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Thread: Sara Krueger and Ryan Warner Sentenced to LWOP in 2014 CA Murder of Three-Year-Old Kayleigh Slusher

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    Sara Krueger and Ryan Warner Sentenced to LWOP in 2014 CA Murder of Three-Year-Old Kayleigh Slusher


    Kayleigh Slusher


    Sara Krueger and Ryan Warner


    Mayor raises questions surrounding 3-year-old girl's murder

    By Ken Wayne
    KTVU.com

    NAPA, Calif. — The Mayor of Napa is asking authorities whether they could have prevented the tragic death of 3-year-old Kayleigh Slusher.

    On Tuesday prosecutors charged Kayleigh’s mother, 23-year-old Sara Krueger and her boyfriend, 26-year-old Ryan Warner with murder. Court filings revealed that the young girl’s body had been held inside a suitcase in a freezer for three days before her body was found.

    The couple appeared separately in Napa Superior Court Tuesday but neither entered a plea.

    Napa Mayor Jill Techel is turning to police to find out more on the several contacts officers had with Krueger and Warner in the weeks prior to Kayleigh’s death.

    “What did they encounter when they went out there. What did they see? Was all the proper follow up processes handled,” Techel asked Tuesday.

    Court documents revealed statements by Kruegar and Warner, admitting that the child was found dead from “unknown circumstances” and for three days they stored her body in a suitcase they placed in the freezer.

    The District Attorney has not filed sexual assault charges, even though police had said earlier that there was evidence of sexual abuse. That charge is considered a special circumstance that could lead to the death penalty.

    “Based on evidence that we have in front of us today, there is not enough to support a charge of special circumstances,” said DA Gary Lieberstein.

    Family members also appeared at Tuesday’s hearing but did not talk to reporters.

    Drug use has been mentioned as a major factor in the girl’s death but prosecutors say they’re still in the process of learning more.

    “This is not a case about retribution it's about justice,” Lieberstein said. "It's about justice."

    Mayor Techel says she expects to hear more from Napa police about officers’ prior contacts with the girl. She adds that a grand jury could eventually explore any potential breakdown in protecting young Kaleigh.

    http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/crime-...ave-bee/ndDJH/

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    Not guilty pleas entered in Kayleigh Slusher murder case

    Authorities cite ‘fatal child abuse and neglect’

    By KERANA TODOROV
    The Napa Valley Register

    The mother and the boyfriend accused of murdering 3-year-old Kayleigh Slusher pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning, while the district attorney released more information about the child’s death.

    Sara Krueger, 23, and Ryan Scott Warner, 26, are accused of beating the child to death on Jan. 30.

    On Tuesday, their attorneys entered the not-guilty pleas before Napa County Superior Court Judge Mark Boessenecker and a courtroom filled with relatives and media representatives from the Bay Area.

    The cause of death was “multiple blunt impact injuries to head, torso and extremities due to fatal child abuse and neglect,” Napa County District Attorney Gary Lieberstein said in a phone message for reporters.

    In an earlier court filing, Napa Police said the suspects stored the body for three days in a suitcase in an east Napa apartment, then placed it in a freezer. When police entered the apartment, the body had been placed on a bed.

    Krueger cried in court Tuesday, while Warner sat quietly. They remain in the Napa County jail on no bail.

    Both defendants waived their rights to have a preliminary hearing in 10 days. Boessenecker set the next hearing for April 2.

    After the hearing, relatives, including Sara Krueger’s father, John Krueger, declined to speak to reporters.

    The murder and assault charges against Warner and Krueger carry a potential 25-year-to-life sentence upon conviction. As currently charged, this is not a death penalty case.

    As he headed to a meeting near the courthouse, Lieberstein told reporters he did not anticipate any changes to the charges “today.”

    “We will continue to evaluate the evidence as it is processed and reports are received. If we believe additional or different charges are warranted, we will make such decision at the appropriate time in the future,” he said in a later text message.

    On Tuesday, Boessenecker released medical records from both Queen of the Valley Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente to the District Attorney’s Office, which had subpoenaed them. The content of the records was not discussed in court.

    The judge denied media requests to take videos and photographs of the proceedings. Kris Keeley, chief deputy public defender who represents Krueger, had argued against allowing news photographers and a TV pool camera to record the proceedings, saying it would affect the jury pool, the investigations and her client’s right to a fair trial.

