PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA: The father of Polly Klaas, who was kidnapped from a sleepover at her own home and murdered by an intruder in 1993, recently called California Governor Gavin Newsom a ‘pig’ for his 2019 decision to halt the death penalty in his state.
Klaas was only 12 years old when Richard Allen Davis kidnapped her from a sleepover at knifepoint and then strangled her. Davis, who is locked up at San Quentin State Prison, was found guilty on all charges and was sentenced to death on September 27, 1996.
Klaas' father, Marc Klaas, told Fox News Digital, "Newsom is a pig. In 2019, he declared a death penalty moratorium in California. He told me, among other things, that he didn’t want to be the governor who executes an innocent person."
Under Newsom's moratorium, no one in California can be executed while he is in the governor's office. Klaas, who runs a nonprofit to prevent crimes against children called Klaas Kids, said Newsom's order displays "advocacy for the worst and most dangerous people in our society."
Kidnapping and murder of Polly Klaas
The disappearance of Polly Klaas, which garnered national attention in newspapers and on television in 1993, is regarded as the first prominent missing person case to be circulated on the Internet.
Klaas was kidnapped on October 1, 1993, when she was having a slumber party with two friends at her mother's home in Petaluma, California.
As her mother, Eve Nichol, slept in another room, an intoxicated Davis entered Klaas’ room with a knife in his hand. He told the girls he was there to do no harm and was only there for money.
Both of her friends were restrained by Davis, who also placed pillowcases over their heads and instructed them to count to 1,000.
After Davis kidnapped Klaas, the two friends freed themselves and ran to the mother’s bedroom. Nichol initially believed the girls were joking but when she didn’t find Klaas, she panicked and called 911, saying “Uh, apparently a man just broke into our house and took my daughter.”
How was Richard Allen Davis arrested in Polly Klaas’ disappearance?
For two months, nearly 4000 people helped search for Klaas but found no clue until November 27, 1993, when hiker Dana Jaffe discovered several items close to her remote home in Sonoma County, including a used condom, a piece of twisted white cloth, a pair of red tights, and a man's sweatshirt.
“I thought ‘this is maybe a crime scene,’” Jaffe told ABC’s 20/20. Larry Pelton, a former detective of the Petaluma Police Department, arrived at the scene and immediately thought the white cloth matched what was used to gag the girls at Polly’s home, according to Oxygen.
Jaffe told 20/20 that she described to police a night in October when she discovered a disheveled trespasser on her property. The trespasser was later identified to be Davis.
After a long search, police finally arrested Davis and he confessed to Klaas’ kidnapping and murder. He later led investigators to where he left her body in a field in Cloverdale, a town roughly 50 miles from Petaluma.
After detectives recovered Polly’s body, Davis was charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, robbery, burglary, and attempted lewd act on a child, which made him eligible for the death penalty, according to ABC News.
Later in 1996, Davis was sentenced to death but he has been saved due to Newsom's moratorium.
