Unholy Sacrifice

by Robert Scott

  Jewett spoke of the doctors who were not called by the defense because their reports would say that Justin was sane. These doctors included a man named O’Reilly and Carol Walzer. Walzer’s report, in particular, showed that on the MMPI test, Justin showed no signs of mental illness. He was depressed and socially ill at ease, but not mentally ill.

  Dr. Raffle didn’t even interview Justin until May 2003, Jewett said, and when he did, Justin told him, “The ends justify the means.” Asked if he would kill someone, Justin answered, “If the reason was good enough, yes.”

  It showed that reason was a part of Justin’s mental capacity, according to Jewett. Justin was even cogent enough to tell Dr. Raffle on a question, “I don’t want to answer that question. It may lead back to the case.”

  Jewett brought up the fact that Justin told someone in the mid-1990s: “Even if I sinned, and repented, I would be forgiven.” It showed that he made a conscious choice to sin.

  Things really propelled Justin to plead insanity, according to Jewett, when Dawn Godman agreed to testify in exchange for a plea bargain. In October 2003, Justin’s lawyers entered a plea for him, not guilty by reason of insanity.

  Jewett cited Dr. Wornian saying, “Justin Helzer was sane. He had a personality disorder, but not enough to stop him from understanding the nature of his acts. He did understand what was legally right and wrong.

  “When you balance all the evidence—there is no mental disease as noted in DSM4. Justin even said, ‘I will follow Taylor nine out often times.’ It shows that he was capable of making a choice.”

  Unlike the guilt phase, the defense had a last chance to speak in the sanity phase. Hoehn told the jurors, “At the time of the crimes, Justin Helzer was insane. So said Dr. Raffle. So said Dr. Dolgoff. Follow the law according to the doctors, not the words of Mr. Jewett. He (Justin) was crazy! He was out of touch with reality!”

  Judge O’Malley then gave the jurors instructions for the sanity phase. They were not to be swayed in reaching their verdict either by sentiment or pity. The only issue before them was sanity or insanity. They were not to think about sentencing. They could consider if Justin knew moral right from wrong. The burden of proof was now on the defense, but unlike the guilty phase, they did not need to go beyond a reasonable doubt. If they were 51 percent sure that Justin was insane at the time of the crime, then they had to vote for insanity.

  Chris Darden was in Judge O’Malley’s courtroom as Jewett and Cook were discussing some topics with the judge. Around 3:45 P.M. on July 15, Chris noted that a buzzer went off and bailiff Mike Harkelroad announced, “We have a verdict.”

  “What?” Daniel Cook asked in surprise.

  Even Harold Jewett seemed to be surprised by the announcement.

  An hour was given for family members and reporters to come to the courtroom. Chris noted that Heather rushed into the court about 4:30 P.M., just as the jurors were filing in. A few minutes later, the verdict in the sanity phase of Justin Alan Helzer was read by court clerk Tom Moyer. The verdict was that Justin had been sane at the time of the crime. He could now face the death penalty.

  Chris said, “About three seconds after Tom sat down, Carma rushed in all out of breath. She didn’t know what just happened. Heather put her arm around her mother and whispered in her ear. Carma nodded her head and didn’t say a thing.”

  Much of the defense team’s hopes had lain with the sanity phase. With those hopes dashed, the sentencing phase truly was a matter of life and death for Justin Helzer. Cook wanted to exclude witnesses who would testify during the victim impact statements from sitting in the gallery during other witnesses’ testimony. He told Judge O’Malley, “Their natural humanity may project itself into the trial when it shouldn’t.”

  Judge O’Malley responded, “I’m going to start with an admonition. I will deal with this, incident by incident. There are emotions on both sides. I can understand emotions.”

  Then she spoke directly to family members. “I cannot begin to put myself into your situation. As hard as this is, I’m going to ask you to curb your emotions. If you are going to wipe your eyes, lower your head to do it. Everything you have done so far has been outstanding. I would hate the next step to be the removal of witnesses.”

