Adriana Vasco

Defendant

Adriana Vasco (35-year-old mother of two; former medical receptionist). Vasco was convicted of taking part in a murder-for-hire scheme involving the killings of Huntington Beach anesthesiologist Kenneth Stahl, 57, and his wife Carolyn Oppy-Stahl, 44. She wept and pleaded for forgiveness during sentencing proceedings.

Timeline

• November 19, 1999 — Vasco arranged a meeting with Stahl in a parking lot at Godley’s direction.
• November 20, 1999 — Kenneth Stahl withdrew $20,000 in cash from his checking account; later that night, a security guard found the Stahls’ bodies inside their car parked near the Ortega Highway call box.
• December 27, 2000 — Investigators arrested Vasco for the murders and booked her into jail.
• Two days after Christmas 2000 — Police arrested Adriana Vasco for the murders of Ken and Carolyn.
• January 2, 2001 — Orange County Register reporter William Rams interviewed Vasco at the jail.
• November 20, 2002 — A jury found Vasco guilty in an elaborate murder-for-hire scheme involving the gunning down of a Huntington Beach doctor and his wife.
• November 26, 2002 — Jurors found special circumstances including lying in wait and multiple murder.
• June 30, 2005 — The California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 3, affirmed the judgment.

The offence

Vasco was convicted of first-degree murder in the killing of Carolyn Oppy-Stahl, 44, and second-degree murder in the death of her husband, Dr. Kenneth Stahl, 57, arising from a murder-for-hire scheme.

Murder-for-hire scheme and roles

Prosecutors described a lengthy relationship between Vasco and Stahl and said the plan was to kill Oppy-Stahl because Stahl wanted out of his marriage but feared financial consequences of divorce. Prosecutors said Vasco recruited her other boyfriend, Dennis Godley, to do the killing for $30,000. Prosecutors said Godley ended up killing Stahl as well, in an apparent effort to eliminate a witness or out of jealousy.

Vasco testified that she heard Stahl and Godley discuss the plan to kill Oppy-Stahl, but she insisted she was manipulated into helping arrange the murder and never believed it would actually occur. Prosecutors said the jury rejected her account.

Victims

• Carolyn Oppy-Stahl, 44 — Her murder was charged as first-degree murder.
• Dr. Kenneth Stahl, 57 — His murder was charged as second-degree murder.

Circumstances of the killings

A Rancho Mission Viejo security officer found the bodies of Stahl and Carolyn Oppy-Stahl in their car parked near a call box on a desolate stretch of Ortega Highway around 10:00 p.m. on November 20, 1999. The car’s engine was running and the passenger door was open. Stahl sat on the driver’s seat secured by his seat belt. Carolyn’s shoeless foot extended out the front passenger entrance. The sheriff’s investigators collected six bullets fired from a .357- or .38-caliber handgun. The absence of shell casings at the scene suggested the assailant used a revolver.

The published account described that the couple was celebrating Carolyn’s 44th birthday and that they were found after being shot to death at close range, with no sign of struggle and only a shattered driver-side window. The medical examiner determined the couple had been dead for as long as 90 minutes.

Investigation

Police located Vasco’s telephone number on Stahl’s pager and contacted her about the murders three days after the killings.

In police interviews, Vasco described her relationship with Stahl:

• She said she had known Stahl since 1992 when she began working for him as a receptionist.
• She denied that she and Stahl were having an affair in an initial interview.
• She said she last spoke to Stahl on the morning before his murder, when he told her he was taking his wife out for a surprise birthday celebration.
• In a second interview three months later, she admitted an affair with Stahl but said she ended it three years earlier because she believed Stahl would not leave his wife.
• She said Stahl feared divorce would financially ruin him and did not want to hurt his mother, who she said was fond of Carolyn.
• Later, she described her romantic involvement as dating from 1992 and expanded on prior statements during an October 2000 reinterview.

