Brooke Marie Rottiers

Case record: Brooke Marie Rottiers

Background

Brooke Marie Rottiers was 30 years old and lived in Corona in August 2006. She was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and a robbery special circumstance connected to the killings of two Riverside day laborers: 22-year-old Marvin Gabriel and 28-year-old Milton Chavez.

Rottiers was known by nicknames including “Crazy” and “Kraizie.” She was described in court as working as a prostitute. Witnesses for the defense described her as an attentive mother who loved her four children and who battled drug abuse.

Rottiers lived with her co-defendant, Omar Tyree Hutchinson, who was described as a small-time drug dealer. Co-defendant Franchune Dyuel Epps was also convicted in the same case by separate juries of the same charges.

The offence

Marvin Gabriel and Milton Chavez were lured to a Corona motel room on the pretext of sex.

Prosecutor Sean Lafferty said that Chavez and Gabriel met Rottiers and Epps while drinking after work at a Highgrove bar. Rottiers led the day laborers to believe she would have sex for money and had them follow her and Epps back to the National Inn in Corona, where Rottiers lived with Hutchinson.

According to Lafferty, once inside the motel room, Epps pulled a gun and held it on the victims while Rottiers and Hutchinson stripped the victims and stole their money and valuables. A special circumstance allegation was found true that the Aug. 28, 2006 killings were committed during the course of a robbery.

Rottiers, described by the prosecutor as nearly 6 feet tall and weighing 200 pounds, beat 5-foot-2 Chavez. The prosecutor said she then bound Chavez and Gabriel with electrical cords, phone cords, bras and panties. Lafferty said the defendant gagged the men with whatever she could get her hands on, and the judge described additional details of the gagging and covering of the victims’ mouths and noses.

In the courtroom, Hernandez said:

“The defendant’s conduct … included beating, hitting, stomping, hog-tying and asphyxiation,” Hernandez said. “Her actions were cold, callous, brutal and particularly cruel. She went well beyond the minimum necessary to rob and cover her tracks.”

The judge further described:

“The victims had panties and other cloth items stuffed in their mouths,” the judge said. “Their mouths and noses were covered and taped over. They were hog-tied with cords around their necks to their hands, which were behind their backs and to their ankles. They asked for mercy. Instead of mercy, she let them suffocate to death while she and her co-defendants ingested drugs.”

According to the prosecutor, Rottiers and her co-defendants wrapped the bodies in bed sheets, loaded them into the trunk of a car that Rottiers drove to Gavilan Hills, a remote area near Lake Matthews, and abandoned them on a dirt road.

Investigation

Discovery of the bodies

In the afternoon on August 29, 2006, a car was discovered next to the road in an isolated area near Lake Matthews. When investigators from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Central Homicide Unit arrived, they discovered the bodies of two men later identified as Gabriel and Chavez.

A washcloth was found stuffed in Gabriel’s mouth; duct tape covered his mouth; and a belt had been wrapped around his face. Plastic bags were also wrapped around his face and neck. A telephone cord had been wrapped around both his wrists, and a black bra had been wrapped around that telephone cord. Gabriel had been hogtied; an electrical cord was found around wrist bindings and between the wrists and the ankles.

For Chavez, investigators found electrical cords wrapped around his ankles, and a leather belt wrapped around his chin and the back of his neck. Over that, another leather belt, a pair of panties, and two pieces of telephone cord had been wrapped around Chavez’s neck.

Mark McCormick, M.D., a forensic pathologist for the Riverside County coroner’s office, testified that Gabriel and Chavez both died from asphyxiation.

Crime scene and investigation

Investigators learned from the manager of the National Inn in Corona that he had evicted two people, Rottiers and Hutchinson, from room 114 after the cleaning crew informed him that blankets and sheets were missing and power cords had been removed from two motel vacuum cleaners.

The manager testified that on August 28, 2006, between 8:00 and 8:30 a.m., Rottiers borrowed the motel dolly to move some items out of room 114, and a car had been backed into the garage.

