Sacto 9-1-1

The Sacramento Bee's Crime blog is a comprehensive report of crime news, trends and information for your community and beyond.

From Loretta Kalb:

Sacramento County Sheriff's officials today arrested 24-year-old Douglas Elmore in connection with the slayings of two victims whose bodies were found in garbage cans Friday in a south Sacramento neighborhood.

Elmore was taken into custody at 2 a.m. in Fairfield and booked into the Sacramento County main jail on two counts of murder. The bodies found in the garbage cans are believed to be those of Shawn Cope, 24, and Tammula Robbins, 23, who were reported missing by Robbins' mother on Oct. 13. Autopsy results are pending, but are likely to confirm the bodies are indeed those of the missing couple.

Elmore was staying at the home on the 5700 block of 39th Street, where the garbage cans were found. Detectives believe the murders occurred days before the victims were reported missing. No motive has been determined.douglas_elmore.JPG

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Sacto 9-1-1 Q&A

Q: What happened to the man and woman who forced a little boy they were taking care of to box with other kids, eventually killing the boy?


A: On Oct. 20, 2006, Renecha Marina Gulley, then 24, and Earl Joseph Christopher, then 26, were sentenced to 25 years to life in prison over the beating death of their 3-year-old godson, The Bee reported.

A jury convicted the pair of the murder of Christopher David Thomas, who died July 19, 2004 of severe head injuries sustained in what the prosecutor described as a week of physical and emotional abuse.

In opening remarks to the jury, Deputy District Attorney Robin Shakely said the boy was forced to box with his 5-year-old brother as "spectator sport" for Christopher and Gulley. The boxing matches and other acts of violence in the Rancho Cordova apartment were for the amusement of the godparents who were taking care of the boy for the parents, trial evidence showed.

The boy, who died of bleeding in the brain, also had several bruises on his chest, hip, knees, shins, hands and legs. He had a bruise on his buttocks in the shape of a hand, the evidence showed.


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