The sweetheart murders: A look back at the case
On Dec. 20, 1980, two students from the University of California at Davis, Sabrina Gonsalves and John Riggins, went missing. It would take more than 30 years to solve the mystery of their disappearance and finally close the case.
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Sabrina Gonsalves and John Riggins' missing van found
A day-and-a-half after the search began, when the dense overnight fog began to lift, police spotted the missing couple's van parked off a rural roadway some 30 miles from Davis, Calif.
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Bodies of Sabrina Gonsalves and John Riggins found in ravine
There was no sign of the couple inside the van so police searched the surrounding area. They soon discovered their bodies hidden in the brush in a nearby ravine.
Video: 1980 KOVR-TV report on the murders
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Police drawing details crime scene
A police drawing, later used in evidence at trial, details just where the bodies of Sabrina Gonsalves and John Riggins were found. Their throats were slashed and their mouths and eyes were covered with duct tape. There were signs that Sabrina had been sexually assaulted. John had been struck on the head with something sharp, suggesting he had fought to protect her.
Video: 1980 "sweethearts" case marked first time the Sacramento Sheriff's Dept. videotaped a crime scene
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Critical evidence found in John Riggins' van
Police didn't realize it at the time, but inside the van was a critical piece of evidence: a red and blue quilt. It was a birthday present for Sabrina's sister which had been not only unwrapped but also soiled with semen belonging to the probable murderer.
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Sabrina Gonsalves and John Riggins met the summer before college
Sabrina Gonsalves and John Riggins met when they were 18, the summer before they went to college. They both worked for the recreation department in the town of Davis, Calif.
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John Riggins and Sabrina Gonsalves in Nov. 1980
This photo of the smiling couple was taken in 1980 during their Thanksgiving vacation. A month, later John Riggins and Sabrina Gonsalves would be dead.
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Redheaded John Riggins was a local sports star
John Riggins had excelled in sports since he was a kid. He became something of a hometown hero for his skills in both soccer and baseball.
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Sabrina Gonsalves loved horses
Sabrina Gonsalves had a love of horses which she shared with her family.
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The killings became known as the 'sweetheart murders"
After the young couple was found dead, the killings became known locally as the "sweetheart murders."
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Police sketch of murder suspect
Police released this composite sketch of the suspect in the brutal double murder.
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Suspects arrested in 1989
Nearly nine years after the murders, authorities developed a theory that it was a copycat killing masterminded by David Hunt, left, half-brother of a convicted double murderer. Doug Lainer, right, was one of three suspected accomplices.
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David Hunt and Doug Lainer maintained their innocence
Facing the death penalty if they went to trial, David Hunt, left, and Doug Lainer, were saved at the last minute, not by new evidence, but by old evidence re-examined in the light of new science.
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Birthday quilt found in van tested for DNA
It was the quilt found in the van at the scene of the crime that saved David Hunt and Doug Lainer. Four sections stained with semen were cut away and tested for DNA, a science that didn't exist at the time of the murders. None of the DNA matched Hunt or Lainer. So they were released from prison, but not until they had served three years waiting for the trial that would never come to pass.
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John Riggins parents hoped for justice
This was one of the darkest moments for the parents of the murdered children. Dr. Richard Riggins and his wife, Kate, had hoped to see justice done.
Video: Journalist dedicated to search for justice in case
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Sabrina's parents weren't sure they'd live to see the day justice was served
More than 12 years had passed since George and Kim Gonsalves' daughter, Sabrina, had been brutally murdered. Now it appeared that the investigation had gone nowhere in all that time.
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Richard Hirschfield's DNA was a one-in-240 trillion match
In 2002, there was a DNA match to this man, Richard Hirschfield, a convicted sex offender who looks remarkably like the original police sketch of the suspect.
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Richard Hirschfield goes to trial in 2012
It would take nearly a decade of legal delays before Richard Hirschfield's murder trial began. He's seen here trying to clean up for his appearance in front of a jury. But nothing could obscure the impact of the evidence against him, starting with that DNA match. Scientists called it a "one-in-240-trillion match."
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At murder trial, witness ID'd Hirschfield as man who raped her in 1975
Among the most incriminating evidence was testimony from this woman, Marge, who didn't want her last name used. She identified Richard Hirschfield as the man who had raped her at gunpoint in 1975.
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Hirschfield's brother kills self; leaves note
Then there was this bombshell evidence: a suicide note found in Hirschfield's brother's car beside his dead body. Joseph Hirschfield had committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning right after he learned about the DNA match from police.
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Joseph Hirschfield's confession
The defense managed to have some of the note redacted, but the jury did see where Joseph Hirschfield wrote: "I've been living with this horror for 20 years" and "I was there." But, as you can see in this photo, he also wrote the most incriminating words possible: "Richard did commit those murders, but I was there. I didn't kill anyone but my DNA is still there."
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Richard Hirschfield found guilty, sentenced to death
Richard Hirschfield, seen here with his defense attorney, was convicted and sentenced to death. He is appealing his conviction.
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Sabrina Gonsalves and John Riggins remembered
On the grounds of the University of California at Davis campus, a tree stands in memory of the two murdered college sweethearts.
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Davis, Calif., honors legacy of Sabrina Gonsalves and John Riggins
The Warm Remembrance Family Play Area is currently being renovated by the Davis community to honor John and Sabrina's legacies.
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Justice for sweethearts Sabrina Gonsalves and John Riggins
Sabrina Gonsalves and John Riggins would have been in their 50s today. Instead, they will always be remembered as two young people whose lives were extinguished just when they were on the threshold of achieving their dreams.
"48 Hours": The Sweetheart Murders