Marine veteran Andrew Urdiales is accused of murdering eight women from 1986 to 1996, five in California and three in Illinois, and raping and abducting 19 year old Jennifer Asbenson who escaped and survived. Urdiales was indicted for three murders in Illinois and was sentenced to death but the death sentence was commuted after Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois abolished capital punishment in 2011. Instead he received three life sentences for the murders of Laura Uylaki, Cassandra Corum, and Lynn Huber. A gun confiscated in a separate incident linked the three murders in Illinois together and during an interrogation, Urdiales admitted in detail to five cold case murders in California too.
After years of legal wrangling, Urdiales was eventually extradited to California and indicted in 2009 on five counts of first degree murder. He was accused of killing Robbin Brandley, Julie McGhee, Mary Ann Wells, Tammie Erwin, and Denise Maney while stationed at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base. On May 23, 2018, Andrew Urdiales was convicted of five murders by a jury that deliberated for about a day before recommending in June 2018 that he be sentenced to death for each of the five murders. On November 2, 2018, corrections officials said they found Urdiales unresponsive during a security check at San Quentin State Prison; former Marine and serial killer Andrew Urdiales died by suicide.
In the News:
The murders occurred when Andrew Urdiales was stationed at various Marine Corps facilities in Southern California. -CBS Los Angeles (October 5, 2018)
July 14, 1996: Cassandra Corum, 21, Pontiac, Illinois
Marine veteran Andrew Urdiales is accused of murdering eight women from 1986 to 1996, five in California and three in Illinois, and raping and abducting 19 year old Jennifer Asbenson who escaped and survived. Urdiales was indicted for three murders in Illinois and was sentenced to death but the death sentence was commuted after Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois abolished capital punishment in 2011. Instead he received three life sentences for the murders of Laura Uylaki, Cassandra Corum, and Lynn Huber. A gun confiscated in a separate incident linked the three murders in Illinois together and during an interrogation, Urdiales admitted in detail to five cold case murders in California too.
After years of legal wrangling, Urdiales was eventually extradited to California and indicted in 2009 on five counts of first degree murder. He was accused of killing Robbin Brandley, Julie McGhee, Mary Ann Wells, Tammie Erwin, and Denise Maney while stationed at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base. On May 23, 2018, Andrew Urdiales was convicted of five murders by a jury that deliberated for about a day before recommending in June 2018 that he be sentenced to death for each of the five murders. On November 2, 2018, corrections officials said they found Urdiales unresponsive during a security check at San Quentin State Prison; former Marine and serial killer Andrew Urdiales died by suicide.
In the News:
The murders occurred when Andrew Urdiales was stationed at various Marine Corps facilities in Southern California. -CBS Los Angeles (October 5, 2018)
April 14, 1996: Laura Uylaki, 25, Hammond, Indiana
Marine veteran Andrew Urdiales is accused of murdering eight women from 1986 to 1996, five in California and three in Illinois, and raping and abducting 19 year old Jennifer Asbenson who escaped and survived. Urdiales was indicted for three murders in Illinois and was sentenced to death but the death sentence was commuted after Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois abolished capital punishment in 2011. Instead he received three life sentences for the murders of Laura Uylaki, Cassandra Corum, and Lynn Huber. A gun confiscated in a separate incident linked the three murders in Illinois together and during an interrogation, Urdiales admitted in detail to five cold case murders in California too.
After years of legal wrangling, Urdiales was eventually extradited to California and indicted in 2009 on five counts of first degree murder. He was accused of killing Robbin Brandley, Julie McGhee, Mary Ann Wells, Tammie Erwin, and Denise Maney while stationed at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base. On May 23, 2018, Andrew Urdiales was convicted of five murders by a jury that deliberated for about a day before recommending in June 2018 that he be sentenced to death for each of the five murders. On November 2, 2018, corrections officials said they found Urdiales unresponsive during a security check at San Quentin State Prison; former Marine and serial killer Andrew Urdiales died by suicide.
