Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Killing Two Teen Girls

LA Times- A 31-year-old registered sex offender pleaded guilty Friday to murdering two teenage girls in northern San Diego County in a deal that spares him from the death penalty.

John Albert Gardner III, who previously served five years in prison for beating and molesting a 13-year-old girl, pleaded guilty to the murders of Chelsea King, 17, and Amber Dubois, 14, both during rape attempts. In exchange for his plea at the hastily arranged hearing, Gardner will be returned to prison for life, without the possibility of parole.

Chelsea, an honor student at Poway High School, disappeared Feb. 25 while jogging near Lake Hodges. Gardner was arrested Feb. 28, and on March 2 law enforcement searchers found Chelsea’s body in a shallow grave 10 feet from the water's edge.

Amber's skeletal remains were found four days later buried in the rugged Pala area northeast of Escondido. She had disappeared Feb. 13, 2009, while walking to class at Escondido High School.

With his head bowed, Gardner admitted Friday to Superior Court Judge David Danielsen that he strangled Chelsea and stabbed Amber. He also admitted to attacking a female jogger Dec. 27 in a rape attempt at Rancho Bernardo Community Park. The victim managed to escape Gardner's grasp.

The parents of both murdered girls were in the courtroom, as were a dozen supporters, some wearing T-shirts and buttons with pictures of the two victims.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Kristen Spieler told Danielsen that Dist. Atty. Bonnie Dumanis agreed to the plea bargain after "careful consideration of the feelings and opinions" of the victims' families.

In a news conference after the plea, Maurice Dubois, Amber's father, said the agreement allowed "justice and closure" for his daughter. Brent King, Chelsea's father, said lengthy court proceedings would have had a "destructive effect" on their 13-year-old son, Tyler, and the community and distracted from the family's campaign for tougher laws for sex offenders.

Dumanis said that without Gardner's guilty plea, her office would not have had enough evidence to take him to trial for Amber's murder.

Gardner and his attorney declined the judge's offer to comment on why Gardner agreed to plead guilty. He had pleaded not guilty to the murder and rape of Chelsea on March 3. The discovery of Amber's remains, which followed months of search efforts by hundreds of volunteers, so soon after Gardner's arrest had led to speculation that he had led authorities to her body, but until Friday his indictment for her killing was not public.

Gardner's arrest has sparked widespread public criticism over allegedly sloppy supervision of sex offenders.

Documents indicate that Gardner, who was released from prison in 2005, could have been sent back to prison for violating parole on several occasions, including for living too close to a school and missing meetings with his parole officer.

Other documents indicate that Gardner has long been diagnosed as having bipolar disorder and been prescribed mood-stabilizing drugs.

This week, accompanied by Chelsea's parents, Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher (R-San Diego) said he would introduce Chelsea’s Law, a bill that would allow for life sentences for first-time child molesters and for lifetime use of global positioning system monitoring of all sex offenders.

Although a gag order has prevented authorities from discussing either killing or the evidence linking Gardner to the crimes, a search warrant indicates that investigators found shovels and a pickax at Gardner's home in Lake Elsinore.

At the request of Gardner's public defender, Danielsen continued the gag order until an April 22 hearing. Danielsen said he has "grave reservations" about continuing the order but will allow lawyers to make their arguments. Danielsen made an exception to the gag order to allow Dumanis to comment to reporters.

The sentencing is not official until a June 1 court hearing. At that hearing, the relatives and friends of the victims can address the court. Under the plea bargain, Gardner is eligible to be treated as a mentally disturbed sex offender, Danielsen said.

Schwarzenegger Orders Review of Sex Offender Case

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered a review Friday of the way the state handled a molestation case involving a man who is now charged with murdering one California teenager and under investigation in another killing.

The order came a day after The Associated Press disclosed John Albert Gardner III could have been sent back to prison in 2007 for parole violations and evaluated for possible commitment to a state mental hospital as a sexually violent predator.

"We must learn from what happened in this case to make sure the public is protected from sexual predators," Schwarzenegger said in a statement detailing his order to the state Sex Offender Management Board.

Gardner, 30, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of 17-year-old Chelsea King in San Diego County. He also is a suspect but has not been charged in the killing of 14-year-old Amber Dubois, who disappeared as she walked to school in Escondido in early 2009.

The 17-member board includes law enforcement officials, crime victims, treatment experts and others who advise the governor and Legislature on sex offender policies.

Gardner pleaded guilty in 2000 to molesting a 13-year-old neighbor. He spent five years in prison and three years on parole before being released from supervision in September 2008.

Parole records independently obtained by the AP showed Gardner could have been sent back to prison in 2007 and 2008 for violations that included living too close to a college daycare center.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has said it was trying to determine if actions regarding Gardner's parole were consistent with policy and law.

"We are taking every appropriate step to review these case factors to determine if these potential infractions warranted a return to prison on their merits," Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate said in a statement.

Oscar Hidalgo, spokesman for the department, previously said Gardner was considered to be a low- or moderate-risk sex offender, based on the assessment in use at the time.

