Opinion ID: 1277356
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Shelah McMahan May 1986 Murder

Text: On May 3, 1986, the body of defendant's 11-year-old niece, Shelah McMahan, was found beneath a mattress, trash bags, and a rock overhang at a garbage dump located in Mead Valley. She had been stabbed numerous times in the neck. A thin rubber molding was wrapped loosely around her neck, and her hands had been tied tightly behind her with a plastic cable tie. Her forearms bore marks that appeared to have been made by handcuffs. Her shirt was ripped and pulled away from her chest. A semen stain was found on her pant leg. Shelah had lived next door to defendant, and had been missing since early that morning. In the ensuing few days, defendant was seen using a tractor to grade his backyard. He told others that he was doing landscaping work. On May 8, 1986, defendant was arrested for the crimes committed against Diane and Amy. Pursuant to a search warrant, police investigators searched his mobilehome and the surrounding yard, locating cable ties similar to the one found binding Shelah's wrists, as well as two sets of handcuffs buried under freshly turned soil within a shed located behind defendant's residence. A third set of handcuffs was recovered several weeks later. An acquaintance of defendant's, William Parker, testified that in early 1986, he engaged in a lighthearted discussion with defendant regarding women and bondage, which led defendant to produce three sets of handcuffs from the trunk of a motor vehicle. Defendant told Parker something to the effect of, `this is what you need.' Criminalist James Hall testified that traces of blood found on one set of the handcuffs recovered from the shed matched Shelah's blood type, shared by approximately 0.8 percent of the population (i.e., approximately eight out of one thousand people). Criminalist Faye Springer testified that a fiber collected from one pair of handcuffs was similar to the fabric in a black T-shirt worn by Shelah when her body was discovered. The ligature marks on Shelah's arms resembled those made by the handcuffs. The cable tie that bound Shelah's wrists had an appearance and trademark similar to a cable tie recovered from defendant's bedroom. Springer also found a similarity between fibers recovered from Shelah's T-shirt and those collected from the carpet found in one of defendant's vehicles, a Ford Mustang. [5] Springer stated that animal hairs recovered from Shelah's body and from defendant's Mustang were similar to an exemplar taken from defendant's dog. Dr. Rene Modglin, the coroner who performed the autopsy on Shelah's body, testified that the victim had been stabbed 16 times. The cause of death was a cut to Shelah's right common carotid artery. The victim's body bore other bruises and abrasions. Modglin noted that Shelah's breasts were more fully developed than was typical for a girl of her age. On cross-examination, Modglin testified that he found no evidence of injury to Shelah's vaginal or anal areas. He found no evidence of semen in her mouth or body, noting that the absence of such evidence did not necessarily mean that Shelah had not engaged in sexual intercourse near the time of her death. Randy Gresham shared a county jail cell with defendant and another prisoner. Gresham testified as part of an agreement specifying that, rather than face exposure to a prison sentence of 15 years for his involvement in offenses unrelated to the present case, he would be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years. Gresham testified that defendant admitted murdering his niece and leaving her body at a dumping area. According to Gresham, defendant described her as an 11-year-old with big breasts, and built a lot sexier ... than an 11-year-old was. Gresham stated that when defendant discussed killing Shelah, he demonstrated stabbing motions and laughed as he acted out the killing. Defendant informed him that he killed the girl because he was nervous after having talked to her about his other sexual assaults, had made sexual advances toward her, and was afraid that she would inform her family. Defendant told Gresham that he really liked Shelah, and did not want to kill her, adding, `it['s] easier after you'd [ sic ] done it.' While watching television with Gresham, defendant would compare the breasts of women on television with those of his niece. Defendant expressed concern to Gresham that sheriffs deputies were searching his backyard, and he was worried about them searching it.... He didn't want them to find evidence out there. [6]