In the News:
The murders occurred when Andrew Urdiales was stationed at various Marine Corps facilities in Southern California. -CBS Los Angeles (October 5, 2018)
March 11, 1995: Denise Maney, 32, Palm Springs, California
Marine veteran Andrew Urdiales is accused of murdering eight women from 1986 to 1996, five in California and three in Illinois, and raping and abducting 19 year old Jennifer Asbenson who escaped and survived. Urdiales was indicted for three murders in Illinois and was sentenced to death but the death sentence was commuted after Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois abolished capital punishment in 2011. Instead he received three life sentences for the murders of Laura Uylaki, Cassandra Corum, and Lynn Huber. A gun confiscated in a separate incident linked the three murders in Illinois together and during an interrogation, Urdiales admitted in detail to five cold case murders in California too.
After years of legal wrangling, Urdiales was eventually extradited to California and indicted in 2009 on five counts of first degree murder. He was accused of killing Robbin Brandley, Julie McGhee, Mary Ann Wells, Tammie Erwin, and Denise Maney while stationed at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base. On May 23, 2018, Andrew Urdiales was convicted of five murders by a jury that deliberated for about a day before recommending in June 2018 that he be sentenced to death for each of the five murders. On November 2, 2018, corrections officials said they found Urdiales unresponsive during a security check at San Quentin State Prison; former Marine and serial killer Andrew Urdiales died by suicide.
In the News:
The murders occurred when Andrew Urdiales was stationed at various Marine Corps facilities in Southern California. -CBS Los Angeles (October 5, 2018)
In the more than 20 years since the murder of a 21-year-old woman outside her home in Cocoa Beach, Florida, there have been a number of men investigated in connection with the case — but the crime remains unsolved. Members of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office share details with “48 Hours”‘ Erin Moriarty.
On the evening of Sunday, March 20, 1994, Charlotte “Amy” Gellert was attacked by an intruder outside her residence in Cocoa Beach. She died as a result of her injuries. The intruder was described as a white male, early twenties, 5’07″ – 5’10″ tall, weighing between 165 to 185 pounds. Any persons providing information in reference to this case may be eligible for a reward up to $5,000.00. –Brevard County Sheriff’s Office
A grandmother caring for her grandchildren, a young girl in love with a boy, a mother protecting her son – are all consumed with intense love. But when that love is threatened, they find it too much to bear and take measures into their own hands. -Deadly Possession, Deadly Women (S5, E10)
In 1993, Caroline Young, 51, was as devoted to caring for 6-year-old Darin Torres and 4-year-old Dai-Zshia Torres as any mother, but they were not her children. Darin and Dai-Zshia were her daughter’s children, but her daughter did not care for them so Caroline had to step in. Twenty-five year old Vanessa Torres never looked after her own children because she had significant problems with drugs and prostitution. Caroline had full custody of the children since they were infants because the courts deemed their biological mother unfit as a parent. The children’s two different fathers had nothing to do with them and that’s the way Caroline liked it. Darin’s parents never married and separated when Darin was very young; Darin didn’t see his father for most of his life. And both his mother and grandmother didn’t want Darin’s dad in the picture. But in 1993, that suddenly changed when Marine Corps recruiter Barrington Bruce received a $12,000 bill from the State of California for back child support. Darin’s father Barrington, who was living in Virginia at the time, had been looking for his son Darin since he was a toddler. After Caroline Young applied for child support, the family support division found the young Marine Sergeant who was thankful they found him because he wanted to be reunited with his son.
Active duty Marine Barrington Bruce was determined to get the child back so he took legal steps to get custody. Caroline Young realized she made a mistake by asking for child support because the move revealed her grandson’s whereabouts. Caroline did not want the two kids she had taken care of since they were infants separated. She started making outlandish threats and even talked about killing the children rather than losing custody, but nobody believed that she would do it. Former FBI Profiler Candice DeLong explained that for some people their attachment to other people is unhealthy because it consumes them. In the process, they lose their sense of self and the prospect of losing the person they are consumed with causes tremendous pain and disruption. Barrington Bruce was determined to get his son back so he went to court and was awarded full custody. Barrington went through all the proper channels and his family situation was deemed appropriate for taking custody of the child. He had a full-time job in the military, he was married, and his wife had just had a baby. But Profiler DeLong cautions that the stress of losing Darin caused something deep-seated in Caroline, something that she had not dealt with, possibly a desertion by someone in her past when she was a little girl.
