beginning it was just la-la land. I never thought he was a prophet of God. He’d say stuff like, ‘I’m feeling God’s plan.’ He said it would take a million dollars to make a million.”
She told them that Taylor became upset with her after her professional Playboy shoot and her interest in a modeling career. He wanted her to be one of the three core people. He didn’t want her going down to southern California. He wanted her to stay and soak in his wisdom of Impact America. As time went on, however, she felt that he was talking gibberish. He was moving toward the Days of Thunder, and she wanted no part of it.
Hundreds of miles away from Las Vegas, in Marin County, two hundred friends, family and the merely curious gathered at the Paper Mill Creek Saloon in Woodacre. On a fence across the street were hundreds of messages for Selina Bishop, Jenny Villarin and Jim Gamble. Tom Pinkson, a next-door neighbor of Selina’s, told reporters, “This is a valley of love, and that’s been violated. We’re going to have to heal that love. It’s going to take a lot of work. If we stay with bitterness and anger, then we’ve lost twice.”
Mark Land, who was married to Jenny’s sister Olga, said, “With her patience and her insight, she gave my children the gift to read. She touched all our lives. I can see that here today.”
Jenny Mehrtens spoke of Jenny Villarin always having a laugh and a smile: “The things in the paper and the news, we’ve got to forget about it. We’ve got to think about the things these people brought us.”
Even a person who had not seen Jim Gamble in thirty-eight years was there. He was a classmate of Jim’s from high school days. He said, “He was a real great guy.”
Elvin Bishop’s brother-in-law said of the guitarist and his family, “They’re so overwhelmed by grief, they find it impossible to face anyone right now. But they’re immensely touched by this gathering.”
Robert Asuncion declared, “You can bet this family will be stronger. Every moment with your family is special. Don’t let this happen to your family, where you lose touch, then get together to grieve.”
CHAPTER 11
The Beehive
At the Concord Insurance Service, Detective Patrick Murray looked at Polaroid photos of Justin’s pickup. He also talked to George Calhoun at Dean Witter and contacted AT&T, where Justin had worked. Detective Murray was put in contact with Don McNay, who was Justin’s supervisor. He advised Murray that employees had their own vehicles and did not share their vehicles with other employees. Justin’s vehicle was towed to the Concord Police Department, where it was eventually searched for evidence.
Edward Berry, of Double Header Pagers, talked to CPD and looked at a photo lineup. He identified Dawn Godman out of a group of six photos. Melissa Mahan at Not Too Naughty was asked about the purchase of handcuffs and leg irons. She also picked Dawn Godman out of a lineup.
Andre Lepage was shown a series of photos at Pep Boys. He picked Justin Helzer out of the lineup. Elizabeth Hand told police about Sky Anderson (Dawn Godman) buying Pro Grip ski gloves.
An interesting thing came to light from a Contra Costa County Jail inmate named Tammy Funderburk. A report on her from a jailer stated, “Funderburk was at the Martinez Detention Facility with several other women waiting for a court appearance. A television set was on showing news on the murders (of the five people connected to the Helzers and Godman). Dawn Godman was in the cell with her and said, ‘Oh, they keep saying he’s my boyfriend (referring to Taylor). He ain’t my boyfriend. I’ve had sex with him and got him high, but he’s not my boyfriend.’
“Godman then said that she had been in the Marin house and saw things there she didn’t like. Godman was asked if she killed anyone, and she said, ‘No.’
“Funderburk said that Godman laughed and smirked at the news about the murders. Her attitude upset the other inmates so much that Godman was removed from the cell for her own protection.”
Dawn’s pickup truck also became an item of interest to authorities. Jailers intercepted a letter from Godman’s parents concerning the pickup, which had never been taken into custody, since no one knew its connection at the time. The parents said in part, “We’re picking up your truck and bringing it home.” Home was up at the small town of Ione in the Gold Rush country.
When officers went up there to search the pickup, they found a purse and small duffel bag in the pickup. Strangely enough, on the duffel bag the letters MIA were on a zipper tag. As an acronym, MIA can often stand for missing in action.
William Miller, of Cool Rides, was asked by detectives about the rental of the personal watercraft. He said that the rental in question had a fourteen-gallon tank, and when it was returned, it had four gallons of fuel left in the tank. He figured that the watercraft had been in operation for about two to three hours to use that much fuel. He also said he was surprised when Justin turned it in earlier than necessary. When asked by Miller why, Justin told him he was tired.