The investigation also included other information casting doubt on Vasco’s account, including:

• A review of Stahl’s bank records showing an unusual cash withdrawal.
• Evidence that Vasco displayed newly purchased jewelry and statements that contradicted what investigators discovered about money sent to Godley.
• Evidence that Stahl approached electrician Richard Anaya, asking if he knew anyone who would “take care of my wife,” with Anaya refusing to cooperate.
• Evidence that investigators examined Stahl’s telephone records and learned he had four or five conversations with Vasco on the day of the murders.
• Evidence that officers searched Vasco’s rented storage unit in October 2000 and found a mug shot of Godley, a picture of Vasco and Godley together, and driver’s license pictures of Stahl and his wife.

Confession admissibility

After Vasco’s arrest, a judge ruled her statements about the murder plot were inadmissible because they were coerced and that her confession had been illegally obtained.

Arrest

Investigators arrested Vasco for the murders and booked her into jail on December 27, 2000. The narrative also described police arrested Adriana Vasco for the murders of Ken and Carolyn two days after Christmas 2000. A warrant was issued for Dennis Godley.

Trial

Charges and special circumstances

A jury convicted Vasco of:

• First-degree murder in the killing of Carolyn Oppy-Stahl, 44.
• Second-degree murder in the death of Dr. Kenneth Stahl, 57.

Jurors found special circumstances:

• Lying in wait
• Multiple murder

Jurors rejected a third special circumstance: murder for financial gain.

Defense

Vasco testified about abuse in her background. She testified that her stepfather physically and sexually abused her until she ran away at age 16 and that she suffered more physical abuse from her first husband during their tumultuous marriage.

Vasco also testified that she suffered repeated violent acts in the context of relationships and relied on experts:

• Dr. Nancy Kaser-Boyd, a clinical psychologist specializing in family violence, testified Vasco suffered from battered women's syndrome and posttraumatic stress disorder, stemming from repeated violent acts against her.
• The defense argued Vasco, suffering from battered women's syndrome, lacked the requisite intent for murder and for the special circumstances allegation.

During trial, Judge Francisco P. Briseno excused the jury so Vasco could compose herself during testimony on more than one occasion.

Quoted testimony (verbatim)

Vasco testified in relation to her efforts to stop the plot:

“I didn’t believe any of this was going to happen”
and: “I cried, ‘Please, please.’ [¶] ․ [¶] [N]obody has any idea how bad I wanted to stop, it.”

Vasco testified about threats by Godley:

“If you say anything now, I'm going to kill you and your kids.”

Vasco described her reaction during police-related narration and fear:

“He kept toying around with the gun and told me he was going to pop me at any time [.]”
“[F]or some reason he spared my life that day and I don't know why [.]”

Vasco described a statement she said Godley made during the course of the night of the murders:

“I was ready to pop you.”

Newsperson interview and shield law dispute

Orange County Register reporter William Rams interviewed Vasco at the jail on January 2, 2001, and excerpts were published the following day. The appellate opinion described that the published material included either paraphrased accounts by Rams or Vasco’s direct quotations.

The trial included a dispute under California’s newspaper shield law:

• The reporter invoked shield law protection when subpoenaed to testify about the interview.
• The trial court permitted cross-examination only within parameters of published information and sustained objections to cross-examination seeking unpublished information.
• Vasco argued the restriction violated confrontation and due process rights.
• The California Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s approach, concluding Vasco failed to show a reasonable possibility the undisclosed information would materially assist her defense.

Verbatim quoted statements were reproduced as part of the Rams-related account:

“It's hard to talk about her”
“I don't like to think about her because I hurt her.”

Cross-examination quotations (verbatim)

Juror and courtroom quotes were included in the reporting materials about the verdict:

• Juror Donald Tobias said:

“She's a tough, street-smart person,”
and: “[The panel] felt that as long as she wasn't intoxicated or high, she had a pretty good idea this would happen,”

Vasco’s sister Norma Luna said:

“We need to find a way to explain this to [Vasco's] children, that Mom's not coming home,”

Luna also said:

“Mom's not coming home,”
and:

Sentencing

On January 24, 2003, Vasco was sentenced to life imprisonment without hope of parole. The appellate materials described her sentencing as life in prison without possibility of parole.

