Posted on Fri, Sep. 08, 2006
News briefs from Southern California
The Associated Press
Associated Press
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - A couple was sentenced to death for the torture-slaying of a 16-year-old girl who was held captive for two weeks.
Superior Court Judge Paul Zellerbach announced his decision Thursday in the case against Michael Forrest Thornton, 50, and Janeen Marie Snyder, 26.
Separate juries convicted the Rialto residents in the murder of Michelle Curran. The panels also recommended death sentences.
Curran's nude body was discovered inside a horse trailer 14 days after she was kidnapped from her Las Vegas neighborhood.
Thornton and Snyder held Curran captive, gave her drugs, intimidated her with firearms and sexually exploited her, Zellerbach said.
The judge acknowledged arguments by Snyder's defense attorneys that she was dominated by Thornton at a very young age. But he refused to discount the jury's recommendation involving the killing.
"Miss Snyder was a willing and voluntary participant," Zellerbach said. "She was not merely a puppet or a pawn."
=============================================
Thursday, July 12, 2001
Copyright ยฉ Las Vegas Review-Journal
Detectives seek key details in teen's slaying
How Las Vegas high schooler met suspects unclear
By RYAN OLIVER
ยฉ2001, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
How Michelle Curran met the two suspects charged with raping, torturing and killing her on a California ranch is a mystery that continues to puzzle detectives three months after the Western High School sophomore's body was found.
"I know when they left Las Vegas, and I know where they went later in the evening in California," said Robert Joseph, a homicide investigator with the Riverside County Sheriff's Office. "The one question I can't answer is how my victim came to be with my suspects."
Riverside County authorities, in their first candid interview about the events surrounding Curran's slaying, disclosed new information about the case in hopes of finding fresh leads into what led Curran to her killers. Officials plan to revisit Las Vegas next week as part of their investigation.
Curran's petite body was found inside a horse trailer April 22 on a property in Rubidoux, Calif., just north of Riverside. Police said she was raped and tortured before she was killed with a single gunshot to the head on April 17.
Michael F. Thornton, 45, and his girlfriend, Janeen Snyder, 21, both of Rialto, Calif., have been charged with murder in connection with Curran's slaying. The circumstances of Curran's death could make the pair eligible for the death penalty.
Evidence suggests the suspects had an appetite for sex with third parties, particularly with young, teen-age girls, said Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Mike Rushton.
Snyder had met Thornton, the owner of a chain of eight hair salons in Southern California, as a runaway when she was 13 or 14 years old and he was in his 30s, Rushton said. "She eventually became his lover." She also became a part-time stripper in Las Vegas while maintaining her residence with Thornton in California, Rushton said.
Police released a photograph of Curran and Snyder together shortly before Curran was killed with both seated in a beige GMC Suburban, registered in Thornton's mother's name. The Polaroid shot was discovered by detectives in the room of a Rubidoux hotel where the trio had been staying, Joseph said.
Investigators do not know whether Curran was forcibly abducted as she walked to school on the morning of April 4 or whether she voluntarily went with the suspects.
Curran doesn't appear to be held against her will in the photograph, but guns, handcuffs, rope, bungee cords and a Velcro strap with hair on it were later found by police inside the vehicle, according to a search warrant.
"We're assuming the photo was probably taken by the male suspect," Joseph said. "Whether it was staged or not, we don't know."
Thornton and Snyder declined comment for this story from their jail cells at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.
Curran reportedly was last seen in Las Vegas by her older sister as Curran left her home on Parsifal Place, near Jones Boulevard and Washington Avenue, about 7 a.m., Joseph said. Curran had left in a huff because the elder sibling was being allowed to stay home from school and she wasn't, he said.
Curran told her sister she would get breakfast at McDonald's or another fast food restaurant on her way to school, Joseph said.
Meanwhile, registration records at the Main Street Inn, on Main near Washington Avenue, show the suspects checked in April 2 and left on April 4, he said. On the night of the April 4, the suspects checked into the Lake Arrowhead Lodge in Arrowhead, Calif., about four to five hours from Las Vegas in the San Bernardino National Forest.