Scott Williams testified that on August 29, 2006, he was released from prison on parole and was picked up by Christy Day. Day was described as the mother of Williams’s son and as a recovering methamphetamine and heroin addict. Day took Williams to the National Inn where she lived.

Williams testified that the National Inn was a “kind of rough motel” where other parolees stayed and prostitution and drug use occurred, and that he knew Rottiers and Hutchinson. When investigators showed Williams room 114, he testified it had been stripped of bed linens and that homicide detectives came to the door while he was in the room.

Detective Jesse Martinez testified that on August 29, 2006, he was assigned to assist Senior Investigator Robert Masson and Investigator John Powers in investigating the case. Martinez testified that the manager told them he was renting room 114 to Williams and Day. When the investigators entered room 114, they encountered Williams.

Day testified and identified Rottiers in the courtroom, and she identified Hutchinson in the courtroom. Day said she met Rottiers at the National Inn and that Rottiers lived in room 114 in August 2006 in a romantic relationship with Hutchinson. Day also stated she purchased methamphetamine from Hutchinson. Day denied knowing that Hutchinson was Rottiers’s pimp but testified that Rottiers told her she would rob her customers instead of “doing the date.”

Day described prior events leading up to the killing. She testified that on August 27, 2006, at around 10:00 p.m., she went to Rottiers’s room to look for Day’s daughter. When Rottiers answered the door, Day saw two Hispanic men in the room with Rottiers, including one taller than Day, who was five feet seven inches tall.

Day also testified that in the early morning hours of August 29, 2006, Rottiers came to Day’s room, woke her up, and told her she did something she was not proud of. Day testified that Rottiers said she had picked up two men in Riverside and brought them back to her room to “do a date.” Day testified that Hutchinson entered the room and caught Rottiers having sex with one of the men. Day testified that Rottiers told her Hutchinson said something like, “You say you’re so bad, let’s see what you got” or “Let’s see what you’re going to do now.”

Day testified that Rottiers told her she strangled the two men with her hands, bras, and panties, and that she “kind of liked it.” Day testified that Rottiers told her she hit the men with her knuckles when they started to smell and showed bruised and swollen knuckles. Day testified that Rottiers said she put the men’s bodies in a car along with all the bedding from the room, drove out to Lake Matthews, and tried to light the car on fire, but a second car got stuck and “they” had to leave before she was able to burn the car.

Day testified that a few days later Rottiers returned and was talking loudly with Hutchinson on a Nextel phone. Day overheard Rottiers say something about DNA, that Hutchinson was being “weak,” and that she would do the same thing to Hutchinson as she did to “those two mother fuckers” she had killed. When the manager came to the room, he told Rottiers to leave.

Richard Stornetta testified that he and Williams were released from prison at the same time, and Day picked them up and took them to the National Inn. Stornetta went with Williams to look at room 114, which Stornetta described as torn up and “stripped.” Stornetta testified that a woman nicknamed “Crazy,” whom Williams identified at trial as Rottiers, came to Day’s room. Stornetta testified that he heard Rottiers talking on the phone with someone, yelling and calling that person a “weak piece of shit” who could not even help her “pick up one of ’em.” Stornetta testified that Rottiers talked about her DNA being all over the room and said something about a dolly cart. Williams asked Rottiers to leave.

Yvette Meek, a recovering drug addict, testified she knew Rottiers and Hutchinson in 2006. Meek stated that Rottiers told her she would pick up guys pretending to be a prostitute, and then she would rob them without going through with the sexual act.

Forensic evidence (DNA testing)

Megan Mannion-Gray testified as a criminalist at the California Department of Justice’s Jan Banshinski Laboratory and Bureau of Forensic Services about DNA testing on evidence taken from the victims.

The testimony included that Epps, described as an African-American, was excluded as a DNA donor on 15 items compared by the lab. For one swab where Epps could not be excluded, the testimony included: there was a 33 percent chance that a randomly selected African-American could have been the donor. For another swab where Epps could not be excluded, the testimony included: there was more than a 50 percent chance that a randomly selected African-American could have been the donor.