He wasn't sent back to prison in September 2007 because he corrected the residency violation by moving away from the daycare center, Hidalgo said.

Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, R-San Diego, called for an investigation of the department and intends to hold public hearings before proposing legislation to increase penalties and oversight of sex offenders.

Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, said he would amend one of his existing bills now in the state Senate to increase the penalty for a first offense of raping a minor to a mandatory 25 years to life in prison.

The current punishment is 15 years to life and also depends on the age of the victim. Nava is a former prosecutor who is running for attorney general.

Nava's bill also proposes creating a system to call the cell phones of residents in a specific area letting them know when a sex crime has been committed in their neighborhood.

Grandmother Says Rescued Girl Won't Return to Mother

(CNN) -- A 4-year-old, whose mother took her cross-country with her sex-offender boyfriend, won't be handed back to her mother, according to the girl's maternal grandmother.

"There's no way that I would do that," Mary Watson said Wednesday on HLN's "Nancy Grace."

Watson said she plans to follow the decisions of social services agencies overseeing the well-publicized case of young Haylee Donathan and will not let Haylee see her mother, Candace Watson.

"If (she) is not allowed to see her, she is not allowed to see her," Mary Watson said. "That's the way it is going to be."

Candace Watson, 24, and her boyfriend, Robbie Potter, 27, were arrested Tuesday in a raid at The Morning Star Ranch, a Christian communal farm in a rural part of San Diego County, California.

Authorities also found Haylee at the ranch and said they plan to return the girl to her grandmother.

Haylee had been missing for 27 days and the search to find her had been highlighted by national television current-affairs shows.

The grandmother, who received temporary court-ordered custody of the girl so an Amber Alert could be issued during the search, said she had not seen Haylee since she was found because she was being examined in California. Shortly after she was found, the girl was said to be in good condition.

"I want to tell her how I love her and we all love her and want her to come home soon," Mary Watson said.

Acting on a tip from former retreat visitors who saw a billboard of Haylee in the Las Vegas area, law enforcement stormed the usually placid ranch, whose members work the land, do household chores and share Christian beliefs and teachings.

The search for Haylee was sparked by authorities' concern for her safety.

Investigators say the three left Mansfield, Ohio, by car on May 28. The same day, Candace Watson and others allegedly had helped Potter escape from a halfway house, according to officials.

After she was arrested, Watson said she "was in love with him and knew she would help him any way she could," Pete Elliott, the U.S. marshal for the northern district of Ohio, told "Nancy Grace."

Roommate says on Nancy Grace she saw Haylee Donathan in Bed with Mother and Sex Offender (Video)

Wednesday evening Candace Watson’s roommate appeared on Nancy Grace and discussed the Haylee Donathan case.

Samantha Covert said she saw Haylee, 4, in bed with Haylee's mother Watson, 24, and convicted sex offender Robbi Potter, 27, on the morning of May 28, the day the three went missing.

Covert said when Watson left the house she had a basket full of clothes, blankets, and pillows.

Haylee’s grandmother, Mary Watson also appeared and said in the last phone conversation she had with her daughter, she sounded scared.

New Facebook Sex Offenders Application

This is quite useful!

Haylee Donathan Wal-Mart Surveillance Video

NEW INFORMATION--Police have discovered a surveillance tape they say may offer clues in the case of missing 4-year-old Haylee Donathan.

Haylee disappeared while on a camping trip with her mother Candace Watson and her boyfriend Robbi Potter, a convicted sex offender.

Video from a Walmart in Marion apparently shows Haylee's mother aays after the little girl was last seen by family members.

The video goes on to show a man believed to be Potter in a truck outside with a little girl.

"It's just so hard for me to believe that she would leave her in the truck. I just don't understand it," said Mary Watson, Haylee's grandmother.

The hope is that the video paired with a $10,000 reward will bring Haylee home.

CRAWFORD COUNTY (WTOL) - A nationwide search is underway for little Haylee Donathan.

The 4-year-old girl was last seen more than a week ago in Crestline, and investigators say she may be in danger.

They believe she's with her mother and Robbi Potter. Potter spent 3 years in prison for sexually assaulting two children.

One of the victims' mothers has a warning for Haylee's mom.

"I would tell her to get away. Run, as fast as you can. I mean, even if she doesn't do it for herself, she's gotta do it for her child," the mother said.

Haylee's father, his girlfriend and the girl's uncle are charged with helping Potter escape.

Investigators were checking possible leads near Phoenix, Ariz., after receiving tips that Haylee may be there. The Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force is handling the search.

"I'm a father myself and I can just imagine the fear in this girl, so we're not going to stop, we're going to keep going until we get her back safely," said Assistant Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Drew Deserto.

Deserto said they are willing to speak with Potter and Haylee's mother to arrange a 'safe surrender.'

Talks are underway to get the case featured on America's Most Wanted.

Mom Dated Sex Offender

Mom dated sex offender 4:08
The mother of missing Nevaeh Buchanan, 5, dated a sex offender and failed a polygraph test, claiming she was tired.