Detective Erin Inskip spoke with the Soladays about Selina’s supposed trip to Yosemite. During this conversation, Jay Soladay
mentioned a black Saturn. He identified the Saturn as belonging to Selina’s boyfriend, Jordan.
Leora Soladay identified Justin’s white pickup truck. She said it had been used to help Selina move into her apartment. Leora also picked out a photo of Taylor Helzer from a photo lineup and identified the man as Jordan.
Detective Wick spoke with Elvin Bishop. Elvin recognized a portion of an outgoing audio message on a phone tape that was Selina’s voice. The message was directed to Jordan.
Justin’s boss at AT&T was contacted. He showed the detective time card records that showed Justin called in sick for July 30, July 31 and August 1. Justin was scheduled off on August 2 and 3, but he never showed up for work again on August 4 or any days thereafter, although August 6 and 7 were scheduled vacation days.
CPD detective Steve Harn went to Sears and verified that a reciprocating saw had been purchased there. There was also a purchase of a six-inch and nine-inch blade. The name on a warranty registration was signed Sky Anderson.
Officer Vedder matched white plastic bags with red drawstrings, from the Saddlewood residence, to similar white plastic bags with red drawstrings that held the heads of Ivan Stineman, Annette Stineman and Selina Bishop.
The owner of the Concord Cab Company confirmed that a ride had been given to Saddlewood Court on Tuesday, August 1. Driver Nicolai Nenad was questioned, and it was learned he actually knew Justin Helzer. He related his story about serving as an MP with Justin in Germany.
In the week after the arrests, the media started to get a handle on elements of the case. In an edition of the San Francisco Chronicle, a story stated, “It would take nearly a week for investigators from the two jurisdictions to connect the seemingly unrelated events. When they did, they would uncover what authorities believe to be a bizarre and violent multicounty rampage by a pair of Contra Costa brothers who had had little prior contact with the law.”
The article went on to speak of Selina acting like a lovesick teenager and being swept into Taylor’s web of deceit.
In fact, at this point, no one knew for sure how much Selina was involved in the plot. Muddying the waters was a comment made by one of Selina’s friends. This person told reporters that Selina was banking large sums of money and supposedly going to get 20 percent of some huge settlement that her boyfriend, Jordan, was going to get.
Even Contra Costa Deputy DA Harold Jewett admitted, “We have information that Selina Bishop did open a bank account in connection with this case.”
The San Francisco Chronicle ran an article saying, “The financial entanglements . . . deepen the mystery over whether Bishop was a willful participant in the plot or an unwitting pawn.”
Marin County Sheriff’s Office sergeant Pittman shed no light on the subject when he said, “Right now, we’re unclear about what her involvement may have been.”
Then he added a new twist. Sergeant Pittman told reporters, “Although we seem to be focusing on these three suspects (Justin, Taylor and Dawn), we are not limiting ourselves to that. We’re trying to contact people who might have seen or had contact with any of the victims before their deaths. Obviously the investigation still has a long way to go. There is a lot of follow-up to do.”
On August 16, the newspapers added an intriguing new twist to what Pittman was implying. The Contra Costa Times headline stated: NEW LEAD IN BISHOP CASE. In smaller letters, it proclaimed: “Police seek a man videotaped at a Petaluma bank.”
The investigators were indeed handing out copies of photos of the man videotaped at the Washington Mutual ATM machine on August 1, 2000. He was described as being white, between thirty-five and forty-five years of age, of average build, with short dark hair, wearing jeans and a light-colored T-shirt with sunglasses hanging from the collar. The time he was at the ATM was 5:28 P.M., and this corresponded to the time that a check for $10,000 was deposited into Selina Bishop’s account. Even more intriguing was the fact that “the videotape also shows that this unknown suspect arrived and left the bank in a dark-colored sedan. He is not Taylor or Justin Helzer.”
Lieutenant Paul Crain told reporters, “He’s not a suspect, but he is someone we’d like to locate, identify and interview.”
While the hunt for the elusive mystery man went on, in Concord, crime scene technicians were tearing up the Helzers’ front yard with a backhoe. They were in the process of extracting the sewer line all the way out to the middle of the street.
Next-door neighbor Claude Reese told a reporter, “It looks like they took out the sewer line. I have a feeling they’re looking for blood and body parts and whatever else someone might have put down the drain.”