  On July 21, 2004, Cook was looking at photos of victims and still asking for the exclusion of victim impact statements as being too prejudicial and inflammatory. He was quiet and determined in his arguments. He cited a U.S. Supreme Court case involving an O’Connor decision concerning the Eighth Amendment. He also said that victim impact statements in California were up to interpretation.

  Jewett countered with California court and United States court decisions contrary to Cook’s allegations. He said, “Emotional testimony is the tenet of this phase. I want to have the jury up personal and real about feelings of the victims’ families. Why a person loved another is relevant.”

  Judge O’Malley took these things into consideration and cited Tennessee v. Price and California v. Mitchum. She said these cases allowed such victim impact statements to be heard by a jury. She also noted that the potential victim impact witness list included seventeen people. She said for the number of victims, this was not excessive.

  After all the motions, the jury was brought in at 10:00 A.M. Almost immediately, victims’ family members grabbed boxes of tissues and passed them around. Because of all the people in the courtroom, Carma Helzer had to sit directly next to Jim Gamble’s mother.

  As the family members settled in, an incredible thing happened. Justin, who had been quiet and cooperative during the whole trial, began to speak. At first, his voice was so low that people outside of the first two rows could not hear him. But then his words became louder and more persistent. He said, “I want this life to be over. I want to die. I just want to die!”

  Momentarily stunned, Judge O’Malley raised her own voice and said, ‘No. No. No. This is not the time for this.”

  Justin continued, calm but determined. “I’m not trying to be rude or anything. I just want to die.”

  Judge O’Malley’s voice became louder and she shook her finger at Justin. “No. No. I’m not going to have this, Mr. Helzer!”

  Carma Helzer in the second row began crying quietly. Then as emotion took over, her whole body became racked with sobs. Before long, she was wailing in the courtroom.

  Justin would not cease, even as his lawyers tried to calm him down. “I just want to die!” became his mantra. It was a surreal scene; Justin begging for death, Judge O’Malley ordering him to be quiet, and Carma Helzer sobbing.

  Judge O’Malley, seeing that she was getting nowhere with Justin, had the courtroom cleared of jury and gallery. One of the last sentences anyone heard as they filed out was “I don’t know what possessed you, Mr. Helzer!”

  Out in the hallway, it was an incredible scene—jurors bunched together down at one end of the hallway, journalists and gallery milling around in the central alcove, and Carma Helzer, off to the side, crying near the stairs. This situation lasted for nearly fifteen minutes, until everyone was ushered back into the courtroom. As a chastened Justin Helzer sat quietly, Judge O’Malley instructed the jury, “Anything you may have heard, you must disregard and base your decision on evidence.” Then the long parade of friends and family of the victims began.

  Judy Nemec was first. She spoke of her parents’ life and her life with them. Then she described the dark days of August 2000. “I clearly was in a panic,” she said. “It was like losing a child at the mall. We were in such shock. Finally I knew we wouldn’t find them alive.”

  Jewett noted that she had been in court almost every day of Justin’s trial. He asked her why:

  Judy: We’d read the papers for weeks of all the horrible things. We understood that all the evidence had to be presented. [We waited] for some kind of closure.

  Jewett: Briefly tell about your time in court.

  Judy: All of this is horrible. They were not ready to die—the victims of a harebrained scheme. What
pisses me the most, I never got to tell them goodbye. Before trial, I cried every day. I’m fearful of being in public alone. I don’t open my doors to strangers. Before, it was my imagination running wild. Now it is more focused.

  Nancy Hall also gave a recitation of her parents’ lives. Jewett asked her the same question of why she had come to court every day. She answered, “I have to get some kind of closure, though I don’t think this will ever be closed. The hardest thing for me is to know that once they’d been taken, what their thoughts must have been for each other. Their last moments.”

  And so it went, friends and family speaking for Jim Gamble, for Jenny Villarin and for Selina Bishop. Olga Land said of Selina after they knew Jenny was dead, “We knew that Selina would want to curl up in her mommy’s bed. But she never came home. I started to realize she would never come home. Selina wouldn’t have hurt anybody. I’ve been here almost every day for four months. Jenny and Selina would have been here for me.”