    In a brief, Keeley said denying the cameras and the videos in the courtroom is an “important step” toward keeping the case in Napa County.

    “Extensive pretrial publicity in a small county like Napa can result in a change of venue,” Keeley wrote. “A change of venue adversely impacts the parties by placing serious added burdens on witnesses, the victim’s families, defendant’s families and law enforcement. A change of venue would inevitably extract a serious financial toll on the county.

    “In addition, it is evident that where possible, a criminal trial should occur in the county where the alleged crime was committed. To permit extensive media coverage could result in the citizens of Napa not being able to hear and decide the case,” she wrote.

    Lieberstein, referring to a potential change of venue request, said, “We are a long way from that at this point.”

    Police had responded to Krueger’s apartment multiple times, included twice the week the child was found dead, according to police records. A day before the discovery, police had gone to the upstairs unit at the Royal Garden Apartments complex in the 2000 block of Wilkins Avenue for a welfare check but found no problems, police said.

    Krueger and Warner were arrested Feb. 2 in El Cerrito at a BART station.

    http://napavalleyregister.com/news/l...a4bcf887a.html

  3. #3
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    Gag order issued in Kayleigh Slusher case

    Citing extensive pretrial publicity, a Napa County Superior Court judge on Thursday imposed a gag order on attorneys and law enforcement personnel in the Kayleigh Slusher murder case.

    The gag order prevents prosecutors, defense attorneys and police personnel from discussing outside of court the case of the 3-year-old girl found dead Feb. 1 in her mother’s east Napa apartment.

    Sara Lynn Krueger, 23, of Napa and her boyfriend, Ryan Scott Warner, 26, are accused of killing Kayleigh Slusher on or about Jan. 30. The case has been covered by dozens of news outlets coast to coast.

    On Thursday, Judge Mark Boessenecker agreed to a modified gag order proposed by Krueger’s attorney, Chief Deputy Public Defender Kris Keeley, to restrict statements to the media, all in an effort to prevent a change of venue for the trial.

    Keeley told Boessenecker that the case is still described by the prosecution team as a “potential” death penalty case. The child’s death, she wrote in her brief, has been “often reported in a highly sensationalized manner.”

    “Ms. Krueger’s right to have a fair trial is paramount,” Keeley told the judge Thursday, as her client sat quietly next to her.

    Mervin Lernhart Jr., who represents Warner, joined the motion to have a gag order imposed on the various parties on behalf of his client, who was also present in court.

    Neither Warner nor Krueger addressed the court Thursday.

    Police officials “have selectively provided to the media inflammatory information regarding their investigation,” Keeley wrote in a brief submitted March 7.

    On March 6, a Google search for the terms “Sara Krueger Ryan Warner Napa Murder” resulted in 27,500 hits, Keeley said.

    While Napa County District Attorney Gary Lieberstein told the media after the first court appearance that the case should not be tried in the media, he later disclosed that Kayleigh Slusher died due to “blunt force trauma due to child abuse and neglect,” according to Keeley’s brief.

    Chief Deputy District Attorney Allison Haley did not object to the gag order, but questioned how it would cover potential witnesses who may not be aware of it. She noted comments on social media sites.

    Boessenecker modified the order to not cover witnesses for now. The Napa County District Attorney’s Office media line set up after the arrests can remain in place to let media know of pending court hearings.

    Police officers discovered the body of the child two days after her death inside Krueger’s apartment at 2060 Wilkins Ave., according to court records.

    Two officers found Kayleigh in a bed, a doll next to her, according to a search warrant. Her mother, who was arrested with Warner at a BART station in El Cerrito, later told police she had found her daughter dead late on Jan. 30, according to a search warrant. She admitted placing the body into a plastic bag and into a freezer for an “undetermined amount of time,” the report stated.

    http://napavalleyregister.com/news/l...9bb2963f4.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    February 5, 2016

    Napa DA not seeking death penalty in toddler’s death

    At a hearing Friday, the Napa County District Attorney said no death penalty will be sought in a 2014 murder case of a 3-year-old girl.

    The girl’s mother, Sara Krueger, 25, and Ryan Warner, 27, are held to answer to multiple charges, including murder with the special circumstance of torture.

    The couple were arrested Feb. 2 with the help of an anonymous citizen. Krueger and Warner were located and detained without incident by BART police at a restaurant near the El Cerrito Del Norte BART Station after police released their information to the public the night before.

