Billy Ray Waldon

Case overview

Billy Ray Waldon (born 1952), also known as Billy Joe Waldon and Nvwtohiyada Idehesdi Sequoyah, created the constructed language Poliespo (Polisinteza Esperanto). He was born in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and was on Death Row in California for murder.

Waldon became the 399th fugitive listed by the FBI on the Ten Most Wanted List on May 16, 1986. A month later, police arrested him on June 16, 1986 in San Diego, California after local police attempted to pull him over for a routine traffic citation.

Since 1992, the organization "Friends of Sequoyah, Team Research Switzerland" had tried to overturn the conviction, arguing that Devoid of both motive and forensic evidence, the prosecution case rested on stolen property found in a car belonging to NIS, questionable eye-witness testimony, and a proficiency in outmaneuvering an unskilled and inadequately prepared defense, unable to attach substance to its claims of political subterfuge targeting American Indian activists.

Timeline

• May 16, 1986 — Waldon became the 399th fugitive listed by the FBI on the Ten Most Wanted List.
• June 16, 1986 — San Diego police arrested Waldon after attempting to pull him over for a routine traffic citation.
• October 10, 1985 — Police suspected Waldon of wounding an elderly man outside a neighborhood grocery store in Tulsa.
• October 11, 1985 — Police believed Waldon robbed three persons at a shopping mall in Tulsa.
• October 15, 1985 — Police believed an unsuccessful robbery attempt occurred.
• November 15, 1985 — Police suspected Waldon of firing a single shot that grazed 20-year-old Cynthia Bellinger's skull outside her parents' Tulsa home.
• November 17, 1985 — Annabelle Richmond, age 54, was cut down by four .25-caliber bullets outside her apartment.
• November 23, 1985 — In Broken Arrow, Waldon confronted Frank Hensley and Tammie Tvedt in a parking lot, demanding cash, and wounded them when they refused to pay up.
• December 7, 1985 — A gunman invaded the home of 42-year-old Dawn Ellerman, shooting her in the neck with a .25-caliber pistol, beating her dogs and locking them inside a bathroom, and setting the house on fire before fleeing with a personal computer and other valuables; Erin Ellerman, 13, died in the attempt to save her mother's life.
• December 20, 1985 — A masked man tried to rob a San Diego woman in a parking lot, fled on foot, and killed Charles Wells, 59, and critically wounded John Copeland, 36, with a spray of .25-caliber bullets.
• January 3, 1986 — A federal warrant charged Waldon with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution for murder, attempted murder, robbery, burglary) rape, and arson.
• April 23 (year not specified) — Waldon's name was added to the FBI's "Most Wanted" list.
• January 27 (year not specified) — Waldon's latest stolen car, picked off a street December 20, had been discovered outside Tijuana.
• October 10, 1985 to May 10, 1991 — The trial began May 10, 1991 and was completed in the later part of February 1992.
• May 10, 1991 — Waldon’s trial began.
• July 24, 1986 — Waldon was severely beaten by cellmates, hospitalized for two days, after he refused orders to kill another prisoner.
• February 28, 1992 — Waldon was sentenced to death.
• February 29, 1992 — Reporting stated he was formally sentenced to death Friday.
• 08-08-06 — An appeal-ready-to-go update was published, stating that more than 20 years after he killed three people in San Diego, Waldon’s death penalty appeal was ready to go.

Background

Waldon scarcely knew his mother. During 1957, at age five, he was delivered to his grandmother's care, and the older woman raised him as her own around Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

After graduating high school, Waldon enlisted in the navy. He had fourteen years of service behind him when he was discharged in January 1985 as a first petty officer.

One-quarter Cherokee, Waldon was described by friends and neighbors as "a brilliant man" who "spent more time listening to others than talking about himself." Waldon had a fascination with the subject of AIDS, and some associates thought he might be homosexual. The death of Waldon’s grandmother in 1985 was described as a trigger incident for a shift in his personality.

The offences

Tulsa and Broken Arrow shootings and robberies (1985)

Police suspected Waldon was the gunman who wounded an elderly man outside a neighborhood grocery store on October 10, 1985.

The following day, police believed he robbed three persons at a shopping mall. Police also referenced an unsuccessful robbery attempt on October 15, with witnesses described as hazy on their assailant.

Police suspected that on November 15, Waldon fired a single shot that grazed 20-year-old Cynthia Bellinger’s skull outside her parents’ Tulsa home.

Two days later, Annabelle Richmond, age 54, was cut down by four .25-caliber bullets outside her apartment.

On November 23, in Broken Arrow, Waldon confronted Frank Hensley and Tammie Tvedt in a parking lot, demanding cash. When they refused to pay up, he wounded them both.

San Diego offences including fire and killings (December 1985)

Police believed Waldon traveled west and had planned to visit his ex-wife and their two small children in Gardenia, California.

By mid-December, police suspected Waldon of three rapes, five robberies, two burglaries, and receiving stolen property.

