Fourteen-year-old Kellie Poppleton was brutally assaulted and murdered on December 2, 1983, and for almost 40 years, calls for justice have gone unanswered. But now, with advancements in DNA forensics, detectives are more hopeful than ever that they might be able to find their killer. They hope that the renewed interest in this case will give them the final piece of the puzzle and to bring the family the justice that is so long overdue.
Courtesy of Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
Episode Info
If you have any information regarding the 1983 murder of Kellie Poppleton, please call the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office at 510-667-3636.
The computer generated composite based on phenotyping done by Parabon Nanolabs shows what the suspect might have looked like at 25 years old. Courtesy: Parabon Nanolabs and Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
A composite of the suspect around 50 years old. Courtesy: Parabon Nanolabs and Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
A composite of the suspect aged about 60 years. Courtesy: Parabon Nanolabs and Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
A school photo of Kellie taken shortly before she was killed. Courtesy: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
Kellie and her younger sister Amanda. Courtesy: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
A younger Kellie with her mother Terese. Courtesy: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
Kellie with her stepfather Tracy. Courtesy: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
A map showing the relevant locations in the murder of Kellie Poppleton. Courtesy: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
The legend to the map showing the location information in Kellie’s case. Courtesy: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
The one shoe Kellie was wearing when she was found. Courtesy: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
The crime scene the night Kellie was found, with the bag that had been over her head. Courtesy: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
The items Kellie was found with: a bag that read “Welcome to Korea,” a gray, mens sweater, and a red necktie. Courtesy: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
A close up of the sweater which likely belonged to the Kellie’s murderer. Courtesy: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
The bag that was over Kellie’s head along with the coaxial wire, necktie, white bag, and gray sweater. Courtesy: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
The pullout where Kellie was found on Kilkare Road in Sunol. Courtesy: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
A current image of the pullout where Kellie was found. Courtesy: audiochuck Staff
A close up of the bag Kellie was found with; it originated from one of four airports in South Korea. Courtesy: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
A close up of the back of the Korean bag. Courtesy: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
Double OO Liquors, one of the locations where Kellie was last seen. She was said to have bought matches and called her boyfriend from a payphone. Courtesy: audiochuck Staff
A May 1984 Time Magazine article explored the context of Trina Bence’s false confession. Courtesy: Time Inc.
According to the article, Trina confessed because she was “desperate for attention” because of deprivation. Courtesy: Time Inc.
The article claimed that Trina’s mother Pam had a drinking problem. Courtesy: Time Inc.
According to the article, Kellie’s father was disappointed in the investigation. Courtesy: Time Inc.
A December 5, 1983, article in the Press Democrat reported the identification of Kellie’s body. Courtesy: The Press Democrat
An article that appeared in the Californian on December 13, 1983, reported the arrests of Julian Ramirez, the 17 year old boy, and the two 13 year old girls. Courtesy: The Californian
A December 13, 1983, article in the Fresno Bee reported that Kellie was killed for being an informant. Courtesy: The Fresno Bee
On Tuesday December 13, 1983, an article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported Kellie’s murder as being drug related. Courtesy: The Santa Cruz Sentinel
A December 14, 1983, article from the Petaluma Argus-Courier reported Trina’s arraignment. The three other suspects could not be charged because of a lack of evidence. Courtesy: Petaluma Argus-Courier
On December 14, 1983, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported that three of the four suspects were released. Courtesy: The Santa Cruz Sentinel
A December 14, 1983, article in the San Francisco Chronicle reported the release of the 3 suspects Trina had implicated. Courtesy: The San Francisco Chronicle
A December 15, 1983, article in the Ukiah Daily Journal reported Trina’s confession. Courtesy: Ukiah Daily Journal
On December 15, 1983, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported that protective custody had been ordered for Trina. Courtesy: Santa Cruz Sentinel
The Chico Enterprise-Record reported on December 15, 1983, that Trina was ordered into protective custody at Juvenile Hall because of fears of retaliation. Courtesy: The Chico Enterprise-Record
On December 16, 1983, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported that Julian Ramirez, who was falsely arrested for Kellie’s murder, was stabbed in the neck while imprisoned for a separate offense. He survived the attack. Courtesy: Santa Cruz Sentinel
The Ukiah Daily Journal reported on December 18, 1983, the release of the suspects implicated in Trina’s false confession. Courtesy: Ukiah Daily Journal
An article in the San Bernardino County Sun reported on February 18, 1984, that the charges against Trina Bence had been dropped and that she had been released from jail. Courtesy: San Bernardino County Sun
On May 2, 1984, the San Francisco Examiner reported the formation of a task force to investigate a possible connection between Kellie’s case and the murder of two other teenage girls. Courtesy: The San Francisco Examiner
An article in the Daily Review from May 6, 1986, reported that the findings of an internal probe relating to Kellie’s murder investigation did not record its findings. Courtesy: The Daily Review
The San Francisco Examiner reported on January 11, 1994, that investigators suspected that Michael Patrick Ihde could be connected to Kellie’s case. He was later ruled out through DNA evidence. Courtesy: San Francisco Examiner
Episode Source Material
- Pleasanton Weekly: 36 years later: Former classmate confesses to murder of Pleasanton’s Tina Faelz, by Gina Channell.
- SF Gate: Death Row inmate convicted of ’84 murder / Rape-slaying adds to case against 8-year-old’s killer, by Henry K. Lee.
- Sacramento News and Review: The Long Flight Home: revisiting how detectives finally grabbed one of the Capital Region’s worst serial killers, by Scott Thomas Anderson.
- East Bay Times: Man gets death in rape, killing of woman, by Alejandro Alfonso.
- Pleasanton Weekly: Sheriff’s office marks 40th anniversary of Dublin cold-case murder, by Jeremy Walsh.