Dead And Buried (6 page)
Authors: Corey Mitchell
TWELVE
March 17, 1999
Davis Canyon Road, Davis Canyon, California
Noon
Davis Canyon Road, Davis Canyon, California
Noon
David Zaragoza skipped his usual workout regimen at the gym. Instead, he hopped into his Jeep Cherokee and hurriedly made his way to Davis Canyon. The beautiful canyon area is home to lush vegetation and beautiful, sprawling mountains covered in towering green trees. Inside the canyon are numerousfruit and vegetable farms and vineyards. Mixed among the vast farming areas are beautiful multimillion-dollarhomes that belong to the wealthy vintners. Among the gorgeous mansions sit several weathered houses and old trailer homes festooned with television satellite dishes.
From the south, one enters Davis Canyon via See Canyon Road, a well-paved road with a few twists and turns, but nothingtoo treacherous. Rex Krebs lived in this general area. To get to his house, Zaragoza had to drive a mile-and-a-half on See Canyon Road before he made a left onto Davis Canyon Road. This road was the reason why Zaragoza had the Krebs case in the first place.
Krebs lived in a rental home, owned by Muriel Wright, almosttwo miles in from See Canyon Road. Not a far distance until you actually used Davis Canyon Road, which is rocky, narrow, and skirts alongside some precarious drops over the edge. The two-tire track pathway is barely accessible by any vehicle other than a four-wheel drive. Zaragoza’s Jeep Cherokeewas more than sufficient.
Zaragoza was familiar with the path to Krebs’s house. He had been there several times for routine parole visits. He believedKrebs was a decent enough fellow. After all, he was only thirty-three years old and had lived a rough life, in and out of reform schools, jails, and prisons for almost half his life. Zaragoza hoped that Krebs was getting his life back on track—job, girlfriend, nice secluded home. He hoped Krebs had kept his nose clean.
Zaragoza made his way up the winding dirt road. He passed only a few homes that were located nearly a half mile apart from one another. It was not unusual for the neighbors to not see one another for six months. Most of the Davis Canyon inhabitants liked their privacy and tended not to mingle.Zaragoza sensed that was why Krebs lived here.
No one would bother him.
He looked up and saw the familiar landmark that let him know he was almost to Krebs’s residence. It was the beat-up wooden A-frame house, with its broken windows and menacingexterior, just off the road. It always spooked him, out in the middle of nowhere. He drove around the corner past the A-frame. The grass seemed to grow higher on either side of his Jeep Cherokee. This signaled the end of the road for him. Within fifty yards he saw the mailbox.
He was here.
Zaragoza kept the engine running; however, he depressed the brakes. He took a deep breath, glanced up at his rearview mirror and could not see his eyes behind his dark wraparound sunglasses.
That was just how he wanted it.
Zaragoza took another deep breath and placed his foot on the gas. He entered the long dirt driveway to the right and watched as the trees scraped the sides of his Jeep Cherokee
—
“Texas pinstripes.” The driveway was about fifty feet long and descended past a small pond to the east. Just beyond the pond was a midsize royal blue wooden barn with white trim. It seemed large enough to house a couple of midsizeCadillacs. Zaragoza reached the bottom of the driveway. As he looked to his left, he saw a two-story house. It was the same color as the barn and almost twice as large. Zaragoza shook his head in disbelief as he wondered how a former convict could live on such beautiful property. Then he rememberedthe nearly inaccessible road and the remoteness of the location.
—
“Texas pinstripes.” The driveway was about fifty feet long and descended past a small pond to the east. Just beyond the pond was a midsize royal blue wooden barn with white trim. It seemed large enough to house a couple of midsizeCadillacs. Zaragoza reached the bottom of the driveway. As he looked to his left, he saw a two-story house. It was the same color as the barn and almost twice as large. Zaragoza shook his head in disbelief as he wondered how a former convict could live on such beautiful property. Then he rememberedthe nearly inaccessible road and the remoteness of the location.
It made sense.
Zaragoza aimed his Jeep toward the house, when out of nowhere a bulky figure appeared in front of him. The parole officer took a quick breath yet again and realized it was his man—Rex Krebs.
Zaragoza parked his Jeep Cherokee and sat inside. The formerconvict, dressed in a blue short-sleeved oxford shirt, slowly ambled up alongside the vehicle until he was standing at the window. He seemed to wince in pain. Zaragoza noticed that the stocky Krebs had been limping and wore a weight belt around his ribs.
“What happened to you?” Zaragoza inquired.
Krebs tensed up and stammered, “I, uh, I—I hurt myself on the wood.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Oh, I, uh, fell off the wall into the firewood.”
Zaragoza slowly exited his automobile. He watched carefullyas Krebs kept reaching for his ribs. He did not believe him. He thought about the newspaper report that stated the intruderinto Aundria Crawford’s duplex entered through a tiny window. Furthermore, Krebs’s injuries were not consistent with someone falling onto a pile of wood. He had no cuts or abrasions on his hands or arms.
