Opinion ID: 1801800
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Richard Urban's Disappearance on March 23, 1987

Text: On March 23, 1987, Duane Holt shared a residence with Nevallene Joanne Holt Routh and her two teenaged sons at the corner of Hughes and Hedges Avenues in Fresno. [4] Holt was a drug dealer and sold drugs out of his house. He and Nevi Jo were both methamphetamine or crank users. The Holt residence was also something of a gathering spot for young men who came and worked on cars in the yard. One of those young men was the victim, Richard Urban, who had previously purchased crank from Holt. Defendant and his girlfriend, Penny Baxter, were also frequent visitors to the Holt residence in March 1987, visiting almost every day. Like the others, defendant and Baxter were crank users. On March 23, defendant and Baxter dropped in at the Holt residence three times. During their final visit, in the evening, Holt received a phone call that made him angry. After he hung up, he told defendant that Rich owed him $130 and that some people should be made an example of for not paying. According to Baxter, defendant told Holt, You just have to do what you have to do. Holt said that Rich was coming over. About 10 minutes after the phone conversation, Urban arrived in a van. Holt asked Urban where his money was. Urban told him he did not have it because he had been kidnapped earlier that day. Instead, he offered Holt a set of rings in payment; the rings were gold and set with black onyx. [5] Holt refused but did accept some drugs from Urban telling him, however, that he still owed him the money. At some point, Holt said he had to go down the street and he, Urban, and defendant left the house in defendant's truck. When defendant and Holt returned 35 to 40 minutes later they were sweaty and jumpy. According to Randy Little, who was working on cars at Holt's house, they asked for a rope or a cable to start Urban's van. Eventually, they pushed it out of the yard. Defendant and Holt then went into the Holt residence. Baxter saw what she thought might be blood smeared on Holt's face; she remembered that Holt appeared to be nervous. Defendant and Holt went into a bedroom. They emerged a few minutes later and then defendant and Baxter left. As they drove home in defendant's truck Baxter noticed a bag on the seat of the truck between defendant and her. She went to move it, but defendant told her to leave it alone. On the way to their residence, they stopped for food and cleaned the truck, including the floorboards and the bed of the truck. When Baxter and defendant arrived at their home, they took drugs and defendant listened to a police scanner. Baxter overheard a police report about a man who needed assistance and was bleeding from his head. Defendant appeared to be upset and Baxter asked him what was wrong. He said a man had been shot and was bleeding from the head; the report, however, had not said anything about a shooting. [6] Meanwhile Urban's common law wife, Mardeau Hipp had become concerned about Urban's whereabouts. Urban had left their house sometime after 8:30 p.m. in a van that Hipp's father had loaned her. She had last spoken to him sometime after midnight and asked him when he was going to be home. He told her 15 to 20 minutes. When he failed to come home, she started calling various people, including Holt, to see if Urban was with them. Hipp called Holt again the next morning, still trying to locate Urban, and spoke to Holt.