On December 7, a gunman invaded the home of 42-year-old Dawn Ellerman. The gunman shot her in the neck with a .25-caliber pistol, beat her dogs, locked them inside a bathroom, and set the house on fire before fleeing with a personal computer and other valuables. Erin Ellerman, 13, returned home from babysitting and died in a futile attempt to save her mother’s life.

Two weeks later, on December 20, a masked man tried to rob a San Diego woman in a parking lot. When he was foiled, he fled on foot, veering through a yard where two men were working on a car. He then frustrated another attempt to steal the vehicle, killed Charles Wells, 59, and critically wounded John Copeland, 36, with a spray of .25-caliber bullets.

Police described that he eluded 150 officers in a seven-hour manhunt and left traces of himself behind.

Evidence linking Oklahoma and San Diego

Police recovered the Ellerman computer in an abandoned car registered to Billy Waldon, along with Waldon’s military passport and other pieces of I.D.

Communication with police in Tulsa matched the murder slugs from San Diego with the Oklahoma shootings.

Investigation and warrants

A federal warrant was issued on January 3, 1986 charging Waldon with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution for murder, attempted murder, robbery, burglary) rape, and arson.

Waldon’s name was added to the FBI’s “Most Wanted” list on April 23. By that time, police described that Waldon had performed a disappearance act, including that his latest stolen car, picked off a street on December 20, was discovered outside Tijuana on January 27.

Arrest and custody

Waldon was arrested on June 16, 1986 in San Diego, California, after officers attempted to pull him over for a routine traffic citation.

Officers had planned to let the driver off with a warning, but his face was familiar. Waldon used the alias "Steven Midas," which fooled no one at police headquarters.

Waldon was ordered to trial on multiple charges in San Diego.

Jailers discovered Waldon’s effort to tunnel through a wall of his cell, and fellow inmates proved dangerous. On July 24, 1986, Waldon was severely beaten by cellmates and hospitalized for two days, after he refused their orders to kill another prisoner. Jailers noted that the target was unpopular with other cons because of his attitude, which was "basically antisocial."

Trial

Waldon’s trial began May 10, 1991.

He was 40 years old at the time of sentencing. The entry stated that he preferred the name Nvwtohiyada Idehesdi Sequoyah and defended himself during a “bizarre trial.”

The jury deliberated for just over six hours to convict Waldon of three murders and 21 other crimes, including rape.

The death penalty hearing proceeded such that Superior Court Judge David Gill announced his intention to uphold a jury recommendation that Waldon be executed, with action not completed until Friday.

Waldon was found competent to act as his own attorney, and he questioned himself on the witness stand during the trial. He insisted on representing himself and filed long, rambling, handwritten motions. One motion claimed his female attorney was a psychopath who had sex with the trial judge.

Defense attorney Allen Bloom was one of several lawyers briefly assigned to the case. Bloom said:

"In this case there was an enormous amount of starts and stops in the case, and it left a paper trail in the county courthouse"

Bloom also said:

"It took seven years to convict Waldon, mainly because he insisted on representing himself."

Bloom said:

"They don’t pay all that well, and there's not a whole lot of lawyers that are qualified, so there's a long time getting a lawyer,"

Bloom said:

San Diego court clerks spent the prior 14 years organizing and binding the official case record and tracking down missing transcripts. A judge certified the case record as accurate just two months before the appeal update. The case record was shipped to San Francisco for the state supreme court to hear new motions and new oral arguments. The justices had the power to order a new trial. Bloom said:

"It doesn't usually happen. The percentages are very high that the courts affirm convictions, because we have a good system at the starting point. But we know it's flawed, we know it's not perfect."

Bloom said:

"In a death penalty case, the court want to make sure they get it right."

Sentencing

On February 28, 1992, Waldon was sentenced to death.

Superior Court Judge David Gill’s statement was quoted as:

"Billy Ray Waldon shall be put to death by the administration of lethal gas behind the walls of San Quentin," Gill said, completing a trial that began May 10, 1991.

Appeals

An appeal update published 08-08-06 stated that more than 20 years after he killed three people in San Diego, Waldon’s death penalty appeal was finally ready to go.

The appeal update stated that a jury convicted Waldon of murdering a mother and her 13-year-old daughter during a 1985 robbery in Del Mar. It further stated that two weeks later, Waldon fatally shot a Kensington man in the head while running from police.

The update stated that Waldon claimed he was set up by the FBI and the CIA.

The update also stated that the action for sentencing was announced to uphold the jury’s recommendation, but was not completed until Friday (with the formal sentencing described as occurring in February 1992).

Other details

Waldon was listed as a fugitive and was arrested after police attempted to pull him over for a routine traffic citation.

He had a series of aliases, including "Steven Midas."

The record narrative described Waldon’s preferences and personality traits, including time spent listening and curiosity about AIDS.

The record described the language Poliespo (Polisinteza Esperanto) and included that he was a creator of the constructed language.