“Do you want to come on inside?” Krebs asked his parole officer. It was common for Zaragoza to enter Krebs’s residence.He nodded behind his dark sunglasses and followed Krebs inside. Other than the stammering response, Zaragoza believed that Krebs appeared calm and in control. They walked to Krebs’s home and entered through the back door.
Zaragoza had no idea what Krebs was really hiding.
“I need to get another urine sample from you Rex.”
“Sure. C’mon in.”
The two men entered Krebs’s barn apartment. Zaragoza gave him a plastic cup. Krebs took care of business and gingerly returned the specimen to his parole officer.
Zaragoza knew he needed to get out of there.
Immediately.
THIRTEEN
David Zaragoza returned to his parole office in downtown San Luis Obispo. Once settled in, he contacted San Luis Obispo Police Department detective Jerome Tushbant. Zaragoza informed the detective about his suspicions concerningKrebs, including his knowledge of Krebs’s criminal sexual assault history, the isolation of Krebs’s home, and his questionable rib injury. Despite the information provided by Zaragoza, Tushbant did not rush to act on Krebs. Instead, he sent the information to the Department of Justice representativesin town, who came on board only three days earlier. The DOJ representatives handled all seemingly innocuous tips to be sure nothing was overlooked. Since there were more than five hundred tips in just a few days concerning the Aundria Crawford disappearance, there was plenty of information to sift through.
Karren Sandusky headed up the California Department of Justice Sexual Predator Apprehension Team, out of Fresno. She was responsible for these less-than-high-priority tips in the Aundria Crawford case. On Friday, March 19, she receivedinformation from Detective Tushbant of Rex Krebs’s background and noticed a couple of sexual assaults from 1987. At approximately 1:30
P.M.
she decided to give Krebs a call.
P.M.
she decided to give Krebs a call.
It was probably nothing, but what the hell.
Sandusky picked up her phone and dialed Krebs’s work number at 84 Lumber.
He did not seem shocked to hear from her. “I’m surprised you guys didn’t contact me after that first girl went missing,” he stated.
Sandusky and Krebs agreed to meet at his house at 6:30
P.M.
P.M.
Sandusky hung up the phone and quickly got a hold of Zaragoza. She introduced herself and let him know that a meeting had been set up with Krebs.
Sandusky also contacted Department of Justice special agent Frank Navarro. The two agents drove out to Krebs’s residencein the canyon so they could “become familiar with the location.”
After checking out the property, Sandusky and Navarro drove back into town to meet David Zaragoza. They arrived at his office at 3:00
P.M.
, made the round of introductions, and got down to business. Zaragoza had Krebs’s file open on his desk and the three officials began to discuss what to do next.
P.M.
, made the round of introductions, and got down to business. Zaragoza had Krebs’s file open on his desk and the three officials began to discuss what to do next.
Zaragoza called Parole and Community Service Division (P&CSD) parole agent Victoria Wood and P&CSD administratorDan Hoy and spoke with them about the need for a search warrant. Sandusky called the DOJ office again for more assistance. Special Agents Vince Jura and Juan Morales helped in the search.
All five personnel headed out to the isolated barn in the woods. On the way out Sandusky contacted Krebs again at 84 Lumber. She wanted to let him know that they were on their way to his property and asked if it was OK for them to begin the search. He asked that they wait until he arrived and that he would let them search then.
Once Krebs showed up, the officers began their search. They took several items from his home, including a pair of black boots, an 84 Lumber wooden box, two metal chains, index cards with lists of women’s telephone numbers on them, work-related paperwork, 84 Lumber receipts with femalecustomers’ names on them, including their phone numbers and home addresses. They also discovered CO
2
cartridges and BB pellets.
2
cartridges and BB pellets.
Zaragoza was relieved.
They had found what they needed to bring Krebs into custodyfor further questioning without violating his basic civil rights. The pellets were a violation of his parole, in that he was not allowed to carry a weapon or simulated weapon of any kind. Zaragoza asked Krebs if he owned a BB gun.
“Yeah.” He solemnly nodded.
“Does it look like a revolver or semiautomatic?”
“Yeah.”
“Where is it?”
“84 Lumber.”
FOURTEEN
The following day, at 6:15
A.M.
, Zaragoza, Agent Navarro of the DOJ and one of his assistants, plus two San Luis Obispo police officers organized a stakeout across the street from 84 Lumber. Their plan was to wait for Krebs to arrive at work, arrest him, and then locate the BB gun.
A.M.
, Zaragoza, Agent Navarro of the DOJ and one of his assistants, plus two San Luis Obispo police officers organized a stakeout across the street from 84 Lumber. Their plan was to wait for Krebs to arrive at work, arrest him, and then locate the BB gun.
Krebs pulled up in his Ford Ranger. He exited his vehicle and entered the store. Less than one minute later, the five officersgot out of their cars and entered behind him. Krebs looked up, saw Zaragoza, and nodded toward him.
“Rex, turn around,” Zaragoza calmly ordered. Krebs turned his back to the parole officer. Zaragoza slapped a pair of handcuffs on him.