Rottiers could not be excluded as a contributor of DNA discovered on an electrical cord, but Epps could be excluded. Rottiers could not be excluded as a contributor of DNA found in fingernail clippings taken from Gabriel, but Epps could be excluded. Rottiers could not be excluded as a contributor of DNA discovered on a belt, but Epps could be excluded.

Phone records

A radio frequency engineer working for Ericsson under contract for Sprint Nextel provided expert testimony about phone records and cell tower locations, stating that timing, duration, and locations of cell phone calls can be determined.

Authenticated Sprint Nextel cell phone records for Epps, Rottiers, and Hutchinson were presented to the jury. The phone records showed direct connect communications made on August 27, 2006, from Epps’s phone to one belonging to Rottiers that carried the billing of “Krazie Hutchinson.” A total of four such phone connections were recorded between 9:46 p.m. and 10:18 p.m. on August 27. A fifth connection between those two phones was recorded early the next morning, August 28, at 2:22 a.m.

The phone records also showed a direct connect communication made from Rottiers’s phone to Epps’s phone at 10:15 p.m. on August 27, 2006. Later that night, at 11:23 p.m., a direct connect communication was made between Epps’s phone and Hutchinson’s phone. The next day, August 28 at 12:15 p.m., a connection was also made from Epps’s phone to Hutchinson’s phone.

Epps’s statements to detectives (May 15, 2007)

On May 15, 2007, Epps gave a statement to Detectives Masson and Martinez. A transcript of which was admitted into evidence.

Epps indicated she knew Rottiers through a mutual boyfriend, Brandon Evans, who had been Epps’s boyfriend two or three years earlier. Epps claimed she went to the National Inn in Corona at around 2:00 a.m. to buy drugs from Hutchinson and that she was high on drugs at the time.

Epps stated that when she arrived at the motel room she saw Rottiers, Hutchinson, and Rottiers’s twin daughters, and she described the room as “junky,” with phone cords ripped from the wall, vacuum cleaners with cords ripped out, and a phone on the bed with no cord.

Epps stated that Rottiers and Hutchinson were arguing when she entered and that Rottiers told Hutchinson he was stupid and careless, and Hutchinson called Rottiers a “stupid bitch.” Epps told detectives Hutchinson said, “Oh, shit, the blanket,” and Rottiers threw a blanket on the floor as if she were hiding something. Epps said she did not know what was under the blanket, but it was something “kind of lumpy,” and that an investigator later told her the “lumps” were bodies.

Epps asked, “Am I being recorded?” When Detective Masson assured her that she was not being recorded and that Detective Martinez was taking notes for a report, Epps provided additional details about the homicides. She stated she saw Rottiers and Hutchinson wrapping up the bodies in blankets and that she helped them move one of the bodies to the trunk of the car Rottiers drove.

Epps said that to get the body into the trunk she lifted one side of the blanket and Rottiers lifted the other. Epps stated that Rottiers and Hutchinson moved the second body to the trunk of the car after Rottiers asked the motel manager for a dolly. Epps said Hutchinson left after the second body was in the car.

Epps stated she helped Rottiers vacate the motel room and move to the Flaming Arrow motel. Epps said she left Rottiers at the Flaming Arrow and later saw her driving around town as Epps drove down the street with the bodies in the trunk.

Epps stated that Rottiers told her she needed to drop the car off and that Epps led Rottiers to the Lake Matthews area and showed her an open space where she could leave the car. Epps stated Rottiers pulled off the road, left the engine running as if the car had been abandoned, and hopped out and let it roll. Epps said she got out, cursed at Rottiers for leaving the engine running, and then they got into Epps’s car. Epps stated she started driving Rottiers back to her motel room, but that following Rottiers’s directions Epps drove the car into sand and she had to call for a tow truck. Epps stated she left Rottiers by the side of the road and drove home.