Judge and sentencing decision

Orange County Superior Court Judge Francisco P. Briseno refused to reduce Vasco’s first-degree conviction for Oppy-Stahl’s murder. The reduction sought would have made her eligible for parole after serving a percentage of the sentences for both slayings.

Appeals

Vasco appealed the conviction and the judgment was affirmed.

Appellate case details

The appellate materials identified:

• Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 3, California People v. Vasco
• No. G031916
• June 30, 2005 — the opinion date

The opinion stated:

• A jury convicted Vasco of first degree murder of Carolyn Stahl and second degree murder of her husband, Ken Stahl.
• Multiple-murder and lying-in-wait special-circumstance allegations were found to be true.
• The court affirmed the judgment.

Vasco’s appellate contentions included:

• The court erroneously applied the newsperson’s shield law to restrict her cross-examination of reporter William Rams.
• Evidence was insufficient to support the second degree murder conviction based on a theory it was a natural and probable consequence of the murder she aided and abetted.

The appellate court rejected both arguments and affirmed.

Outcome

The California Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment. Vasco remained sentenced to life in prison without hope of parole.

Other details

Relationships and alleged threats

Prosecutors said Vasco carried on a lengthy love affair with Stahl and that they came up with a plan to kill Oppy-Stahl. Prosecutors also said Vasco recruited Dennis Godley to do the killing for $30,000.

Vasco testified that Godley threatened her and her children if she revealed details of the murder plot.

Background testimony and substance use claims (as described)

During trial testimony described in the narratives:

• Vasco’s background included abuse.
• The narrative described that she turned to alcohol and drugs for solace after abusive relationships.
• Vasco testified she was drunk and only joking when she discussed killing her lover’s wife with the alleged hit man.

Other named individuals in the proceedings (as included)

• Dennis Conway — deputy district attorney (quoted as Deputy Dist. Atty. Dennis Conway in trial-related reporting)
• Robert M. Viefhaus — defense lawyer (named in the trial-related reporting)
• Keith Korstjens — retired minister quoted about Stahl
• Linda Dubay — Carolyn’s sister quoted about Stahl and Carolyn
• James Stewart — Vasco’s daughter’s paternal grandfather referenced in the robbery-related gun purchase narrative
• Nancy Stewart — Vasco’s daughter’s paternal grandmother referenced in the Ortega Highway drive cancellation narrative
• Belen Lopez — neighbor referenced in Vasco’s plan cancellation and visit
• Susana Torres-Bivian — Vasco’s supervisor referenced in the appellate recitation about statements
• William Rams — the reporter who interviewed Vasco at jail
• Mark Alan Hart — attorney for defendant and appellant (as listed in appellate caption)
• Bill Lockyer — Attorney General (as listed in appellate caption)
• Robert R. Anderson — Chief Assistant Attorney General (as listed in appellate caption)
• Gary W. Schons — Assistant Attorney General (as listed in appellate caption)
• Pamela A. Ratner-Sobeck — Deputy Attorney General (as listed in appellate caption)
• Lynne G. McGinnis — Deputy Attorney General (as listed in appellate caption)
• Davis Wright Tremaine listing and names including Kelli L. Sager, Alonzo Wickers IV, Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz, James E. Grossberg, Ashley I. Kissinger, and Freedom Communications and William Rams as Amicus Curiae (as listed in appellate caption)
• ARONSON, J. — judge authoring appellate decision; BEDSWORTH, Acting P.J., and O'LEARY, J. — concurring (as listed in the opinion footer)

Location and equipment details

The killings occurred on Ortega Highway in Orange County, with the car found near a call box on a desolate stretch. The victims’ car was described in reporting as a Dodge Stratus. The weapon described included a .357-caliber magnum or a .357- or .38-caliber handgun, and the absence of shell casings suggested a revolver.