Guard young murder plumas county assessor

QUINCY — The investigation on Aug. 22, , started with a fire, as emergency responders rushed to Bucks Lake with their gear, reacting to reports from panicked campers who woke up to a blaze in the forest.

But when the firefighters reached the campground, they got more than they bargained for, finding Sheldon Steward, 24, barely conscious, with puncture wounds in his neck.

And, after the small blaze was extinguished, things took another turn: The badly charred body of a young man dead from stab wounds was discovered at the bottom of the fire pit. It was Trevor Holminski, a year-old art student and Antioch native.

Steward, originally thought to be an attempted murder victim, was now suspected of murdering his best friend. He would later tell conflicting stories to police, describing the night as an acid trip from hell, and saying he seriously injured his friend during a mutual fight, then killed him to put him out of his misery, according to court transcripts.

On Monday, Steward is headed to trial to face charges of murder and arson. He has pleaded not guilty, and the defense is expected to argue “a combination of self-defense and issues of mental state,” according to his attorney in the transcripts.

Less than 24 hours before Holminski’s death, the men had left the Bay Area together, embarking on a simple two-day camping trip to Plumas County. A mutual acquaintance described them to police as being like “a couple of guys in a buddy movie.” They met at Ex’pression College in Emeryville 18 months earlier and became fast friends.

Those who knew Holminski were inspired by his energy, compassion and enthusiasm for life, and say he made friends wherever he went. He had many passions: music, the outdoors, rock climbing and wrestling, to name a few.

“(Trevor’s) laughs and his quest for life and fun were contagious,” said Kornelia Strong, a family friend.

He had a girlfriend with who

Petitioner Michael Franklin, proceeding with counsel, has filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus challenging his Plumas County conviction for murder with special circumstances and the resulting sentence of life without the possibility of parole. As discussed below, the court denies the petition. I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The state Court of Appeal's account of the facts as developed at trial comports with this court's reading of the record:

Leading Up to Victim's Death

Defendant and Ronna met sometime before and were married on July 4, Defendant was six feet, seven inches tall and weighed pounds; Ronna was five feet, seven inches tall and weighed pounds. At the time of their marriage, Ronna was 35 years old and defendant They desired to have a baby, but Ronna, a diabetic, had difficulty getting pregnant. After becoming pregnant through in vitro fertilization, Ronna spent several months in the hospital because of complications associated with the pregnancy. During that time, defendant seldom visited her and, when he did, they would argue. The infrequency of his visits and his apparent disinterest upset Ronna. Their son, Michael Jr., was born in April , and was just 20 months old when his mother died.
Just before and during his marriage to Ronna, defendant engaged in at least 12 affairs. He gave these women his pager or voice mail number and contacted them periodically. He commonly told the women he did not have a home because he traveled extensively.

Defendant told one of the women, Shelle H., whom he dated throughout his marriage, that he could not spend the Fourth of July holiday with her in because he had plans with his friends. In fact, defendant did not spend that day with her because it was the day he was marrying Ronna. Defendant also told Shelle, in June , that he had gotten a woman pregnant as a result of a one-night stand. He said he did not love the woman and that she was incapable of taking ca

July 22,

A Polaroid photo found in a busy parking lot in Florida gave two families in New Mexico hope that their children were still alive.

by Paul Buchanan

On June 15, , a woman in Port St. Joe, Florida pulled off Route 98 into the parking lot of a Junior Food Store. She parked next to a white Toyota cargo van and entered the air-conditioned market. Moments later, when she emerged, the white van was gone, but in the vacated space beside her car, she found what appeared to be a Polaroid photo lying face down on the asphalt. She picked it up, and turned it over. The image she found was harrowing.

In the photo, a young woman and a younger boy lie on their backs on a rumpled pile of mismatched sheets and pillows. Both look directly at the camera with expressions of tense resignation. Their mouths are covered with duct tape, and their postures suggest that their wrists are bound behind them. The space they occupy is cramped and poorly lit. The only source of light seems to come from behind the photographer. The photo could well have been taken in the back of a windowless van with its side door pulled open.

The woman who discovered the photo immediately notified local police. Roadblocks were hurriedly set up, but they failed to snare the van or the mustached man who had been in its driver’s seat.

The Disappearance of Tara Calico

Patty Doel and her new husband John first became aware of the Polaroid photo more than two months later, on August Relatives called to say they’d just seen a photo broadcast on the television tabloid show “A Current Affair.” The image showed a boy and a girl who seemed to have been taken captive. Had they seen it? Could it have been Patty’s daughter, Tara Calico?

At the time she disappeared, year-old Tara Calico was a sophomore at the Valencia campus of the University of New Mexico, a minute commute from her family’s home in Belen, New Mexico. On the morning of Sep