When Ivan and Annette Stineman disappeared from their home in Concord, California in the summer of 2000, it immediately raised red alarmed with those closest to the elderly couple. Those alarms proved to be justified when, a week later, the remains of the Stinemans and three others were discovered in duffel bags in Sacramento River Delta.

The day after the remains were found in river, investigators arrested Taylor and Justin Helzer, and Justin’s girlfriend, Dawn Godman, for the murders of Ivan and Annette Stineman. A short time later, they would also be charged with the murders of Taylor’s girlfriend, Selina Bishop, her mother, Jenny Villarin, and Villarin’s boyfriend, Jim Gamble.

At first, investigators believed the murders were part of a plot to extort the Stinemans for a large amount of money, but the deeper they dug into the lives and backgrounds of the killers, a different and far more bizarre motive began to emerge.

Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!

References

Aguila, Justino. 2000. "Boyfriend probed in homicides." San Francisco Examiner, August 7: 3.

Bulwa, Demian. 2004. "Killer lays out grisly details of murder spree." San Francisco Chronicle, May 28.

Kim, Ryan. 2000. "Double slaying rattles Marin town." San Francisco Examiner, August 4: 16.

Lee, Henry K. 2013. "Justin Helzer hangs himself in prison." San Francisco Chronicle, April 16.

People of the State of California v. Helzer. 2024. S132256 (Supreme Court of California, January 22).

Read, Simon. 2004. "Jury finds Helzer guilty of murder." East Bay Times, June 17.

San Francisco Examiner. 2000. "Delta body parts identified ." San Francisco Examiner, August 9.

—. 2000. "Elvin Bishop's daughter missing." San Francisco Examiner, August 5: 3.

Scott, Robert. 2005. Unholy Sacrifice. New York, NY: Pinnacle Books.

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Weirdos! It's summertime, and it's time for you to pack a backpack, grab your sleeping bag, and join us for some creepy campfire tales! To make them even BETER- they're brought TO you, BY you, FOR you, FROM you, and ALLLLL about you!

LISTEN to this Nicholas-less version on all podcast platforms OR WATCH the Nicholas version on Youtube on FRIDAY 6/27/2025!

If you’ve got a listener tale please send it on over to Morbidpodcast@gmail.com with “Listener Tales” somewhere in the subject line- and if you share pictures- please let us know if we can share them with fellow weirdos! :)

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Part 2 of 2: On the afternoon of July 24, 2002, Clara Harris learned that her husband, David Harris, was having an affair with his secretary. Incensed, Clara went to the hotel where the David and his mistress had just checked in and confronted the couple before being escorted out by hotel staff. However, the argument between David and Clara continued in the parking lot, only ending when Clara ran her husband down with her car, driving over him three separate times and killing him.

The trial of Clara Harris proved to be as exciting and dramatic as the marriage and the explosive argument that ended David’s life. The defense had tried to frame the murder as a crime of passion, an act of “sudden passion” committed by a woman rejected and scorned. That defense fell apart immediately when, without warning or expectation, Clara Harris decided to testify on her own behalf, at which point she essentially confessed to murder, sending the courtroom into chaos.

The trial of Clara Harris for the murder of her husband garnered national attention, not only for the defense of “sudden passion,” but also for the unusually high amount of drama and scandalous details that emerged in the testimony at trial.

Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!

References

Clara L. Harris v. The State of Texas. 2004. 01-03-00177-CR (Court of Appeals for the First District of Texas, December 16).

Hollandsworth, Skip. 2002. "Suburban madness." Texas Monthly, November: 117-169.

Long, Steven. 2004. Out of Control. New York, NY: St. Martin's.

Madigan, Nick. 2003. "Houston woman on trial in killing of husband testifies." New York Times, February 6.

—. 2003. "Jury gives 20-year term in murder of husband." New York Times, February 15.

—. 2003. "Trial in killing of orthodontist goes to jury." New York Times, February 13.

—. 2003. "Wife testifies she was 'in a fog' just before her car struck." New York Times, February 8.

—. 2003. "Woman who killed spouse with car is guilty of murder." New York Times, February 14.

—. 2003. "Youth who saw killing says stepmother 'stomped' accelerator and 'went for' father." New York Times, January 30.

Zernike, Kate. 2003. "A wife betrayed finds sympathy at murder trial." New York Times, January 24.

Stay in the know - wondery.fm/morbid-wondery.

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