  Robert Asuncion added, “I don’t take anything for granted anymore.” Then he looked right at the jury and said, “Hold your children. Tell them that you love them.”

  David Villarin was angry and his testimony was potent. He had always been the rock in the family. He said, “I was horrified that somebody could do this. They treated ’em like trash! They dumped their bodies like garbage in the river!”

  After the last of the victims’ witnesses, it was Cook’s turn to present witnesses as to Justin’s life and character. Jason Chavez had known Justin at the LDS Third Ward. He attended missionary-school classes with Justin there in 1993. Justin had taught some of the classes. Chavez said, “Justin didn’t have a lot of stage presence. But he taught by the Spirit. He was a guy who followed the Spirit. He was the most loving guy I knew. You wanted to be around a guy like Justin. He was a person who lived as he taught.

  “Justin was a pure-hearted man who lived the principles of the Gospel. I realize how unpopular this is (speaking up for Justin). That the victims’ families are here. But I have to do this. This is the least I could do for the wonderful friend that he was.”

  Chris Bergez had become acquainted with Justin at the Kaiser Hospital in Concord when Justin worked there. Justin followed Bergez on his rounds, and Bergez taught him how to take care of patients. Justin was always patient and kind and particularly so with the elderly. Bergez said, “We helped people get back on their feet again. Justin was enthusiastic about life. He was a great kid on a way to a good career. He stuck out because he was a kind, intelligent person. I never could have imagined he would do something like this. He does have some redeeming factors.”

  George Pinney, Justin’s old teacher at Sunday school, said, “I saw the Helzer family once a month at home study. This was when Justin was in junior high school. Justin used to baby-sit our kids. I wouldn’t have handed over that responsibility to just anyone. He did an excellent job.

  “Even at a young age, he was very committed to the Gospel. He would often be ridiculed by other kids for being too ‘churchy.’ Focusing on God wasn’t a top priority for a lot of thirteen- and fourteen-year-olds. Even when he got flak for it, he wasn’t ashamed of things he believed in. He wasn’t confrontational, but he wouldn’t back down.

  “Justin had a huge admiration of Taylor. A very strong love and sense of devotion. He kind of worshiped at Taylor’s feet. They were very different guys. Taylor was dynamic, even domineering. His eyes were piercing. Justin was quiet, soft-spoken and reserved. He was a follower.

  “I remember when I first saw what he was accused of in the news. The Justin I knew would have said stop. It wasn’t the Justin I knew. One thing I do know, Justin would have followed Taylor off the face of the earth.”

  Justin’s cousin Charney Hoffman picked up on this theme. He said, “It was impossible to be around Taylor without being deeply influenced by him. The experience of being in Taylor’s presence was so profound, I think it would be difficult for someone with Justin’s personality. I don’t think Justin had a chance.”

  One of the most powerful spokesmen for Justin was fifty-four-year-old George Chiu. Chiu was a pharmacist, and in the year 2000 he was convicted of embezelling from the company he worked for. He had to spend sixteen months of his time in the Contra Costa County Jail. It was there that he met Justin at the Bible-study class. Chiu said, “I got to know Justin on a personal level. He was a gentle spirit. He never talked about his crimes. Everyone was afraid of him originally. Everyone shied away from him.

  “Justin had a good knowledge of scripture. We were there to learn. It wasn’t just an excuse to get out of the pod. It was for inner peace. We looked forward to it every week. We also felt like brothers in the group. To forgive and move on.”

  Justin even taught Chiu some yoga. Chiu said, “I got a benefit from Justin. Yoga removed me from a tough environment. I read cards that his mom would write. And they were the most beautiful cards. I could imagine what his mom was going through.