A hotel clerk recalled a dark-haired girl with the pair, Joseph said. Curran, a natural blonde, had dyed her hair dark brown about a month before her disappearance, Joseph said.
Joseph said the trio spent much of the afternoon driving to Lake Arrowhead.
"There's only about four hours I can't account for on that day," he said of the crucial morning.
On April 5, Curran's family filed a missing person report with Las Vegas police.
Joseph said that by April 6, the trio had driven to Thornton's mother's house in Mesa, Ariz., and stayed there through April 11.
A note left at the house, alleged to have been signed by Curran, said she was with Mike and Janeen and was being treated well, said Rushton, the prosecutor.
The trio then drove to Fontana, Calif., near the suspects' home in Rialto, and checked into a hotel there on April 12, he said. On the morning of April 17, the day police believe Curran was killed, they checked into a Motel 6 in Rubidoux, Rushton said.
During their time in California, the trio was seen numerous times by Thornton's friends, Joseph said.
A ranger at a Riverside County park also recalled seeing Curran with the two suspects on April 17 and told police Curran did not seem to be under any duress, Joseph said. The park is close to the 2 1/2-acre horse ranch where Curran was killed later that day.
Thornton and Snyder were arrested by deputies as they fled the property when the owner discovered them in a horse shed and reported a burglary in progress, police said. They were held on $1 million bond despite being charged only with breaking and entering, because a large amount of blood was found in the shed, police said.
The property owner discovered Curran's body stuffed in a horse trailer five days later, police said.
The arrest wasn't the first for Thornton or Snyder. A 14-year-old girl in 2000 claimed she was held at the pair's home against her will for 30 days and sexually assaulted, Rushton said. Thornton and Snyder were arrested, but the charges were later dropped by San Bernardino County prosecutors citing a lack of evidence.
Despite the decision to not prosecute, Rushton said, "the facts of that case will come to bear in the prosecution here in Riverside County."
In the latest arrest, Riverside detectives also found maps with addresses to Riverside-area schools inside the GMC Suburban the pair had been driving, Rushton said.
A videotape showing Thornton and Snyder having sex with a third woman also was recovered by police, he said. The woman appears to be older than 18, which is California's age of consent.
"There's nothing of an illegal nature on the tape," he said. "There's also nothing with Michelle on any of the tapes."
Authorities have recovered three computers from the couple's property and are analyzing them for any clues that might reveal how they met Curran, Rushton said. So far, no evidence of an Internet relationship has emerged, he said.
"We are curious to see what method they used," he said. "On its face, it may have appeared friendly at first. But underneath it was more sinister."
Anyone with information about Curran's case is asked to call the Riverside County Sheriff's Office at (909) 341-8817 or the Metropolitan Police Department's Missing Persons Detail at 229-2907.
This story is located at:
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2001/Jul-12-Thu-2001/news/16517569.html
News briefs from Southern California
The Associated Press
Associated Press
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - A couple was sentenced to death for the torture-slaying of a 16-year-old girl who was held captive for two weeks.
Superior Court Judge Paul Zellerbach announced his decision Thursday in the case against Michael Forrest Thornton, 50, and Janeen Marie Snyder, 26.
Separate juries convicted the Rialto residents in the murder of Michelle Curran. The panels also recommended death sentences.
Curran's nude body was discovered inside a horse trailer 14 days after she was kidnapped from her Las Vegas neighborhood.
Thornton and Snyder held Curran captive, gave her drugs, intimidated her with firearms and sexually exploited her, Zellerbach said.
The judge acknowledged arguments by Snyder's defense attorneys that she was dominated by Thornton at a very young age. But he refused to discount the jury's recommendation involving the killing.
"Miss Snyder was a willing and voluntary participant," Zellerbach said. "She was not merely a puppet or a pawn."