When pressed, Epps told detectives that Rottiers killed the two men by smothering them by stepping on their faces with her bare feet after they were tied up. Epps stated she was sitting in the room when it happened and that Rottiers killed the larger man first, and she claimed she did not know how the other man died. Epps stated that Rottiers smothered the smaller man first.

Epps told detectives she went there because Rottiers “chirped” her that Hutchinson had “chronic” (drugs) for her. Epps then told the detectives that the two men were still dressed when she arrived and both undressed when Rottiers told them to do so. Epps said the men thought they were about to have sex. Epps stated Rottiers began hitting them with Hutchinson’s belt, that Rottiers punched the smaller man and knocked him out, and that the larger man was covering his private parts with his hands when Hutchinson hit him and knocked him to the floor.

Epps stated Rottiers tied up both men using cords from the phone and vacuum cleaners and that Rottiers killed both men, the smaller man first, with Rottiers’s daughters still in the room.

Epps again stated Rottiers killed the larger man by stepping on his face and smothering him, but also stated she did not know how the smaller man died.

Epps told detectives she pulled her car into the motel just as Rottiers and the two men were getting out of their car. She stated Rottiers and the two men entered the motel room about 30 seconds before Epps entered the room, and that Hutchinson was already in the room with Rottiers’s daughters. Epps stated she “might have handed [Rottiers] the phone cord” and said she knew the cord was not hooked up to the wall phone because the cord was by her leg and she grabbed it.

Epps stated she “probably tried to give [the cord] to her and it didn’t go, so she snatched [it].” Epps stated she admitted she pulled the cord from the wall and said Rottiers “ripped it out of the wall.” She stated she watched Rottiers rip the cord out of the vacuum cleaner. Epps denied handing Rottiers any duct tape.

Epps’s interview with the district attorney (June 14, 2007)

On June 14, 2007, Epps was interviewed by District Attorney Senior Investigator Tom Dove and Deputy District Attorney John Molloy, and a transcript of the interview was admitted into evidence.

Epps stated she met Hutchinson a month or two before August 2006 and that she bought drugs from him. Epps stated she knew Rottiers since about 2003 and said she met Rottiers through Epps’s former boyfriend, Evans.

Epps stated that on the day of the incident she went to the National Inn to buy drugs from Hutchinson. Epps stated that when she arrived six people were in the room: Rottiers, Rottiers’s two daughters asleep on the bed, Hutchinson, and “two Mexican guys” lying naked on the floor.

Epps said that Rottiers and Hutchinson were arguing and that she (Epps) was “so high” that she could not remember what they were arguing about and could not remember whether the two men were tied up.

Epps described that Rottiers, barefooted, walked over to the smaller man, who was praying, and stepped on his nose and mouth. She said Hutchinson stood over the man and started kicking and told him not to move. Epps stated the man’s face turned purple and that he urinated on himself.

Epps stated the larger man stood up and that one of Rottiers’s girls woke up, and Hutchinson was going to take her out, but Rottiers told him not to leave and, pointing to the larger man, said, “This one has to go, too.” Epps stated Rottiers started punching and spitting on the larger man, who fell to his knees and begged her to stop, saying “please, please.” Epps stated Rottiers hit him again and Hutchinson punched him; she stated that when Hutchinson hit him, the man fell and hit his head on the edge of the door.

Epps stated Rottiers then stepped on his nose and mouth with both feet and leaned against the wall to keep her balance. Epps stated Rottiers stood on his face for 10 to 15 minutes and claimed Epps sat on the bed during the entire incident.

Epps stated that after Rottiers finished, she asked Epps to help her move her things to another motel. Epps helped put her things into the victims’ car and took them to the other motel while Hutchinson took the girls to a fast-food restaurant.

Epps admitted she helped Rottiers put the smaller man into the car, carrying him on a blanket. Epps stated that they walked up to the car and put him in the trunk. Epps stated that when Rottiers and Hutchinson were unable to lift the heavier man’s body wrapped in a blanket, Rottiers asked the manager for a dolly and brought it back to the room. Epps stated that she was holding the girls as Rottiers and Hutchinson put the “big guy” on the dolly, pulled him out to the car, and put him in the trunk on top of the “little guy.”

