Ranzo family fights release of 1 of 4 men convicted in brutal Modesto murders, Gov. Newsom won't reverse parole
MODESTO -- For the first time, one of four men convicted in a brutal Modesto double murder has a real shot at walking free.
Jeffrey Allen Maria, 61, was granted parole in March 2023 for his role in the murders that took place more than 40 years ago. He was 17 at the time.
On Friday, July 28, the family members of the victims, Philip and Kathy Ranzo, learned California Gov. Gavin Newsom will not reverse his parole — a devastating development the family calls a slap in the face.
The Modesto murders
Jeffrey Maria, Marty Spears, Ronald Anderson and Darren Lee were all teenagers in June 1979 when they were convicted of brutally killing the husband and wife.
The four were found guilty of first-degree murder and were each sentenced to two life sentences.
Prosecutors say the four teens planned to rob the Ranzos, believing a large amount of cash was in their home.
"Spears and Lee knocked on the front door, told Mr. Ranzo that they had run out of gas, and asked him to use the phone while Maria hid in nearby bushes," said John Goold of the Stanislaus County District Attorney's office in a March press release.
Mr. Ranzo's act of kindness would be his last. He offered the boys the gas in his garage and took them there to get it. Prosecutors say that is when Spears and Lee then pulled their guns and attacked Mr. Ranzo.
"Spears hogtied his legs and feet together. Maria joined the pair in the garage where Mr. Ranzo was beaten six times in the head with his son's baseball bat. At some point, he suffered torture wounds to his eyelids and was fatally stabbed in the neck," said Goold.
Mrs. Ranzo's fate was equally horrifying.
"Lee, Spears, and Maria then went inside the home. They forced Kathryn Ranzo at gunpoint into her upstairs bedroom where she was tied up and raped by Spears. When her body was later found, there were signs that she had been struck multiple times in the head with an axe and suffered a fatal stab wound to the throat, as well as multiple cuts to her eyelids and face," said Goold.
The Ranzos' son, Mark, who was just ten years old when he was orphaned, was away from his home the night of the murders.
"He had a hard, hard life growing up without his parents," Mark's former wife, Maurene Todd-Ranzo, told CBS13.
Parole: "It hasn't gone this far before."
The fact that these four men were all teenagers at the time of the double murders is a major factor in their years-long battles for release from prison.
Todd-Ranzo told CBS13 that she, Mark and Philip's sister, Sandy, have for more than a decade fought to keep the four men convicted behind bars. They've now attended more than 30 parole hearings for all four men, each one more traumatizing and gut-wrenching than the last.
"But now, this is new for us. It hasn't gone this far before," said Todd-Ranzo. "Every time before, we were successful. This time we weren't."
Three times prior, Maria was granted parole in 2015, 2017, and 2018. Those decisions were reversed by then-Governor Jerry Brown. So when Maria was granted parole again in March 2023, the Ranzo family felt confident Gov. Newsom would take similar action.
He did not. Now, Maria is the first of the four men with a real shot at release.
News from Newsom
"That he's not reversing it was a complete shock," said Todd-Ranzo.
She showed CBS13 the letter from Newsom sent to her home Friday, July 28, with the parole news they have been dreading for decades.
Newsom wrote, "Mr. Maria has made significant efforts to improve himself in prison."
The governor touted Maria's participation in extensive self-help programming while incarcerated and the fact that he earned his GED, three associate degrees, and three vocations. He volunteers as a service dog trainer and a care worker in the hospice unit.
"Correctional staff have praised Mr. Maria for his compassionate care for the patients he serves. I commend Mr. Maria for his rehabilitative efforts and encourage him to continue on this positive path," Newsom said.
But the governor opted not to reverse Maria's parole, referring the final decision back to the parole board.
"I ask the full Board to review Mr. Maria's risk factors and determine if he has the insight he will need to succeed on parole," Newsom wrote.
Retired Deputy District Attorney Beth De Jong is deeply disappointed in the governor's response.
"I'm scared for the community," De Jong said. "I truly believe these four crime partners were working together in a very sophisticated manner, and I do believe they will kill again if they are released."
De Jong represented the Ranzos at more than 20 parole hearings for all four men before she retired from her position. But even in her retirement, she still works part-time for the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office as a special prosecutor.
That role affords her the chance to volunteer her time advocating for the Ranzo family. She's attended every parole hearing to fight with them, saying this is the most important case of her career.
"California is in grave danger with our legislative changes with crime reform, with inmate release. This is a plea as a retired deputy DA that this is scary. This is scary if they get out," De Jong said. "Life sentences don't exist anymore in California. The only life sentence that truly exists is what happens to the remaining family members that have to carry on this fight for decades."
One final plea
Newsom's referral back to the full parole board for review means a final hearing at the end of August will seal Maria's fate. The official date and time has yet to be announced.
"So we're just hoping to get as many people as we can to let the parole board know that this is a big mistake," Todd-Ranzo said.
The Ranzo family is asking their neighbors, both friends and strangers alike, to show up and join them in fighting Maria's freedom.
The open session allows any member of the public to address the Board for two minutes in-person or via video submission.
To weigh in:
Written comments can be mailed, ten days before hearing, to: Board of Parole Hearings / Attn: Executive Board Meeting at P.O Box 4036 Sacramento CA 95812-4036
Emails can be sent to: BPHEXE.BRDMEETING@cdcr.ca.gov
Be sure to reference Jeffrey Maria CDCR# C17317
The public meetings are typically held on the second or third Monday and Tuesday of each month at the Board of Parole Hearings headquarters in Sacramento
To find out when Maria's case is on the agenda, visit this website, click on "Board Meetings" and choose the August agenda
While the family is fighting Maria's parole, their attention is sadly split. Marty Don Spears is up for parole again on Tuesday, August 2. The family and De Jong all plan to attend to fight the possibility of his release.