Chino Hills massacre: Evidence photos in the Kevin Cooper case
Four people were brutally murdered in Chino Hills, California, in 1983. Evidence used to convict Kevin Cooper is being questioned more than 35 years later.
On June 4, 1983, Doug and Peggy Ryen and their daughter Jessica were brutally murdered in their Chino Hills, Calif. home.
The Chino Massacre
Christopher Hughes, an 11-year-old neighbor who was spending the night at the Ryen home, was also killed.
The Chino Massacre
Josh Ryen, 8, was the only one who survived the attack. At first, he indicated to police that there had been three assailants.
WATCH: Sole survivor of Chino Hills murders describes what happened
A Suspect Emerges
Within days, investigators focused on a suspect: Kevin Cooper.
A Suspect Emerges
Kevin Cooper was a serial burglar who had escaped from a nearby prison two days before the murders.
A Suspect Emerges
Authorities discovered Cooper had been hiding out at a house just 125 yards from the Ryens' home, at top left.
The Murder Weapon
Authorities found a hatchet used in the murders down the road from the Ryen home. Two other weapons believed used in the murders, a knife and an ice pick or screwdriver, were never found.
Hideaway House
A hatchet was reported missing from the house where Cooper had been hiding.
The Murder Weapon
After searching the hideout house a second time, deputies also recovered a hatchet sheath there.
The Investigation
Further down the road from the Ryen home, authorities found a blood-stained tan T-shirt and a towel believed to come from the Ryen home. Some of the blood stains matched Doug Ryen's blood type. None were found to match Kevin Cooper.
The Investigation
When police recovered the Ryen's station wagon nearly 50 miles away, they found blood on three of the seats.
The Investigation
On a second search of the car, deputies also found two cigarette butts. One matched tobacco typically issued to inmates.
The Investigation
A state expert analyzed a single drop of blood from the Ryen home, found in the hallway, away from the gory crime scene. It's so small it can't be seen in this photograph from the scene.
The Investigation
The criminalist first said the blood drop was one blood type and later said it was another, matching Kevin Cooper's blood type. A judge said that the criminalist "altered his lab notes and claimed he had misinterpreted his results."
A paint chip with the drop of blood found on the wall is in the vial.
The Only Witness
Josh Ryen originally reported seeing three attackers. When interviewed on video by the prosecutor during the trial, Josh, now 10, said he saw one shadow.
New DNA Testing
On Christmas Eve 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown approved new DNA testing on four pieces of evidence: the tan T-shirt, the hatchet, the sheath, and an orange towel found near the Ryen home that matched ones from inside.
Tried and Convicted
After a nearly four-month trial, Kevin Cooper was found guilty of murder and attempted murder. He was sentenced to death and sent to San Quentin Prison to await his execution.
Framed for Murder?
In 2000, correspondent Erin Moriarty began reporting on the case for "48 Hours," after getting a letter from Kevin Cooper saying he'd been framed for murder. Here she talks with Paul Ingels, who was a detective at the time and later a private investigator.
Faded Memories
When he later spoke to Moriarty, Josh Ryen, now in his late 20s, had few memories of that awful night. "I wish I could remember... it just won't come back to me though," he said.
A New Look at the Case
In 2001, Kevin Cooper successfully petitioned to have DNA tests done on key pieces of evidence from the case. Tests on the tan T-shirt, drop of blood and cigarette butts all came back linked to Kevin Cooper.
A New Look at the Case
Following the results, Cooper insisted he was innocent and that his DNA had been planted on the evidence.
A New Look at the Case
His defense attorney Norman Hile believes authorities planted Cooper's DNA using blood they collected when he was arrested in 1983.
Last Chance
Kevin Cooper was scheduled to die by lethal injection on Feb. 10, 2004. A large crowd gathered outside San Quentin to protest the execution.
Last Chance
Three hours and 42 minutes before midnight, a federal appellate court stayed the execution and saved Kevin Cooper's life.
Strong Support
Several years later, Judge William Fletcher from that same appellate court wrote that he thought "the State of California may be about to execute an innocent man."
Strong Support
In 2018, following an in-depth investigation by Kristof and the New York Times, Kim Kardashian West tweeted her support and Pope Francis weighed in on the case.
Strong Support
Nicholas Kristof, an opinion columnist at the New York Times, began writing about the case in 2010. "I think they got the wrong guy."
New DNA testing
On Feb. 22, 2019, California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered additional DNA testing of hair, blood and fingernail scrapings from the victims and on a green button.
Tests on most of the evidence failed to generate a full DNA profile. An orange towel believed to be from the Ryen home did have a single male DNA profile. It doesn't appear to match Kevin Cooper or Lee Furrow.
An Empty Vial
Kevin Cooper says this vial of blood was taken from him when he was arrested. In 2002, DNA test showed the presence of a second DNA profile in it. In 2019, when authorities went to test it again, it was empty.