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Thread: Gene Estel McCurdy - California Death Row

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    Gene Estel McCurdy - California Death Row


    Maria Piceno



    Gene Estel McCurdy



    Summary of Offense:

    In March 1995, eight-year-old Maria Piceno was taken by Navy petty officer McCurdy during a trip to a local grocery store to get a snack. Her body was found almost two weeks later, on March 27, 1995, along Poso Creek in Kern County, having been sexually molested and suffocated.

    McCurdy was sentenced to death in Kings County on April 23, 1997.

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    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    July 29, 2013

    New book focuses on Maria Piceno case

    Investigation into kidnapping, murder of Lemoore girl recalled at signing

    By Joseph Luiz
    The Hanford Sentinel

    HANFORD — Retired Kings County Sheriff Cmdr. Mark Bingaman is aiming to keep the spirit of Maria Piceno alive.

    Bingaman held a signing Saturday at the old Kings County Courthouse for his book, “Vanished in Broad Daylight.” The book details the 1990s case of Piceno, an 8-year-old Lemoore resident who was kidnapped and brutally murdered by Gene McCurdy, a Navy petty officer at Naval Air Station Lemoore at the time.

    “Her death had a profound effect on me and everyone involved,” Bingaman said. “It never went away, not then and not now. I still have a picture of her up in my house.”

    Numerous people associated with the case were on hand at the signing, including Greg Lewis, lead detective on the case. McCurdy’s sister, Donna Holmes, who helped lead investigators to him and testified at the trial, also showed up.

    Maria’s mother, Arcelia Ferrel, made an appearance late in the event, along with daughter Lucero Piceno and son Cristian Meza. Speaking in Spanish, Ferrel said the signing was very bittersweet.

    “I don’t know what to think,” she said. “It’s brought back a lot of memories. I’m still in shock.”

    Bingaman started his book in 2008. Although he initially wasn’t interested in writing about the case, he was encouraged by friends and family to put his lingering thoughts and feelings to paper.

    Lewis helped Bingaman with the book through editing, proofreading and fact-checking.

    “I wanted to make sure it was as accurate as possible,” he said. “I really love it. It’s a compelling story that really pulls you in. It was hard to put down.”

    In the book, Bingaman writes about the progression of the case over a nearly two-year period. In March 1995, Piceno was taken by McCurdy during a trip to a local grocery store to get a snack. Her body was found almost two weeks later along Poso Creek in Kern County, having been sexually molested and suffocated. McCurdy was tried and sentenced to death in 1997, but is still alive on death row at San Quentin State Prison.

    “Her death hit me hard because my daughter Korin was her age at the time,” Bingaman said. “I would think, ‘What if it was her that was taken?’”

    At the time, Maria was the oldest of the three children, with Lucero being 6 and Cristian 2. Lucero said she had a great relationship with her sister.

    “We were really close,” she said. “We would share Barbies. She was my best friend.”

    Since she was young during the investigation, Lucero said she didn’t know many of the details of what happened to Maria. Now that she’s older, she said she’s ready to find out the whole story about her sister.

    “I’ve bought the book and I’m prepared to read it,” she said. “There’s so much I still don’t know.”

    Barb Curry, Bingaman’s friend and former co-worker, also came out to the signing Saturday. She said she really enjoyed the book.

    “The way Mark writes was like I could hear him speaking this sad but amazing story,” she said. “It was definitely a page turner.”

    During the time of the case, she worked in the dispatch center and saw firsthand how everything went down.

    “This case was one of those amazing pieces of law enforcement work,” she said. “It was fact and instinct that brought McCurdy to justice. I hope this book keeps Maria’s memory alive and that we never forget that these crimes can happen in a small town. There are monsters out there.”

    Looking back on the case, Bingaman felt there was a lot law enforcement officers could have done better, such as responding earlier.

    “I didn’t find out about her disappearance until four days after it happened,” he said. “What I’ve realized now is that those first few hours are really crucial. Kidnap victims are usually dead within the first five or six hours.”

    Besides faster response time, Bingaman encourages law enforcement officers dealing with missing child cases to not let jurisdiction and territory issues impede an investigation. He also advises investigators to put up a mobile command center where the child was last seen and to use technology and social media as tools in an investigation.

    “You need to make sure you execute an action plan immediately and take a leadership role,” he said.

    Bingaman said he hopes that with his new book, more people will learn about the case and that it will help more children be found in the future.

    “This is one of those cases that just stays with you,” he said. “Maria’s short life wasn’t in vain. I hope people will learn from this because we need to do better. There’s always room for improvement.”

    Ferrel said she is grateful for all of the community support she’s received over the years.

    “[Maria’s] presence is still being felt by people,” she said. “She’s always going to be in our lives and other people’s lives.”

    http://www.hanfordsentinel.com/news/...9bb2963f4.html

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    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    McCurdy's direct appeal has been fully briefed before the California Supreme Court since October 1, 2007.

    http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.g...doc_no=S061026

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    Oral arguments on direct appeal scheduled for the 29th of May 2014.

    http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/SMAY14C.pdf

  5. #5
    howdytwo
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    Is there any further info on Gene McCurdy?

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    THE PEOPLE v GENE ESTEL McCURDY

    In an opinion dated August 14, 2014, the California Supreme Court AFFIRMED McCurdy's conviction and death sentence on direct appeal.
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend FFM's Avatar
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    The direct appeal stage ends after 17 years?! There is no way California will ever execute another inmate. Forget it. That state is a lost cause.

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    Supreme Court upholds death penalty in Lemoore girl's murder

    By Lewis Griswold
    The Fresno Bee

    The California Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty verdict against Gene Estel McCurdy, 54, who was found guilty 17 years ago of murdering 8-year-old Maria Piceno of Lemoore.

    In an opinion last week, the state high court unanimously rejected the automatic appeal.

    Piceno disappeared in March 1995 after leaving her mother's apartment to go to the store. Her body was found two weeks later in a Kern County creek.

    McCurdy, who grew up in Wasco, was a first class petty officer based at Lemoore Naval Air Station and was on an aircraft carrier when he was arrested about six weeks after the girl disappeared.

    In 1997, a Kings County jury found him guilty of murder with the special circumstance of kidnapping, and kidnapping to commit a lewd act on a child under 14.

    The appeal claimed McCurdy should have had a change of venue, statements to detectives should have been suppressed, testimony by his sister should have been rejected, and jury instructions were faulty.

    Larry Crouch, chief trial attorney for the Kings County District Attorney's Office, said he expects more appeals will be filed in the case.

    http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/08/19/...#storylink=cpy

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    In today's orders, the United States Supreme Court declined to review McCurdy's petition for certiorari.

    http://www.supremecourt.gov/search.a...es/14-8015.htm

  10. #10
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    On February 5, 2015, McCurdy filed a habeas petition before the California Supreme Court.

    https://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca....xSICAgCg%3D%3D

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