=============================================
Thursday, July 12, 2001
Copyright ยฉ Las Vegas Review-Journal
Detectives seek key details in teen's slaying
How Las Vegas high schooler met suspects unclear
By RYAN OLIVER
ยฉ2001, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
How Michelle Curran met the two suspects charged with raping, torturing and killing her on a California ranch is a mystery that continues to puzzle detectives three months after the Western High School sophomore's body was found.
"I know when they left Las Vegas, and I know where they went later in the evening in California," said Robert Joseph, a homicide investigator with the Riverside County Sheriff's Office. "The one question I can't answer is how my victim came to be with my suspects."
Riverside County authorities, in their first candid interview about the events surrounding Curran's slaying, disclosed new information about the case in hopes of finding fresh leads into what led Curran to her killers. Officials plan to revisit Las Vegas next week as part of their investigation.
Curran's petite body was found inside a horse trailer April 22 on a property in Rubidoux, Calif., just north of Riverside. Police said she was raped and tortured before she was killed with a single gunshot to the head on April 17.
Michael F. Thornton, 45, and his girlfriend, Janeen Snyder, 21, both of Rialto, Calif., have been charged with murder in connection with Curran's slaying. The circumstances of Curran's death could make the pair eligible for the death penalty.
Evidence suggests the suspects had an appetite for sex with third parties, particularly with young, teen-age girls, said Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Mike Rushton.
Snyder had met Thornton, the owner of a chain of eight hair salons in Southern California, as a runaway when she was 13 or 14 years old and he was in his 30s, Rushton said. "She eventually became his lover." She also became a part-time stripper in Las Vegas while maintaining her residence with Thornton in California, Rushton said.
Police released a photograph of Curran and Snyder together shortly before Curran was killed with both seated in a beige GMC Suburban, registered in Thornton's mother's name. The Polaroid shot was discovered by detectives in the room of a Rubidoux hotel where the trio had been staying, Joseph said.
Investigators do not know whether Curran was forcibly abducted as she walked to school on the morning of April 4 or whether she voluntarily went with the suspects.
Curran doesn't appear to be held against her will in the photograph, but guns, handcuffs, rope, bungee cords and a Velcro strap with hair on it were later found by police inside the vehicle, according to a search warrant.
"We're assuming the photo was probably taken by the male suspect," Joseph said. "Whether it was staged or not, we don't know."
Thornton and Snyder declined comment for this story from their jail cells at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.
Curran reportedly was last seen in Las Vegas by her older sister as Curran left her home on Parsifal Place, near Jones Boulevard and Washington Avenue, about 7 a.m., Joseph said. Curran had left in a huff because the elder sibling was being allowed to stay home from school and she wasn't, he said.
Curran told her sister she would get breakfast at McDonald's or another fast food restaurant on her way to school, Joseph said.
Meanwhile, registration records at the Main Street Inn, on Main near Washington Avenue, show the suspects checked in April 2 and left on April 4, he said. On the night of the April 4, the suspects checked into the Lake Arrowhead Lodge in Arrowhead, Calif., about four to five hours from Las Vegas in the San Bernardino National Forest.
A hotel clerk recalled a dark-haired girl with the pair, Joseph said. Curran, a natural blonde, had dyed her hair dark brown about a month before her disappearance, Joseph said.
Joseph said the trio spent much of the afternoon driving to Lake Arrowhead.
"There's only about four hours I can't account for on that day," he said of the crucial morning.
On April 5, Curran's family filed a missing person report with Las Vegas police.
Joseph said that by April 6, the trio had driven to Thornton's mother's house in Mesa, Ariz., and stayed there through April 11.
A note left at the house, alleged to have been signed by Curran, said she was with Mike and Janeen and was being treated well, said Rushton, the prosecutor.
The trio then drove to Fontana, Calif., near the suspects' home in Rialto, and checked into a hotel there on April 12, he said. On the morning of April 17, the day police believe Curran was killed, they checked into a Motel 6 in Rubidoux, Rushton said.
During their time in California, the trio was seen numerous times by Thornton's friends, Joseph said.
A ranger at a Riverside County park also recalled seeing Curran with the two suspects on April 17 and told police Curran did not seem to be under any duress, Joseph said. The park is close to the 2 1/2-acre horse ranch where Curran was killed later that day.
Thornton and Snyder were arrested by deputies as they fled the property when the owner discovered them in a horse shed and reported a burglary in progress, police said. They were held on $1 million bond despite being charged only with breaking and entering, because a large amount of blood was found in the shed, police said.
The property owner discovered Curran's body stuffed in a horse trailer five days later, police said.
The arrest wasn't the first for Thornton or Snyder. A 14-year-old girl in 2000 claimed she was held at the pair's home against her will for 30 days and sexually assaulted, Rushton said. Thornton and Snyder were arrested, but the charges were later dropped by San Bernardino County prosecutors citing a lack of evidence.
Despite the decision to not prosecute, Rushton said, "the facts of that case will come to bear in the prosecution here in Riverside County."
In the latest arrest, Riverside detectives also found maps with addresses to Riverside-area schools inside the GMC Suburban the pair had been driving, Rushton said.
A videotape showing Thornton and Snyder having sex with a third woman also was recovered by police, he said. The woman appears to be older than 18, which is California's age of consent.
"There's nothing of an illegal nature on the tape," he said. "There's also nothing with Michelle on any of the tapes."
Authorities have recovered three computers from the couple's property and are analyzing them for any clues that might reveal how they met Curran, Rushton said. So far, no evidence of an Internet relationship has emerged, he said.
"We are curious to see what method they used," he said. "On its face, it may have appeared friendly at first. But underneath it was more sinister."
Anyone with information about Curran's case is asked to call the Riverside County Sheriff's Office at (909) 341-8817 or the Metropolitan Police Department's Missing Persons Detail at 229-2907.
This story is located at:
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2001/Jul-12-Thu-2001/news/16517569.html
Posted on Fri, Sep. 08, 2006
News briefs from Southern California
The Associated Press
Associated Press
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - A couple was sentenced to death for the torture-slaying of a 16-year-old girl who was held captive for two weeks.
Superior Court Judge Paul Zellerbach announced his decision Thursday in the case against Michael Forrest Thornton, 50, and Janeen Marie Snyder, 26.
Separate juries convicted the Rialto residents in the murder of Michelle Curran. The panels also recommended death sentences.
Curran's nude body was discovered inside a horse trailer 14 days after she was kidnapped from her Las Vegas neighborhood.
Thornton and Snyder held Curran captive, gave her drugs, intimidated her with firearms and sexually exploited her, Zellerbach said.
The judge acknowledged arguments by Snyder's defense attorneys that she was dominated by Thornton at a very young age. But he refused to discount the jury's recommendation involving the killing.
"Miss Snyder was a willing and voluntary participant," Zellerbach said. "She was not merely a puppet or a pawn."
=============================================
Thursday, July 12, 2001
Copyright ยฉ Las Vegas Review-Journal
Detectives seek key details in teen's slaying
How Las Vegas high schooler met suspects unclear
By RYAN OLIVER
ยฉ2001, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
How Michelle Curran met the two suspects charged with raping, torturing and killing her on a California ranch is a mystery that continues to puzzle detectives three months after the Western High School sophomore's body was found.
"I know when they left Las Vegas, and I know where they went later in the evening in California," said Robert Joseph, a homicide investigator with the Riverside County Sheriff's Office. "The one question I can't answer is how my victim came to be with my suspects."
Riverside County authorities, in their first candid interview about the events surrounding Curran's slaying, disclosed new information about the case in hopes of finding fresh leads into what led Curran to her killers. Officials plan to revisit Las Vegas next week as part of their investigation.
Curran's petite body was found inside a horse trailer April 22 on a property in Rubidoux, Calif., just north of Riverside. Police said she was raped and tortured before she was killed with a single gunshot to the head on April 17.
Michael F. Thornton, 45, and his girlfriend, Janeen Snyder, 21, both of Rialto, Calif., have been charged with murder in connection with Curran's slaying. The circumstances of Curran's death could make the pair eligible for the death penalty.
Evidence suggests the suspects had an appetite for sex with third parties, particularly with young, teen-age girls, said Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Mike Rushton.
Snyder had met Thornton, the owner of a chain of eight hair salons in Southern California, as a runaway when she was 13 or 14 years old and he was in his 30s, Rushton said. "She eventually became his lover." She also became a part-time stripper in Las Vegas while maintaining her residence with Thornton in California, Rushton said.
Police released a photograph of Curran and Snyder together shortly before Curran was killed with both seated in a beige GMC Suburban, registered in Thornton's mother's name. The Polaroid shot was discovered by detectives in the room of a Rubidoux hotel where the trio had been staying, Joseph said.
Investigators do not know whether Curran was forcibly abducted as she walked to school on the morning of April 4 or whether she voluntarily went with the suspects.
Curran doesn't appear to be held against her will in the photograph, but guns, handcuffs, rope, bungee cords and a Velcro strap with hair on it were later found by police inside the vehicle, according to a search warrant.
"We're assuming the photo was probably taken by the male suspect," Joseph said. "Whether it was staged or not, we don't know."
Thornton and Snyder declined comment for this story from their jail cells at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.
Curran reportedly was last seen in Las Vegas by her older sister as Curran left her home on Parsifal Place, near Jones Boulevard and Washington Avenue, about 7 a.m., Joseph said. Curran had left in a huff because the elder sibling was being allowed to stay home from school and she wasn't, he said.
Curran told her sister she would get breakfast at McDonald's or another fast food restaurant on her way to school, Joseph said.
Meanwhile, registration records at the Main Street Inn, on Main near Washington Avenue, show the suspects checked in April 2 and left on April 4, he said. On the night of the April 4, the suspects checked into the Lake Arrowhead Lodge in Arrowhead, Calif., about four to five hours from Las Vegas in the San Bernardino National Forest.
A hotel clerk recalled a dark-haired girl with the pair, Joseph said. Curran, a natural blonde, had dyed her hair dark brown about a month before her disappearance, Joseph said.
Joseph said the trio spent much of the afternoon driving to Lake Arrowhead.
"There's only about four hours I can't account for on that day," he said of the crucial morning.
On April 5, Curran's family filed a missing person report with Las Vegas police.
Joseph said that by April 6, the trio had driven to Thornton's mother's house in Mesa, Ariz., and stayed there through April 11.
A note left at the house, alleged to have been signed by Curran, said she was with Mike and Janeen and was being treated well, said Rushton, the prosecutor.
The trio then drove to Fontana, Calif., near the suspects' home in Rialto, and checked into a hotel there on April 12, he said. On the morning of April 17, the day police believe Curran was killed, they checked into a Motel 6 in Rubidoux, Rushton said.
During their time in California, the trio was seen numerous times by Thornton's friends, Joseph said.
A ranger at a Riverside County park also recalled seeing Curran with the two suspects on April 17 and told police Curran did not seem to be under any duress, Joseph said. The park is close to the 2 1/2-acre horse ranch where Curran was killed later that day.
Thornton and Snyder were arrested by deputies as they fled the property when the owner discovered them in a horse shed and reported a burglary in progress, police said. They were held on $1 million bond despite being charged only with breaking and entering, because a large amount of blood was found in the shed, police said.
The property owner discovered Curran's body stuffed in a horse trailer five days later, police said.
The arrest wasn't the first for Thornton or Snyder. A 14-year-old girl in 2000 claimed she was held at the pair's home against her will for 30 days and sexually assaulted, Rushton said. Thornton and Snyder were arrested, but the charges were later dropped by San Bernardino County prosecutors citing a lack of evidence.
Despite the decision to not prosecute, Rushton said, "the facts of that case will come to bear in the prosecution here in Riverside County."
In the latest arrest, Riverside detectives also found maps with addresses to Riverside-area schools inside the GMC Suburban the pair had been driving, Rushton said.
A videotape showing Thornton and Snyder having sex with a third woman also was recovered by police, he said. The woman appears to be older than 18, which is California's age of consent.
"There's nothing of an illegal nature on the tape," he said. "There's also nothing with Michelle on any of the tapes."
Authorities have recovered three computers from the couple's property and are analyzing them for any clues that might reveal how they met Curran, Rushton said. So far, no evidence of an Internet relationship has emerged, he said.
"We are curious to see what method they used," he said. "On its face, it may have appeared friendly at first. But underneath it was more sinister."
Anyone with information about Curran's case is asked to call the Riverside County Sheriff's Office at (909) 341-8817 or the Metropolitan Police Department's Missing Persons Detail at 229-2907.
This story is located at:
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2001/Jul-12-Thu-2001/news/16517569.html
News briefs from Southern California
The Associated Press
Associated Press
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - A couple was sentenced to death for the torture-slaying of a 16-year-old girl who was held captive for two weeks.
Superior Court Judge Paul Zellerbach announced his decision Thursday in the case against Michael Forrest Thornton, 50, and Janeen Marie Snyder, 26.
Separate juries convicted the Rialto residents in the murder of Michelle Curran. The panels also recommended death sentences.
Curran's nude body was discovered inside a horse trailer 14 days after she was kidnapped from her Las Vegas neighborhood.
Thornton and Snyder held Curran captive, gave her drugs, intimidated her with firearms and sexually exploited her, Zellerbach said.
The judge acknowledged arguments by Snyder's defense attorneys that she was dominated by Thornton at a very young age. But he refused to discount the jury's recommendation involving the killing.
"Miss Snyder was a willing and voluntary participant," Zellerbach said. "She was not merely a puppet or a pawn."
=============================================
Thursday, July 12, 2001
Copyright ยฉ Las Vegas Review-Journal
Detectives seek key details in teen's slaying
How Las Vegas high schooler met suspects unclear
By RYAN OLIVER
ยฉ2001, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
How Michelle Curran met the two suspects charged with raping, torturing and killing her on a California ranch is a mystery that continues to puzzle detectives three months after the Western High School sophomore's body was found.
"I know when they left Las Vegas, and I know where they went later in the evening in California," said Robert Joseph, a homicide investigator with the Riverside County Sheriff's Office. "The one question I can't answer is how my victim came to be with my suspects."
Riverside County authorities, in their first candid interview about the events surrounding Curran's slaying, disclosed new information about the case in hopes of finding fresh leads into what led Curran to her killers. Officials plan to revisit Las Vegas next week as part of their investigation.
Curran's petite body was found inside a horse trailer April 22 on a property in Rubidoux, Calif., just north of Riverside. Police said she was raped and tortured before she was killed with a single gunshot to the head on April 17.
Michael F. Thornton, 45, and his girlfriend, Janeen Snyder, 21, both of Rialto, Calif., have been charged with murder in connection with Curran's slaying. The circumstances of Curran's death could make the pair eligible for the death penalty.
Evidence suggests the suspects had an appetite for sex with third parties, particularly with young, teen-age girls, said Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Mike Rushton.
Snyder had met Thornton, the owner of a chain of eight hair salons in Southern California, as a runaway when she was 13 or 14 years old and he was in his 30s, Rushton said. "She eventually became his lover." She also became a part-time stripper in Las Vegas while maintaining her residence with Thornton in California, Rushton said.
Police released a photograph of Curran and Snyder together shortly before Curran was killed with both seated in a beige GMC Suburban, registered in Thornton's mother's name. The Polaroid shot was discovered by detectives in the room of a Rubidoux hotel where the trio had been staying, Joseph said.
Investigators do not know whether Curran was forcibly abducted as she walked to school on the morning of April 4 or whether she voluntarily went with the suspects.