“Where’s the BB gun, Rex?”
“It’s under the cash register,” he stated, and nodded in the correct direction.
Zaragoza reached under the register and found the BB gun. It looked exactly like a semiautomatic pistol.
“Rex, you are under arrest for violation of your parole requirements.Specifically, possession of a firearm or simulated firearm.”
Zaragoza glared at the forlorn convict to see if he had any expression.
All he saw were Rex Krebs’s tears.
Zaragoza, Sandusky, and Navarro returned to Krebs’s residenceat 3:00
P.M.
to conduct a more thorough search. While at the barn Zaragoza received a phone call from San Luis Obispo police detective Sue Murphy, who had been at AundriaCrawford’s residence the day of her abduction. Detective Murphy clued Zaragoza in to what was missing from Aundria’sapartment. He mentioned several items such as CDs by George Strait and Korn, videotapes, and something unique to the missing college student: an eight ball key chain.
P.M.
to conduct a more thorough search. While at the barn Zaragoza received a phone call from San Luis Obispo police detective Sue Murphy, who had been at AundriaCrawford’s residence the day of her abduction. Detective Murphy clued Zaragoza in to what was missing from Aundria’sapartment. He mentioned several items such as CDs by George Strait and Korn, videotapes, and something unique to the missing college student: an eight ball key chain.
Detective Murphy, along with Officers Janice Mangan and Mark Brady, showed up at Krebs’s home to assist in the search. The six authorities began to comb over the house in a methodical fashion. They secured numerous and varied items from the house, such as feathers in a plastic kitchen garbage bag, used duct tape rolls from Krebs’s upstairs masterbedroom, and two topographical maps of Davis Canyon in his bedroom closet. They found an oversize belt buckle in the top drawer of Krebs’s filing cabinet, along with several crudely drawn sketches and patterns of belt buckles. Zaragoza noticed a recurring theme on the drawings and the belt buckle itself—a strange figure-eight symbol. More like the number eight if it was lying down on its side.
The infinity symbol.
The officers systematically made notes of their discoveriesand continued to search. They found an audiotape labeled as “House Meeting 4-21-98,” more 84 Lumber receipts with customer information on them, and a Canon camera, located on top of Krebs’s refrigerator. They also found a cream-coloredVictoria’s Secret negligee, size 5/Small.
Special Agent Navarro made the most startling discovery of all. As he canvassed Krebs’s house, he abruptly stopped in the front living room. He scanned the room slowly, not quite sure what he was looking for. He noticed mainly innocuousitems such as a television, a beaten-down couch, and some nondescript étagères.
Navarro was about to exit the living room when something caught his eye. It was an old hand-carved wooden box located on top of one of Krebs’s bookshelves. He walked over to the shelf and grabbed the 6” x 4” x 2” box. He turned it over in his hands and looked at both the top and bottom of it. He then placed it on the coffee table in the living room and unhooked the metal locking clasp. At first it looked like a random collectionof miscellaneous items: two matchbooks from Outlaws, “A Grubbin’ and Guzzlin’ Establishment”; a Superstar84 star-shaped pin; yellow glass icicles; an orange Sebadoh guitar pick.
One item, however, stood out. A small black plastic eight ball key chain holder. There was no ring attached to it that would hold keys, but it was definitely part of a key chain. He quickly closed the box and held on to it tightly.
Navarro informed Zaragoza and Sandusky of his discovery.The agents decided it was time to pack up. They marked the remaining items and gathered their findings for the day. The investigation into Rex Krebs was only now ready to begin.
On Sunday, March 21, 1999, Detective Jerome Tushbant summoned investigator Larry Hobson to the San Luis Obispo Police Department. Detective Tushbant wanted Hobson to interviewKrebs to learn if he knew anything about the disappearance of Aundria Crawford.
Hobson picked Krebs up from the county jail and transferredhim back over to the police department. When they arrived, Hobson led Krebs into the employee break room.
Krebs waived his constitutional rights and agreed to speak with Detective Hobson.
Hobson asked Krebs where he was on the evening of March 11, 1999. The calm Krebs stated that he was nowhere near Branch Street. He told Hobson that he was out buying flowers for his girlfriend, Roslynn Moore, and purchasing groceries.
Suddenly Krebs looked up at Hobson and began to tell him a new version of the events from that night. He remembered that he
had
been in the neighborhood, on Aundria Crawford’s street even. He claimed that he had visited a friend on Branch Street, two blocks south of Aundria’s residence. Krebs added that he frequented nearby Manuel’s Liquor Store. He also stated that he occasionally ducked into the Gaslight Lounge, located on Broad Street at the corner of Branch Street, two blocks north of Aundria’s duplex.
had
been in the neighborhood, on Aundria Crawford’s street even. He claimed that he had visited a friend on Branch Street, two blocks south of Aundria’s residence. Krebs added that he frequented nearby Manuel’s Liquor Store. He also stated that he occasionally ducked into the Gaslight Lounge, located on Broad Street at the corner of Branch Street, two blocks north of Aundria’s duplex.
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