Opinion ID: 2590211
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Murder of Keith Arthur Klingbeil

Text: About 3:30 a.m. on July 6,1978, a motorist traveling northbound on Interstate 5 between La Paz Road and Oso Parkway discovered a body, later identified as Keith Arthur Klingbeil, in the slow lane of the freeway. The body was warm when police arrived, death having probably occurred within one-half hour of the finding of the body. The body was clothed and wearing boots missing the left lace. The cause of death was determined to be acetaminophen overdose, with ligature strangulation a contributing factor. On the right side of Klingbeil's neck were ligature lines about three-fourths of an inch apart. There were road burns all over the body consistent with ejection from a moving vehicle. Around the time of death, he had been burned with a car cigarette lighter on the left nipple. Klingbeil was a 23-year-old resident of Everett, Washington, who stood five feet 10 or 11 inches tall and weighed 150 to 160 pounds. He had hitchhiked from his home to Southern California. Four matchbooks were found in Klingbeil's pants, one of which came from a Chevron station on Lakewood Boulevard in Long Beach. The prosecutor argued to the jury that the entry HIKE OUT LB BOOTS on defendant's list referred to Klingbeil, who, as noted, evidently had recently been in Long Beach and was wearing hiking boots at the time of death. The defense presented evidence that, near the location where Klingbeil's body was found, Orange County Deputy Sheriff Christopher Leseburg was directed to investigate a Chevrolet pickup truck occupied by a lone male. On rebuttal, however, the prosecution demonstrated that the truck had been stopped around 2:30 or 3:00 a.m. due to an engine problem one-quarter mile short of the location of the body. The defense also showed that sheriffs employees had inadvertently destroyed evidence concerning the Klingbeil investigation.