Two more men convicted in brutal 2016 double-murder of teen boys in Yolo County
Two Yolo County men were found guilty this week of murder and kidnapping in the 2016 deaths of two teenage boys, becoming the third and fourth defendants convicted in the brutal slayings.
Enrique Rios, 16, was shot dead in October 2016, and 17-year-old Elijah Moore was fatally bludgeoned in November 2016, both in a secluded area near Knights Landing.
According to Yolo County prosecutors, Moore had robbed David Froste, Chandale Shannon and Jesus Campos of 3 ounces of marijuana on Oct. 17, 2016, in a KFC parking lot.
Those three as well as Froste’s brother, Jonathan Froste, have now all been convicted of murdering Moore and his friend Rios in an act of revenge, the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office said in a Thursday news release.
Jonathan Froste, 25, pleaded no contest in September 2018 and ultimately cooperated with prosecutors, testifying against his brother and the other two defendants. David Froste, 31, was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder following a trial, and sentenced to life without parole in late 2018.
A jury on Wednesday convicted Shannon and Campos. Shannon, 25, of Winters, was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder. Campos, 22, of Woodland, was convicted of first-degree murder in Moore’s death and second-degree murder in the death of Rios. Both were also found guilty of kidnapping and special circumstances of kidnapping during the course of a murder.
Shannon and Campos face life in prison without parole. Jonathan Froste will be sentenced to 15 years to life under the terms of his cooperation agreement, the District Attorney’s Office said.
The DA’s news release recounted the horrific details of the two teens’ murders.
“David Froste informed the others he wanted to find Moore and exact revenge” after the marijuana robbery, prosecutors wrote.
Shannon suggested that day that they contact Rios, a mutual friend of Shannon and Campos.
David Froste, Shannon and Campos picked up Rios in a vehicle. The following day, Froste took Rios to a secluded area near Knights Landing, prosecutors wrote.
After Rios refused to give Moore’s location, David Froste fatally shot him.
Then on Nov. 4, 2016, Campos and the Froste brothers located Moore as he exited a barber shop near Main Street and Woodland. The trio forced Moore into the trunk of their vehicle, then picked up Shannon, who was in possession of the gun David Froste had used to kill Rios.
“Moore was forced to the ground and his hands were zip tied behind his back,” district attorney’s officials wrote in Thursday’s news release. “The four defendants marched Moore to a more secluded area. Moore’s ankles were also bound at this point and David Froste and Campos left the group to obtain shovels, a pickaxe, gasoline, and bleach. Moore was told he was going to die.
“Jonathan Froste and Shannon took turns holding the gun while Moore begged to call his mother and to let him go. Both requests were denied.”
David Froste then struck Moore in the head with a “baseball bat sized branch,” then dropped a large log onto Moore’s head, “crushing his skull.”
The four defendants dug a hole, placed Moore into it and lit his body on fire, prosecutors wrote.
Rios’ and Moore’s parents reported their sons missing, beginning a massive, 18-month investigation by the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office and Woodland Police Department that continued until June 2018.
Nearly six years after the murder, neither boy’s body has been found.
Shannon and Campos were found guilty Wednesday at the conclusion of a four-week trial, during which District Attorney Jeff Reisig’s office said prosecutors presented extensive evidence including cell phone tower and Google location data, Facebook records and witness testimony.
“We thank all those who assisted in bringing a measure of justice to the families of Enrique Rios and Elijah Moore,” Reisig said in a prepared statement. “On behalf of the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office, we recognize the despair of the families that we still haven’t located the bodies. We join with both families in continuing to hold out hope that one day their sons’ bodies will be located.“