After years of daily devotion, Caroline Young was shattered by the idea of losing her grandson because Darin belonged to her. Candice DeLong explained that for some women, a person that they love is not so much a person but a possession that they can’t live without. What started out as an idle threat seemed like Caroline’s only option, because some women find it easier to kill then to say goodbye. On June 18, 1993, Barrington Bruce won custody of Darin and was excited to pick him up. Across town, his son and Darin’s sister were asleep. Caroline had no intention of relinquishing custody of Darin back to his father. She was operating under the misguided notion that if I can’t have these children, no one can. She wrote a suicide note directed towards Darin’s father and then proceeded with murdering both children. Caroline slit little Darin’s throat first. Afterwards, Caroline calmly smoked a cigarette, which Profiler DeLong reminded us was evidence that she had time to pause, think about it, put the knife down, and call for help but she didn’t. When you think of a grandmother, you don’t think of someone who’s capable of doing such a heinous act. This crime was motivated by pure selfishness and there’s nothing more despicable then the murder of innocent children. This was a horrendous crime, unbelievable in it’s depravity.
Darin’s mother, Vanessa Torres, woke up and found her son Darin in bed with his throat slit. It was a chaotic scene to say the least. Vanessa reported that she saw her mom’s clothing covered in blood and in complete horror she asked her mother why she did it. Caroline replied, “the children needed to stay together.” After this brief encounter, Caroline grabbed the baby girl Dai-Zshia and slit her throat and stabbed her in the chest as well. Vanessa managed to call 911 in the midst of the chaos. Profiler DeLong reminded us that killing someone with a knife is a very personal thing. It’s one thing to shoot somebody but to hold someone against your own body and slash their throats is an entirely different crime. Profiler DeLong explained that she could have silently smothered them while they were sleeping but she didn’t or she could have shot them and they would have been killed instantly but she didn’t do that either. Instead, she used a knife to end their life until they succumbed. But Caroline wasn’t finished; she stabbed herself multiple times in an attempt to kill herself. This was a horrible crime scene and Caroline may have been disturbed at the time of the murders but she was definitely not legally insane. She knew what she was doing was wrong and slaughtered Darin and Dai-Zshia anyways.
Detective Bill Cooper, one of the detective’s tasked with investigating the homicides, shared that every officer that touched the crime scene was impacted. It wasn’t enough for Caroline to simply murder Barrington’s little boy, she wanted to taunt him from her grave. Barrington Bruce found out his son was dead when he went to pick him up after he was awarded full custody, and this told the investigators everything they needed to know about Caroline Young. She was blinded by selfishness and vindictive. At the crime scene, investigators discovered a suicide note. She wrote the note as if she was already dead. She said she was a very angry spirit and was going to get even with those who hurt her and the children. She also said directed to Barrington, “every baby your wife has, I will come back and get it.” Caroline’s stabbing suicide attempt failed. On October 27, 1995, Caroline Young was convicted of two counts of murder and sentenced to death. The reason Caroline killed those two children was because she didn’t want to see them separated. It doesn’t make any sense but in her mind murdering them kept them together. On September 6, 2005, Caroline Young died of kidney failure after ten years in jail. Detective Cooper summarized and said there are a few cases in his career that he wished he could forget about and this was one of them.
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.
September 28, 1992: Jennifer Asbenson, 19 (at the time of crime), survived a rape and abduction by former Camp Pendleton Marine Andrew Urdiales in California. She was able to escape from his trunk and run into the arms of two other Marines driving in the area. She did not know who her attacker was at the time of the crime but eventually was able to identify Andrew Urdiales in a police photo line-up. She testified on behalf of three women murdered by Urdiales in Illinois and continues to await his trial in California for five more homicides and her case.
Camp Pendleton Marine veteran Andrew Urdiales is accused of murdering eight women from 1986 to 1996, five in California and three in Illinois, and raping and abducting a 19 year old, Jennifer Asbenson, who escaped and survived. Urdiales was indicted for three murders in Illinois and was sentenced to death but the death sentence was commuted after Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois abolished capital punishment in 2011. Instead he received three life sentences for the murders of Laura Uylaki, Cassandra Corum, and Lynn Huber. A gun confiscated in a separate incident linked the three murders in Illinois together and during an interrogation, Urdiales admitted in detail to five cold case murders in California too. After years of legal wrangling, Urdiales was eventually extradited to California and indicted in 2009 on five counts of first degree murder. He was accused of killing Robbin Brandley, Julie McGhee, Mary Ann Wells, Tammie Erwin, and Denise Maney. Initially California was seeking the death penalty but Proposition 62 was repealed in November 2016. Urdiales continues to await trial in California.
