John Albert Gardner

Case record: John Albert Gardner

Status and sentencing

On May 14, 2010, John Albert Gardner was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, one term of 25 years to life imprisonment, and an additional 24 years of imprisonment.

He was spared the death penalty as part of a deal for pleading guilty to murdering Chelsea King and Amber Dubois during rape attempts.

Timeline

• February 13, 2009 — Amber Dubois disappeared.
• December 2009 — Gardner attempted to attack a female jogger; he later pleaded guilty to attempting to rape Candice Moncayo in December 2009.
• 2007 — It was determined that Gardner violated the terms of his parole, including living too close to a school.
• February 25, 2010 — Chelsea King vanished while jogging in the early evening at the Rancho Bernardo Community Park near Lake Hodges.
• February 28, 2010 — Gardner was arrested in the Del Dios district of Escondido, California, after his DNA matched discarded clothing from Chelsea King.
• March 2, 2010 — FBI divers found Chelsea King's body five days later, buried in a shallow grave on the southeast corner of the lake's inlet, where some of her clothes had been found.
• March 6, 2010 — Amber Dubois’s skeletal remains were found on the grounds of the Pala, California Indian Reservation.
• April 16, 2010 — Gardner pleaded guilty to the murder and rape of Amber Dubois and Chelsea King, and pleaded guilty to attempting to rape Candice Moncayo.
• May 14, 2010 — Sentencing took place. Gardner received two terms of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, one term of 25 years to life imprisonment, and an additional 24 years of imprisonment.
• May 15, 2010 — He was formally sentenced in court.

Background

John Albert Gardner III was born April 9, 1979.

Gardner was an American convicted double murderer and sex offender. He confessed to rape and murder of 14-year-old Amber Dubois from Escondido, California, and to the February 2010 rape and murder of 17-year-old Chelsea King from Poway, California.

Gardner lived in the Rancho Bernardo community, and the area near his mother’s home included where King was killed.

Gardner attempted to rape Candice Moncayo of San Diego County.

He had been previously incarcerated for the molestation of a 13-year-old girl. In 2000, he had been convicted of molesting a 13-year-old female neighbor. He spent five years in prison and completed his parole in 2008.

After his parole, it was determined that Gardner violated the terms of his parole seven times, including living too close to a school in 2007. Gardner was also investigated by his parole officer for possession of marijuana, though that incident was later dismissed. He had been tracked by a GPS anklet up until 4 months before the murder of Amber. The GPS data indicated he was too close to schools, including in front of a daycare, and on prison grounds dropping off a friend.

The offences

Amber Dubois

Amber Dubois was 14 when she disappeared in February 2009. Gardner admitted to kidnapping, raping, and stabbing Dubois. He also admitted to dragging Dubois’s actions as part of his guilty plea.

Her skeletal remains were later recovered by police after Gardner was questioned about her murder. They were found on the grounds of the Pala, California Indian Reservation.

Chelsea King

Chelsea King was 17 when she disappeared on February 25, 2010 while she was jogging in the early evening at the Rancho Bernardo Community Park near Lake Hodges.

Gardner admitted dragging King to a remote area where he raped and strangled her, and then buried the body. FBI divers found her body five days later, buried in a shallow grave on the southeast corner of the lake's inlet, where some of her clothes had been found.

Attempted rape of Candice Moncayo

Gardner pleaded guilty to attempting to rape Candice Moncayo in December 2009.

Candice Moncayo was 22 at the time of sentencing and described having nightmares about Gardner’s attack.

Investigation

Investigators found DNA evidence from clothing associated with Chelsea King. Along with a December 2009 attempted attack on a female jogger who managed to fight him off, the DNA evidence led Escondido and San Diego police to patrol the area for a man fitting Gardner's description.

A witness indicated that Gardner returned to the park subsequent to King's disappearance.

A pair of panties found on the jogging path two days later led investigators to Gardner, whose DNA was in a state database after his five-year prison sentence for attacking a 13-year-old girl.

After his arrest in the King slaying, Gardner admitted killing Dubois and led investigators to her remains northeast of Escondido.

Police questioned Gardner about Amber Dubois’s murder, and they later recovered her remains.

Arrest

Gardner was arrested on February 28, 2010 in the Del Dios district of Escondido, California.

The arrest followed the match between his DNA and discarded clothing from Chelsea King.

He was arrested at a bar and restaurant in Del Dios, at the western shore of Lake Hodges in Escondido.

Pleas and trial proceedings

Gardner pleaded guilty to the murder and rape of both Dubois and King on April 16, 2010.

Prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty as part of the plea.

In his guilty plea, Gardner admitted to kidnapping, raping, and stabbing Dubois.

He also admitted dragging King to a remote area where he raped and strangled her, and then buried the body.

During the trial proceedings, the Kings retained Michael Fell, a California criminal lawyer and former prosecutor specializing in representing victims under Marsy's Law.

Michael Fell prevented sensitive crime scene and autopsy photos from being released to the public.

Sentencing

Sentencing was set for June 1, 2010, but it took place on May 14, 2010.

The parents of Amber and Chelsea, and the surviving victim Candice Moncayo, made impact statements prior to sentencing describing the impact Gardner's crimes had on their lives.

A determination was made that “Chelsea's Law” helped prevent similar crimes in the future, signed into California state law on September 9, 2010 by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

During sentencing, families spoke in court in San Diego County Superior Court.

Gardner, shackled and with armed sheriff's deputies standing near him, kept his head down during the family statements and wept.

He looked up only briefly when King’s mother demanded, “Look at me,” twice, and waited for his response.

Victim and family statements (verbatim)

Dubois' mother, Carrie McGonigle, said:

"There are not enough words to describe the agony my family has gone through minute by minute" since her daughter's abduction.

King’s father, Brent, said:

"looked for the good in everyone. I'm not sure she could comprehend the pure evil that sits before us.…I am filled with a rage that I didn't know I possessed."

Gardner’s remarks in a television interview while in jail included:

"I hate myself, I really do," Gardner told KFMB-TV Channel 8. "There is no taking back what I did, and if I could, yes, I would. But I was out of control. If I was able to stop myself in the middle of it, I would have, and I could not. I was out of control."

Candice Moncayo said:

"I have spent countless hours terrified and nauseated like a scared rabbit," she said, her voice breaking. "I came here to stand as witness for Chelsea and Amber."

Dubois’ parents and King’s father also made additional comments. Dubois' father, Maurice, said Gardner was an animal-like "predator" who should never have been let loose.

King’s father, Brent King, said he hoped that Gardner, after his death, “goes to the deepest level of hell as described in the classics as 'a burning lake of blood.' "

King’s father called Gardner "a monster and an animal."

Aftermath and related measures

Both families called for changes in how the criminal justice system treats sex offenders.

The King family, with the backing of a state legislator and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, called for a “Chelsea's Law” that would give life sentences to sex offenders who attack minors and require a lifetime of GPS monitoring for sex criminals.

Dubois' parents criticized the system for letting Gardner out of prison early and for not putting him back behind bars when he was found to be violating his parole, including living close to a school.

Candice Moncayo said she continued to have nightmares about Gardner’s attack.