Mary Ann Hughes holds a photo of her late son, Christopher, Friday, Jan. 30, 2004, in her home in Chino Hills, Calif. Kevin Cooper was convicted in the 1983 murders of Douglas and Peggy Ryen, both 41, their 10-year-old daughter, Jessica, and her 11-year-old friend, Christopher Hughes.


[I]A young Josh Ryen


Family photos of Doug and Peggy Ryen with their daughter Jessica, 10, and son Joshua, then 8-years-old. Joshua was the only survivor of the 1983 incident.



Kevin Cooper listens during his preliminary hearing in Ontario in November 1983 and listens with closed eyes as a judge in San Diego sentenced him to death on May 15, 1985.


Kevin Cooper


Facts of the Crime:

In June 1983 in Chino Hills, Douglas and Peggy Ryen and their 10-year-old daughter, Jessica, were killed in the master bedroom of their home. Christopher Hughes, 11, a neighbor, was also killed. Joshua Ryen survived despite serious wounds. Kevin Cooper, who escaped from Chino prison on June 2, was arrested 47 days later and was convicted for the murders in 1985 and faced execution.

Cooper claimed he was innocent and called for DNA testing of the evidence in 2000. In 2003, an execution date of February 10, 2004, was set for Cooper. In 2005, a federal judge upheld his death penalty.

Cooper was sentenced to death in San Bernardino County on May 15, 1985.