A woman’s story of survival is truly inspiring after she was abducted and tortured by a notorious serial killer. Jennifer Asbenson was 19 when she was abducted by Andrew Urdiales. 24 years later, she returned to California’s Desert Hot Springs to record a video explaining her daring escape to encourage others never to give up. Asbenson was walking to a bus stop near Palm Springs, California, in September 1992 when she was offered a ride by Urdiales, who is believed to have killed eight women. –Inside Edition
Marine Corps Corporal Lindell Mitchell Jr., 21, was shot to death in the early morning hours of Christmas in his home in Vista, California on December 25, 1991. Durwin Hammond, 22, also a Marine, suffering from a blow to the head. Hammond told deputies they were having a party at their apartment when the unknown assailants entered their home and began beating him. He managed to escape and as he was fleeing the scene to get help, he heard gunshots. The case went cold for over twenty years but the San Diego Sheriff’s Department and Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS) continued to follow leads in an extensive investigation. Kimberly Andrews, 40, was found guilty of first degree murder in May 2015 for her role in Lindell Mitchell’s shooting death. She was sentenced to 26 years to life in state prison. The investigation also led to the arrest of a second suspect, James Wesley Noble, 59, who was taken into custody in 2015. Noble was scheduled to go to trial October 17, 2016 for first degree murder but there was no information as to the outcome available on-line.
April 15, 1989: Tammie Erwin, 18, Palm Springs, California
Marine veteran Andrew Urdiales is accused of murdering eight women from 1986 to 1996, five in California and three in Illinois, and raping and abducting 19 year old Jennifer Asbenson who escaped and survived. Urdiales was indicted for three murders in Illinois and was sentenced to death but the death sentence was commuted after Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois abolished capital punishment in 2011. Instead he received three life sentences for the murders of Laura Uylaki, Cassandra Corum, and Lynn Huber. A gun confiscated in a separate incident linked the three murders in Illinois together and during an interrogation, Urdiales admitted in detail to five cold case murders in California too.
After years of legal wrangling, Urdiales was eventually extradited to California and indicted in 2009 on five counts of first degree murder. He was accused of killing Robbin Brandley, Julie McGhee, Mary Ann Wells, Tammie Erwin, and Denise Maney while stationed at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base. On May 23, 2018, Andrew Urdiales was convicted of five murders by a jury that deliberated for about a day before recommending in June 2018 that he be sentenced to death for each of the five murders. On November 2, 2018, corrections officials said they found Urdiales unresponsive during a security check at San Quentin State Prison; former Marine and serial killer Andrew Urdiales died by suicide.
In the News:
The murders occurred when Andrew Urdiales was stationed at various Marine Corps facilities in Southern California. -CBS Los Angeles (October 5, 2018)
September 25, 1988: Mary Ann Wells, 31, San Diego, California
Marine veteran Andrew Urdiales is accused of murdering eight women from 1986 to 1996, five in California and three in Illinois, and raping and abducting 19 year old Jennifer Asbenson who escaped and survived. Urdiales was indicted for three murders in Illinois and was sentenced to death but the death sentence was commuted after Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois abolished capital punishment in 2011. Instead he received three life sentences for the murders of Laura Uylaki, Cassandra Corum, and Lynn Huber. A gun confiscated in a separate incident linked the three murders in Illinois together and during an interrogation, Urdiales admitted in detail to five cold case murders in California too.
After years of legal wrangling, Urdiales was eventually extradited to California and indicted in 2009 on five counts of first degree murder. He was accused of killing Robbin Brandley, Julie McGhee, Mary Ann Wells, Tammie Erwin, and Denise Maney while stationed at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base. On May 23, 2018, Andrew Urdiales was convicted of five murders by a jury that deliberated for about a day before recommending in June 2018 that he be sentenced to death for each of the five murders. On November 2, 2018, corrections officials said they found Urdiales unresponsive during a security check at San Quentin State Prison; former Marine and serial killer Andrew Urdiales died by suicide.
In the News:
The murders occurred when Andrew Urdiales was stationed at various Marine Corps facilities in Southern California. -CBS Los Angeles (October 5, 2018)
MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL 