Serial killer's victim identified

August 17, 2005

Richard Paul White admitted strangling a woman three years ago and led police to her grave in southern Colorado. Relatives now must deal with her children's pain.

It's too soon for the little boy to talk about losing his mom, so he pounds a basketball instead.

His younger sister is the one with all the questions about why a serial killer named Richard Paul White took the life of her mother, 25-year-old Torrey Marie Foster.

"She says her mom wasn't a bad person, so why did he do that to her?" recalled Della Cardoza, 61, Foster's grandmother, who is caring for the children. "I don't have an answer."

Denver police confirmed Tuesday what Cardoza said the family has known since Saturday: A skeleton found last year near Mesita in southern Colorado was that of Foster, an outgoing woman who was studying cosmetology with hopes of a new life.

White helped authorities find Foster's body as part of an agreement in which he pleaded guilty to the murders of two women found buried in the backyard of his former Denver home.

White told investigators how he strangled a woman in 2002 after picking her up at a bus stop near Colfax Avenue in Denver. He helped them locate the remains near his father's home in Mesita near the New Mexico border in September 2004.

But the victim's identity was a mystery until the Denver District Attorney's Office released a sketch that was recognized by Denver homicide Detective Jon Priest, who remembered Foster as a witness in one of his cases.

The District Attorney's Office then used DNA from Foster's 9-year-old daughter to confirm the woman's identity, spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough said.

After being told what happened to their mother, Foster's daughter and her 11- year-old son did not want to start school in Denver this week, Cardoza said. She urged them to go in order to have some sense of normalcy.

"He's pretty quiet," she said of the boy. "He plays basketball. I figure he's using it as a weapon, just playing and playing and playing."

The little girl, she said, is inconsolable.
"She wants her mommy. She doesn't want to stay with me forever," she said.

Cardoza worries for both children, whom Foster entrusted to her care while in cosmetology school.

"She used to live with me, most of the time," Cardoza said of her granddaughter. "She was married, and then he left. So she tried to get it together again."

After his capture in September 2003, White told officers how in January 2002 he picked up a tall, "dark-skinned" woman who was blind in her right eye and drove her to his house at 2885 Albion St., where he strangled her. White said he knew he was fated to kill her because he had a tattoo of a similar woman.

White, now 32, described the woman in detail. He said the tall, thin woman had just gotten her dark, crimped hair done; had perfect teeth; had a bad scar on her forearm; and had children.

In November 2003, White was sentenced to life in prison for strangling Annaletia Maria Gonzales, 27, and Victoria Lyn Tur pin, 32, whose bodies were found in his former backyard.

Because of the deal with prosecutors, which included his help in locating Foster's remains, White will not be charged with her death, Kimbrough said.

He received an additional 144 years for raping and torturing three of his surviving victims.

Serial killer given third life sentence

December 28, 2004

Before issuing another life sentence to Richard Paul White, a judge wanted the serial killer to know what he thought about his claim that killing his buddy was accidental.

"I am familiar with guns," Judge Gerald Rafferty said. "I have never heard of anyone pointing a gun at someone and pulling the trigger to demonstrate the safety was on."

Rafferty also made it clear at White's sentencing hearing Thursday that his third life sentence - this one for fatally shooting Jason Reichardt, 27, on Sept. 7, 2003 - was extraordinary..."I think it is fair to note that a great deal of mercy has been displayed to you," Rafferty said...White, who pleaded guilty to killing Reichardt in a deal in which he avoided the death penalty, declined to speak about Reichardt, who helped him get a job..."I don't wish to say anything," he said.

On Monday, White was sentenced to life in prison for strangling Annaletia Maria Gonzales, 27, and Victoria Lyn Turpin, 32, whose bodies were exhumed from the backyard of his former Denver home at 2885 Albion St. Another 144 years were tacked on to his sentence for raping and torturing three of his surviving victims.

Reichardt's father, Bill, stood at the prosecutor's table flanked by his son and wife, and said that White was not his son's friend, only one of the many people Jason helped.

"His kindness cost him his life," Reichardt said. "A day does not go by that we do not miss him.

Serial killer White sentenced

November 30, 2004

Murderer mouths words 'I'm sorry' to slain women's kin..Family members of two women murdered by serial killer Richard White looked him straight in the eye and sobbed as they spoke at his sentencing hearing Monday in Denver District Court.

"I wish some day I could hear a reason or answer for how someone could do something so cruel to another human being," said Effie Laub, whose sister was raped, tortured and killed...Family members told White about the children left behind when he killed their mothers in 2002...White stared back, nodded and mouthed the words "I'm sorry."

He made no other statement as he was sentenced to two life prison terms for the murders of Annaletia Maria Gonzales, 27, and Victoria Turpin, 34, whose bodies were buried in his back yard.

He also was sentenced to 144 years in prison for sexual assaults on three other women who survived.

"Mr. White will not see the light of day as a free man ever again," said Denver District Judge R. Michael Mullins.

White taunted women he brought to his home at 2885 Albion St., telling them about the bodies buried in his back yard and warning the women that they were likely to end up there, too, said prosecutor Kerri Lombardi.

"He has terrorized countless other women," Lombardi said.

"Richard White is a predator," she said. "He made a sport of hunting for, raping, torturing and killing these women, who spent hours and days begging for their lives. He enjoyed this game of human torture he created."

White stuck the barrel of a gun in their mouths and threatened to shoot them during the rapes, Lombardi said. After hours of torture, he used cords or belts to strangle them.

White claims to have killed three other prostitutes he picked up on Colfax Avenue.

He also has admitted killing his friend, Jason Reichardt, and faces another life sentence for that murder in Arapahoe County. He confessed to the other murders after he was arrested in Reichardt's slaying in September 2003.

White pleaded guilty in September to avoid facing the death penalty and agreed to help authorities find his other victims.

The remains of one of them was found Sept. 28 in Costilla County. The remains have not been identified but White described the victim as dark-skinned, tall, slender and blind in her right eye. He said she was staying at a motel on East Colfax Avenue at the end of January 2002 when he picked her up, according to Lynn Kimbrough, spokesperson for the district attorney.

White said he picked up two other victims in Aurora and dumped their bodies in a river near La Junta in Otero County. Those bodies have not been recovered.

Defense attorney Sharlene Reynolds said White is psychotic and suffered for years from untreated mental illness. She said he is the victim of "horrendous" childhood abuse.

At times, she said, he wanted the death penalty.

"He just couldn't deal with the magnitude of what he had done to these victims and their families," she said.

White's father apologized for his son.

"The English language does not contain the words to express the sorrow we feel," he said. "I know how horrified and remorseful he is. My son's not sane. I love him more than I can say but when these things happened he was delusional. He believed things that were not true."

After the sentencing hearing, Turpin's sister, Destiny Martinez, was not moved by the apology.

"There is not enough mental illness in the world to make someone do something like that," she said.

Authorities seek help identifying remains.

Serial killer guides CBI to remains

September 29, 2004

Authorities on Tuesday uncovered what may be human remains with the help of professed serial killer Richard Paul White, who led detectives here in search of one of the women he said he killed.

Costilla County Sheriff Roger Benton confirmed Tuesday that White and Colorado Bureau of Investigation officials searched for the body.

According to Paula Woodward of 9News, investigators found remains they believe are human. The skeletal remains were being sent to a pathologist for analysis.

A C-shaped hole in the ground was dug about 3 miles north of the tiny southern Colorado town of Mesita in Costilla County, where White lived in his youth.

Benton said White was kept in a van with tinted windows while deputies formed a line and searched the sagebrush- covered ground.

"They were walking in a straight line, and when they got to a certain point, they walked in a circle," Benton said. "It seemed like they were close to something."

Last year, Benton and his deputies searched for about five days for a body White said he buried there, but they came up empty.

Denver prosecutors said this month that they won't seek the death penalty against White for strangling two women after he agreed to help find the bodies of three other women he says he killed.

White pleaded guilty in Denver District Court on Sept. 16 to the murders of Victoria Lyn Turpin, 32, and Annaletia Maria Gonzales, 27, whose bodies were exhumed from the backyard of White's former home at 2885 Albion St.

He also pleaded guilty to using a weapon to sexually assault three other women that the 31-year-old White said were prostitutes.

Twenty-eight felony counts against White were dismissed as part of the deal.

Prosecutors in Costilla and Otero counties also agreed not to seek the death penalty against White.

White entered a plea deal this month in Arapahoe County in which he will receive life in prison without parole for the Sept. 7, 2003, shooting death of co-worker Jason Reichardt, 27.

Two days after killing Reichardt, White was arrested by a Douglas County SWAT team. While confessing to Reichardt's death, White told investigators about the five women he said he killed. A Denver grand jury indicted him on 33 felony counts in May.

Following Tuesday's activity, White was apparently returned to Arapahoe County.

He also said he dumped the bodies of two woman near La Junta in Otero County. It was not known when White would travel there to help investigators find those bodies.

Serial killer won't face death

September 17, 2004

White, who agreed to help locate bodies of 3 women, faces life term. Richard White is escorted to court on Thursday, where he pleaded guilty to killing two women whose bodies were dug up at his former Denver residence.

Denver prosecutors won't seek the death penalty against Richard Paul White for strangling two women after the professed serial killer agreed to help find the bodies of three other women he says he killed.

White pleaded guilty in Denver District Court on Thursday to the deaths of Victoria Lyn Turpin, 32, and Annaletia Maria Gonzales, 27, who were exhumed from the backyard of White's former house at 2885 Albion St.

He also pleaded guilty to using a weapon to sexually assault three other women that the 31- year-old White said were prostitutes.

Twenty-eight felony counts against White were dismissed as part of the deal in which he will get life in prison without parole.

Prosecutors in Costilla and Otero counties also agreed not to seek the death penalty against White, who will direct them to where he said he dumped bodies in those counties.

Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter said he believed mitigating factors outweighed aggravating factors in the case, making it tough to convince a jury that White deserved the death penalty.

"He had a childhood riddled with sexual and physical abuse," Ritter said, adding that authorities wouldn't have even known about the other murders had White not confessed to them.

But at least one expert says not seeking the death penalty in a serial-killer case could hamper efforts to get the death penalty in future, less egregious murder cases.

"When you are just hunting people and killing them, it's hard to imagine anything worse," said Seattle attorney Todd Maybrown.

The Denver plea deal is similar to one cut in 2003 with Green River slayer Gary Ridgway, who was given life sentences in exchange for helping authorities find numerous bodies of women he murdered near Seattle. Ridgway pleaded guilty to killing 48 women.

That decision already has had repercussions in death- penalty cases in Washington state.

Maybrown filed an appeal for death-row inmate Dayva Cross, who killed his wife and two stepdaughters in Snoqualmie, Wash., saying that although his acts were horrible, they were not as bad as Ridgway's three-decade reign of terror.

Under Washington state law, courts must compare death- sentence cases to determine if one outcome is too harsh compared with similar cases, Maybrown said.

But Assistant Adams County District Attorney Steve Bernard said Colorado doesn't have such a law.

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled in 1990 in the death-sentence case of Gary Davis - who kidnapped, raped and killed a woman - that it also doesn't need such a standard, Bernard said.

Colorado's proportionality rule only weighs whether facts of a case prove there are enough aggravating factors to warrant the death penalty, he said.

In Davis' case there were, Bernard said. Davis, put to death in 1997, was the last person executed in Colorado, Bernard said.

Maybrown said even though Colorado's proportionality rules are different, White's case will be rehashed in future death-penalty cases.

"This prosecutor will have to compare every case," he said.

Prosecutors will have to explain why they would seek the death penalty in a robbery-homicide case when it wasn't a serial killer case, Maybrown said.

White entered a plea deal this month in Arapahoe County in which he will receive life in prison without parole for the Sept. 7, 2003, shooting death of co-worker Jason Reichardt, 27.

Two days after killing Reichardt, White was arrested by a Douglas County SWAT team. While confessing to Reichardt's death, White told investigators about the five women he killed. A Denver grand jury indicted him on 33 felony counts in May.

Kathleen Lord, Colorado's chief appellate deputy who is part of a team of at least four public defenders representing White, declined to comment.

Self-Professed Serial Killer Admits To 2 More Murders

September 16, 2004

Self-proclaimed serial killer Richard Paul White appeared before a Denver district judge Thursday morning and pleaded guilty to murdering two women and sexually assaulting three others.

The bodies of the two slain women were found buried in the back yard of a home in east Denver last year, a home where White once lived.

As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against White and he will cooperate in the search for the bodies of three other women he claims to have killed.

Prosecutors on the case discussed the terms of the plea agreement with the family members of the murder victims and the surviving sexual assault victims before Thursday's hearing. The victims' families are expected to attend White's sentencing on Nov. 29, 2004.

He faces mandatory life in prison without parole on each of the two murder charges and faces 16 years to life in prison on each of the sexual assault charges.

This is the second plea agreement White has made in as many weeks.

Last week, White pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for the death of his friend Jason Reichardt. White will be sentenced for that crime in Arapahoe County in Dec. 2. As part of the plea agreement he will not face the death penalty but will be sentenced to life in prison.