    Kayleigh Slusher’s body was found at about 1 p.m. Feb. 1 in their apartment in the 2000 block of Wilkins Avenue.

    District Attorney Gary Lieberstein did not explain the reason behind the decision of not seeking the death penalty, citing the gag order that has been placed on the case.

    The next court appearance for the defendants is set for Aug. 19, and the jury trial is currently set for Sept. 19.

    http://www.timesheraldonline.com/art...NEWS/160209872
    "There is a point in the history of a society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly. Punishing somehow seems unfair to it, and it is certain that imagining ‘punishment’ and ‘being supposed to punish’ hurts it, arouses fear in it." Friedrich Nietzsche

  5. #5
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Jurors convict mother of torture death of Napa toddler, Kayleigh Slusher

    Bay City News

    NAPA (BCN) — Jurors have convicted Sarah Lynn Krueger this morning of the torture murder and assault causing death of her 3-year-old daughter at a Napa motel in 2014, according to a spokeswoman for the defense attorneys in the case.

    A Napa County Superior Court jury returned its verdict around 10:10 a.m., and a separate jury is now returning its verdict against Krueger’s co-defendant and boyfriend Ryan Scott Warner, according to the spokeswoman for attorneys Jim McEntee and Mervin Lernhart Jr.

    Two separate juries in a joint trial heard evidence against Napa residents Krueger, 27, and Warner, 29, who were charged with the blunt force trauma death of Krueger’s daughter Kayleigh Slusher at the Royal Gardens apartment complex in Napa on Jan. 30, 2014.

    The girl’s body, which had been placed in a freezer, was found on Feb. 1, 2014, in a suitcase on a bed in an apartment. Krueger and Warner were arrested on Feb. 2 at a BART station in El Cerrito.

    The jury hearing the evidence against Krueger reached a verdict Thursday after a day of deliberation, but the verdict was sealed until the other jury reached a verdict against Warner.

    The Napa County District Attorney’s Office is not seeking the death penalty against the defendants. Krueger and Warner face 25 years to life in prison on each of the murder and assault causing the death of a child charges.

    The trial was held before Judge Francisca Tisher.

    http://kron4.com/2017/05/30/jurors-c...leigh-slusher/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  6. #6
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    Edited:

    Update: Jury finds Napa couple guilty of first-degree murder in death of 3-year-old girl

    Bay City News

    NAPA, Calif. -- Jurors convicted Sarah Lynn Krueger and Ryan Scott Warner Tuesday of the torture murder and assault causing death of Krueger's 3-year-old daughter at the couple's Napa apartment in 2014, prosecutors said.

    A Napa County Superior Court jury returned its verdict against Krueger, 27, around 10:10 a.m., and a separate jury then returned its verdict against Krueger's 29-year-old boyfriend Warner for the death of Kayleigh Slusher.

    The juries heard evidence separately against the defendants during the same trial that began May 1.

    The defendants face life without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder and a special allegation that the slaying on Jan. 30, 2014, involved torture, and 25 years to life for assault on a child causing death when they are sentenced July 27, Assistant Napa County District Attorney Paul Gero said.

    http://abc7news.com/news/jury-finds-...-girl/2055936/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  7. #7
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Mom, boyfriend sentenced to life without parole for 3YO's death

    By KTVU San Fransisco News

    NAPA, Calif. (KTVU) - Napa County's Supreme Court has sentenced Sarah Lynn Krueger and Ryan Scott Warner to life without parole for the torture, murder, and assault of Krueger's 3-year-old daughter in 2014.

    A Napa County Superior Court jury found Krueger, 27, guilty in May, and a separate jury then returned its verdict against Krueger's 29-year-old boyfriend Warner for the death of Kayleigh Slusher.

    An autopsy determined Kayleigh died of blunt force trauma. Her body had been placed in a freezer, then left in a suitcase on a bed in an apartment at the Royal Gardens Apartment. Napa police found the body on Feb. 1, 2014.

    Krueger and Warner were arrested the next day at a BART station in El Cerrito.

    The jury hearing the evidence against Krueger reached a verdict in May after a day of deliberation, but the verdict was sealed until the other jury reached a verdict against Warner this morning.

    The Napa County District Attorney's Office did not seek the death penalty against the defendants.

    http://www.ktvu.com/news/270505742-story
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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