Murder Victim's Family Upset Over Former Cal Fire Chief's Wink During Trial
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A former Cal Fire chief who was the subject of a weeks-long manhunt after the brutal murder of his fiancee pleaded not guilty in court on Monday.
Orville Fleming, 56, hid from police for weeks in May after being accused of killing Sarah Jane Douglas, 26, in the couple's home.
CBS13 caught up with the victim's family who was enraged by a simple action during his court date.
RELATED: Orville Fleming — How A Murder Suspect Hid In Plain Sight
"He's in here for a horrendous, horrendous crime and the last two court dates he winks," Douglas' aunt Trina Werly said.
CBS13 cameras show the former Cal Fire chief winking to his attorney.
Douglas was found stabbed and strangled to death near Elk Grove in the home she shared with Fleming on May 1. Fleming would vanish, only to be found more than two weeks later at a bus stop. Investigators say he had been hiding in shrubs near train tracks close to where he abandoned his Cal Fire pickup.
"They were in a relationship, and it was a domestic violence relationship," Werly said.
Douglas' family tried to warn Sarah about Fleming, but she wouldn't listen.
"He controlled her. She had no job, no bank account, no phone, no transportation. Nothing. He trapped her," Werly said. "You have no control now. You're nothing. You're in a cage."
When Fleming was first captured, detectives told CBS13 the former firefighter had confessed to the murder. The case has been continued several times since then. But to the family's amazement, Fleming's attorney entered the not-guilty plea.
"All we can do now is wait for justice," said Douglas' mother Trudy Werly. "Every single day I want him to think of what he did to her. You not only stabbed her you strangled her."
At a previous hearing, the victim's mother could be heard hissing at the suspect.
Fleming's preliminary hearing is set for Dec. 16.