Curran doesn't appear to be held against her will in the photograph, but guns, handcuffs, rope, bungee cords and a Velcro strap with hair on it were later found by police inside the vehicle, according to a search warrant.
"We're assuming the photo was probably taken by the male suspect," Joseph said. "Whether it was staged or not, we don't know."
Thornton and Snyder declined comment for this story from their jail cells at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.
Curran reportedly was last seen in Las Vegas by her older sister as Curran left her home on Parsifal Place, near Jones Boulevard and Washington Avenue, about 7 a.m., Joseph said. Curran had left in a huff because the elder sibling was being allowed to stay home from school and she wasn't, he said.
Curran told her sister she would get breakfast at McDonald's or another fast food restaurant on her way to school, Joseph said.
Meanwhile, registration records at the Main Street Inn, on Main near Washington Avenue, show the suspects checked in April 2 and left on April 4, he said. On the night of the April 4, the suspects checked into the Lake Arrowhead Lodge in Arrowhead, Calif., about four to five hours from Las Vegas in the San Bernardino National Forest.
A hotel clerk recalled a dark-haired girl with the pair, Joseph said. Curran, a natural blonde, had dyed her hair dark brown about a month before her disappearance, Joseph said.
Joseph said the trio spent much of the afternoon driving to Lake Arrowhead.
"There's only about four hours I can't account for on that day," he said of the crucial morning.
On April 5, Curran's family filed a missing person report with Las Vegas police.
Joseph said that by April 6, the trio had driven to Thornton's mother's house in Mesa, Ariz., and stayed there through April 11.
A note left at the house, alleged to have been signed by Curran, said she was with Mike and Janeen and was being treated well, said Rushton, the prosecutor.
The trio then drove to Fontana, Calif., near the suspects' home in Rialto, and checked into a hotel there on April 12, he said. On the morning of April 17, the day police believe Curran was killed, they checked into a Motel 6 in Rubidoux, Rushton said.
During their time in California, the trio was seen numerous times by Thornton's friends, Joseph said.
A ranger at a Riverside County park also recalled seeing Curran with the two suspects on April 17 and told police Curran did not seem to be under any duress, Joseph said. The park is close to the 2 1/2-acre horse ranch where Curran was killed later that day.
Thornton and Snyder were arrested by deputies as they fled the property when the owner discovered them in a horse shed and reported a burglary in progress, police said. They were held on $1 million bond despite being charged only with breaking and entering, because a large amount of blood was found in the shed, police said.
The property owner discovered Curran's body stuffed in a horse trailer five days later, police said.
The arrest wasn't the first for Thornton or Snyder. A 14-year-old girl in 2000 claimed she was held at the pair's home against her will for 30 days and sexually assaulted, Rushton said. Thornton and Snyder were arrested, but the charges were later dropped by San Bernardino County prosecutors citing a lack of evidence.
Despite the decision to not prosecute, Rushton said, "the facts of that case will come to bear in the prosecution here in Riverside County."
In the latest arrest, Riverside detectives also found maps with addresses to Riverside-area schools inside the GMC Suburban the pair had been driving, Rushton said.
A videotape showing Thornton and Snyder having sex with a third woman also was recovered by police, he said. The woman appears to be older than 18, which is California's age of consent.
"There's nothing of an illegal nature on the tape," he said. "There's also nothing with Michelle on any of the tapes."
Authorities have recovered three computers from the couple's property and are analyzing them for any clues that might reveal how they met Curran, Rushton said. So far, no evidence of an Internet relationship has emerged, he said.
"We are curious to see what method they used," he said. "On its face, it may have appeared friendly at first. But underneath it was more sinister."
Anyone with information about Curran's case is asked to call the Riverside County Sheriff's Office at (909) 341-8817 or the Metropolitan Police Department's Missing Persons Detail at 229-2907.
This story is located at:
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2001/Jul-12-Thu-2001/news/16517569.html
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