Epps admitted she drove her borrowed car and led Rottiers to a place near Lake Matthews in the mountains to dispose of the victims’ car and the bodies. Epps stated that on the way back her car got stuck in sand and she called for a tow truck. Epps stated to help pay for tow service, Rottiers got into “some other dude’s” car and was paid $150 to do a “quickie.”

Epps stated Rottiers used Epps’s cell phone to call for a cab and left on her own, but that Epps did not know how she returned to Corona.

Epps stated that when questioned about DNA evidence she admitted she might have touched a vacuum cleaner or a vacuum cleaner cord or a telephone cord. Epps stated it was possible the two men were tied up when she arrived at the motel.

Epps denied that she participated in killing the victims and denied seeing duct tape on the face of one of the men. Epps claimed she did not see Rottiers kill the man lying unconscious when Epps arrived and that she only watched Rottiers kill the “big guy.” However, Epps stated she saw Rottiers stand on both men. Epps denied the men were hogtied.

Epps claimed a phone cord was on her foot, that she grabbed it, and that she dropped it without giving it to Rottiers. Epps claimed that when she grabbed for the phone cord, Rottiers told Epps to give her the vacuum cleaner cord, and Epps said, “I ain’t giving you shit,” and Rottiers then ripped the cord out of a vacuum cleaner. Epps admitted she watched as Rottiers tied up one of the men with a cord she ripped out of a vacuum cleaner.

Epps admitted she denied that she participated in killing and stated she did not see duct tape on the face of one of the men. She also stated she watched Rottiers tie up one of the men with a cord ripped out of a vacuum cleaner and addressed that she did not know how one man died. She admitted that she might have touched vacuum cleaner items and phone cord items relevant to the DNA discussion and said she did not see duct tape on a face.

Arrest

No arrest information was included in the provided material.

Trial

Conviction (June 23, 2010)

Rottiers was convicted June 23 of two counts of first-degree murder in the slayings of Marvin Gabriel and Milton Chavez. Jurors also found true a special circumstance allegation that the Aug.

Three separate juries convicted Rottiers, Hutchinson, and Epps. The verdicts were read on a Friday, and the penalty phase for Rottiers began Tuesday.

Rottiers’s co-defendants included:

• Omar Tyree Hutchinson, 34
• Franchune Dyuel Epps, 26

Jurors convicted each of them of murder and a special circumstance of robbery.

Penalty phase and jury recommendation (July 15, 2010)

A jury recommended a death sentence for Rottiers. The jury spent 4 1/2 days deliberating in the penalty phase before returning its recommendation.

The formal sentencing for Rottiers was set for Sept. 17 at the time of this recommendation, and defense counsel said he planned to ask Riverside County Superior Court Judge Helios J. Hernandez to reduce her sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Defense attorney Chris Jensen sought a life term for Rottiers during sentencing. He argued that sexual abuse Rottiers suffered as a child and her long battle with drug addiction, as well as the needs of her four young children in the custody of family members, weighed against a death sentence.

Sentencing

On October 22, 2010, Rottiers was sentenced to death.

Judge Helios J. Hernandez affirmed the jury’s recommendation and made findings about the nature of her conduct and its cruelty, including beating, hitting, stomping, hog-tying and asphyxiation, and that the conduct went well beyond the minimum necessary to rob and cover her tracks.

Appeals

No appeals information was included in the provided material.

Outcome

Rottiers received a death sentence on October 22, 2010.

Epps was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Hernandez was expected to impose the same sentence on Hutchinson on Wednesday, following Epps’s sentencing.

Other details

Two forensic details about the victims’ bodies and methods were included: asphyxiation was identified by Mark McCormick, M.D., and the victims were described as hogtied and gagged with cloth items and duct tape, with plastic bags around a face and neck areas.

The investigation included evidence that blankets and sheets were missing and power cords were removed from two motel vacuum cleaners after the manager evicted Rottiers and Hutchinson from room 114.