This supposition was given credence by a story told by neighbor Kaye Shaman. She told investigators that one day she went out to use the hose, the same one Justin had asked to use back in the first week of August, and found what looked like flesh and blood near the hose. She had no idea where it had come from at the time. She thought a hawk might have deposited it there. Now she had a whole new theory.
With new evidence being unearthed every day in the grisly crimes, Elvin Bishop told a Contra Costa Times reporter, “My immediate aim and ambition is not to go crazy. Blues was invented to get people through rough times. Since I’m lucky enough to have the blues, I might as well take advantage of it.” He went on to say that he was seeing a counselor and seeking solace in music.
The story of the “mystery man” at the Petaluma bank kept mutating and growing. In fact, the Contra Costa Times reported that the Marin-based company Industrial Light and Magic was set to enhance digitally the videotape of that man at the ATM machine. This company was owned by George Lucas of Star Wars fame. It was ironic in the extreme that Selina had once played on a movie set left behind by George Lucas.
The possibility of a fourth suspect on the loose set nerves on edge in Forest Knolls and Woodacre. Some people feared for their safety. Sergeant Pittman tried to allay their fears by saying, “We have no reason to believe the public is in danger from the person in the photo.” But after the brutality of the crimes and the discovery of body bags in the Delta, many residents weren’t so sure.
On August 18, Taylor’s attorney, Suzanne Chapot told reporters that Taylor was severely mentally disturbed. She said, “He doesn’t know what happened. He hears things that people say in the jail and he is horrified.”
Minutes before the court hearing that day, Gerry and Carma Helzer were served with subpoenas to testify before a grand jury. Carma testified before them for five hours; on leaving the building, according to reporters, she burst into tears.
On August 26, a lot more news was revealed about a conversation Taylor Helzer had with Detective Chiabotti back on August 7, after he’d been arrested. In an interview room, a very interesting exchange took place:
Chiabotti: Do you want to talk to me?
Taylor: I did . . . I do.
Chiabotti: You want to go someplace to sit down or do you want to talk here?
Taylor: Basically what I’m trying to say is . . . You know what? I’m getting freaked out here. I just wanna go back to my cell.
Chiabotti: That’s fine. You can go back to your cell.
Taylor: Okay. What I’m trying to say is, I don’t know. I just see things that I’m remembering now. Or am I having a vision because that happens?
Chiabotti: Okay. Do you want to talk about it now, or what?
Taylor: Yeah, I do. I’m telling you . . . right now that I’m remembering things regarding Selina and regarding Ivan and Annette. I told her (another detective) that I didn’t remember. And I didn’t at the time, but I’m starting to think these weren’t dreams. ’Cause, see, there are two (Justin and Dawn) who shouldn’t be in here. And I knew that already, but these two shouldn’t be here. So as soon as—I’ll just tell you this . . . as soon as I get to hug my brother and tell him I’m sorry in front of his lawyer, then I’ve got a lot to tell you regarding Selina and Ivan and Annette and myself.
Chiabotti: Okay.
Taylor: And I want
to talk to them and tell them I’m sorry if I did anything for the betrayal of their trust because my actions have obviously made it look like they did something. Otherwise they wouldn’t be here this long. I need to tell somebody this, but I don’t need a lawyer to do that. I need to make sure they both have a lawyer before I say anything. I need to say my good-byes to both of them. Better get me in the same room at the same time. Whatever.
Chiabotti: Okay, well, let me run this by you. . . .
Taylor: Yeah.
Chiabotti: Probably when the woman detective talked to you, I guessed you asked for an attorney, so there’s really nothing I can do about that. Now they’ve asked for their own attorneys, so they’ll be provided with attorneys.
Taylor: So when I see that they happen to have an attorney, I’ve got some information to share with you guys.
Chiabotti: Okay, what?
Taylor: I’m not very good at things like this. I’m right now having a hard time.
Chiabotti: Okay, Glenn. Just so I understand this right, once they have an attorney and you’re sure of that, then you’re interested in talking with me?
Taylor: Right now, that’s what Spirit says. Spirit says that I should not let them be here.
Taylor may have been feigning ignorance, but it may have also been a clever ploy to make sure that Justin and Dawn were “lawyered up” and not talking on their own. Taylor probably knew that a lawyer would tell the others not to talk. And by saying he was sorry that they were in jail, and shouldn’t be there, he could indicate his loyalty to them, and they should do the same for him.