Opinion ID: 1122547
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Disposal of the Bautistas' bodies

Text: Greg Rambo and Larry Tom Whittington returned to Shepard's apartment on September 7, placed the bodies of Maureen and Telesforo Bautista inside a hollow bedroom dresser, and, on the following day, defendant and Rambo transported the makeshift coffin to the Rambos' residence. Defendant thereafter told Susan Rambo that he and her husband were departing for Los Angeles for the purpose of removing defendant's belongings from Maureen Bautista's apartment, and that if anyone asked about him or Maureen, she should reply by stating that she had not seen them in weeks. Whittington testified that he and Patricia Shepard returned to Shepard's apartment to scrub off the bloodstains. He testified that he was able to remove the bloodstains, except for those on the carpet, which required repeated efforts at cleaning. Shepard testified, on cross-examination, that she had purchased the carpet cleaner and other materials that were used to clean her apartment following the killings. After defendant and Greg Rambo departed for Los Angeles, Rambo called his wife and requested that she ask his cousin, Doug Frederick, to obtain a backhoe and dig an eight-foot by ten-foot hole in the Rambos' backyard. Rambo instructed his wife to tell Frederick that the hole was needed for the construction of a new drainage system for the Rambos' dog kennels. Susan Rambo did so. Doug Frederick testified that he dug the hole on September 6, 7, or 10, 1984; Susan Rambo testified that she awoke on a Monday morning to the sound of a backhoe operating on the property, a circumstance suggesting that Frederick had dug the hole on Monday, September 10. She testified that the hole appeared to be a couple hundred feet behind the house in the back corner of the lot. Following defendant's return to Shandon, Susan Rambo noticed the presence of several bags and boxes in her garage, including a computer that defendant had given Telesforo Bautista, a television, a stereo, and some guns. At defendant's request, she purchased cement, bags for the bodies, and a needle to sew up the bags. Defendant told her he intended to place one foot of cement over the Bautistas' bodies. Susan Rambo testified that during the next few days, she observed defendant shoveling dirt into the hole for periods of up to one hour at a time. [7]