  “I stuck out like a sore thumb in jail. It was a huge range of inmates. Everything from drunk driving to murder. But they were all real human beings. Justin and I wouldn’t have been friends on the street, but in there I perceived him as a gentle spirit. A gentle soul. He carried himself well with other people. Always a hard worker. Not just to pass the time, but to make the best of the situation.

  “Justin was not prejudiced. He didn’t have animosity for any group or anyone.”

  As far as why Chiu thought Justin should live rather than receive the death sentence, he said, “I feel strongly he will help others to come to God. I’m starting a new life. I’m blessed. You learn from your mistakes.” In fact, Chiu had flown all the way from the Philippines to speak up for Justin at his trial. He was on a business trip and took a break from it to attend the trial as a witness.

  Just as powerful as Chiu, in her own way, was Ann, Taylor Helzer’s ex-wife. She said, “It’s mind-boggling about Justin’s part in this. Justin truly has a heart of gold. He never would have done any of this without Taylor’s interaction. Justin was the most sweet, loving and caring guy I knew. We’re all terribly sorry. This never should have happened. I can’t begin to put myself in the victims’ families’ shoes.”

  Then she turned to the jury and implored, “Please spare Justin’s life. Please! Justin is a worthwhile person, even if you cannot see that now. People can learn positive things from Justin.”

  After Ann, Jewett wanted to bring various incident reports into the trial. Outside the presence of the jury, he said there were three in particular. In one instance, Justin had been waiting in line at a Bank of America in Concord when an elderly man cut in front of everyone. When Justin told him that he’d cut into line, the man became belligerent. He even shoved Justin. Justin continued to argue and pushed the man so hard that he fell down. The police were called to the scene.

  There were also jailhouse incidents. Justin was in a food line in jail when an argument broke out about who was first in line. Justin began to reach for a sandwich from the sandwich bin when a deputy told him, “Go to the other line.”

  Instead of following orders, Justin told the deputy, “Chill out.”

  The deputy asked, “What?”

  Justin replied, “You heard me.”

  In another incident, a deputy was walking by the cells when he saw Justin and his cellmate punching each other. The deputy told them to stop and they complied. In his report, the deputy did say that he didn’t know if they were just playing around or if Justin was defending himself.

  A third jailhouse incident occurred when Justin got a new cellmate. The new cellmate complained about Justin’s eating habits. He said that Justin had more than forty oranges stuffed into a desk drawer. He also said that he hadn’t been in the cell for more than forty-five minutes when Justin started talking about God and the Devil. According to the cellmate, Justin told him, “I believe in the Devil more than in Jesus Christ.”

  Within two hours of being placed in the cell, the new person wanted t
o be transferred away from Justin. He said that Justin sat down on the toilet to urinate. The new person concocted a story and told the guards that Justin wanted to kill him. Later, he recanted on the story, but he still did not want to be returned to Justin’s cell.

  Judge O’Malley ruled that Jewett could tell the jurors about the bank incident, but not about any of the jailhouse incidents. Cook made a request that he be allowed to put Carma Helzer on the stand and ask her only two questions. He wanted to restrict Jewett to only ask her about these two questions as well. But Judge O’Malley would not limit Jewett to those guidelines. According to Chris Darden, “Carma was sitting with her eyes closed and her hands clasped together as if praying for the request to be granted.”

  Carma’s prayers went unanswered. Judge O’Malley denied the request and Carma Helzer did not take the stand in Justin’s trial.

  Closing arguments in the sentencing phase reverted to the original format, where Jewett spoke first, followed by Cook, and then a short rebuttal by Jewett. Jewett brought in all the aggravating circumstances, from Justin buying a Beretta 9mm pistol, to his use of one in the military, and when he nodded his head at Taylor at the Stinemans’ door, indicating “come on.” It was a very long list that included killing Ivan Stineman by bashing his head on a bathroom floor and killing Selina with a hammer blow to the head.

  Jewettt told the jurors, “Remember the victims’ impact statements. Judy having to go down to the Concord Police Department to submit DNA for comparison. Judy receiving the phone call from the Concord police that a torso and right arm had been found in a duffel bag.