During his interrogation for the Reichardt murder, White confessed to killing five prostitutes and dumping their bodies. Two women -- Victoria Lyn Turpin, 32, and Annaletia Maria Gonzales, 27 -- were found buried in the back yard of a house in Park Hill. White claims to have dumped the other women around the state but authorities in Otero and Costilla counties in southern Colorado have not found evidence to support his claims.

Serial Killer pleaded guilty

September 8, 2004

A professed serial killer will spend the rest of his life in prison. Richard Paul White pleaded guilty yesterday to first-degree murder in the shooting death of his former roommate, 27-year-old Jason Reichardt of Aurora.

Investigators say White told his sister he accidentally shot Reichardt last year while trying to steal Reichardt's truck.

After his arrest, White told authorities he had killed five women and buried their bodies. The bodies of 32-year-old Lyn Turpin and 27-year-old Annaletia Maria Gonzales were found last year, buried in the backyard of a Denver home.

White is scheduled to be sentenced to life in prison without parole in December.

September 7, 2004

Suspected serial killer Richard Paul White pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in Arapahoe County court today in connection with the death of one of his alleged victims, Jason Reichardt of Aurora.

White will get a life sentence without parole in exchange for pleading guilty to the murder of Reichardt, 27, a former co-worker.

White still faces charges in the killings of two women whose bodies were found buried in the yard of a Park Hill home where White formerly lived, and in attacks on three other women.

A Denver grand jury in May returned a 53-count indictment against White, who had law enforcement authorities across the state looking for bodies of his alleged victims last September.

"We're looking at five different women," district attorney's spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough said in May of the Denver indictment. "All five were kidnapped; all five were sexually assaulted; all five were held against their will; two were killed, and there is one victim of attempted murder."

White had confessed to killing five women he said were prostitutes and dumping their bodies throughout the state. The confession came during an interrogation by Aurora police into the death of Reichardt.

Professed Serial Killer Strikes Plea Bargain

September 7, 2004

Richard White To Spend Life In Prison Without Possibility Of Parole. Self-proclaimed serial killer Richard Paul White was back in court Tuesday morning to agree to a plea bargain that will spare his life but guarantee that he will spend the rest of it in prison.

White, 31, received the life sentence without the possibility of parole in exchange for pleading guilty to the first-degree murder of his best friend, Jason Reichardt. The robbery and burglary charges against White were also dismissed as part of the plea bargain, 7NEWS reported.

Nearly one year ago, Reichardt was found in the upstairs bedroom of his Aurora home. He had been shot in the head and his pickup truck had been stolen. Reichardt befriended White when he was out of work and had tried to find him a job.

During his interrogation for the Reichardt murder, White confessed to killing five prostitutes and dumping their bodies. Two women who were found buried in the back yard of a house he used to occupy in Denver's Capitol Hill. White claims to have dumped the other women around the state but authorities in Otero and Costilla counties in southern Colorado have not found evidence to support his claims.

White's official sentencing for the Aurora murder is scheduled for Dec. 2 at 3:30 pm. The case against him in Denver continues and is unaffected by Tuesday's plea agreement.

The two women whose bodies were unearthed in the back yard were identified as Victoria Lyn Turpin, 32, and Annaletia Maria Gonzales, 27.

Facing 53 counts in prostitute slayings, attacks

June 22, 2004

Self-professed serial killer Richard P. White was advised of a 53-count indictment against him Monday. White, 31, is charged with first-degree murder in the killings of two prostitutes and is accused of attacking three other women. White has told police that he killed five prostitutes, but police so far have not found evidence to support his claims.

On Monday, his defense attorneys asked a judge to prevent detectives and investigators from talking to him at the county jail...The indictment charges White with murdering Annaletia Maria Gonzales (27) and Victoria Turpin (34). Their remains were found buried in the yard of his Park Hill home Sept. 11 after White drew a map for detectives.

White is accused of strangling both victims between Aug. 1, 2002 and Nov. 30, 2002.

The three other women were also picked up on the street for sex at different times in 2002.

White strangled one of them and threatened to kill all three, but they were able to escape, the indictment said.

White will be arraigned Aug. 9. He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, six counts of sex assault, eight counts of kidnapping and one count of attempted first-degree murder, among other charges. White also faces a trial in Arapahoe County in the Sept. 7 shooting death of co-worker Jason Reichardt (27).