In the true crime community, we often come across cases that have changed the criminal justice system in big ways. But there are few cases as infamous as the kidnapping and murder of Polly Klaas.
Polly was born on January 3rd, 1981, in Fairfax, California. She was a bubbly, bright young girl who loved the theatre, and was exceptionally kind to everyone around her. Her friends remembered her uncanny ability to take on “mean girls”, and stand up to their attempted bullying.
By the time she was 12, Polly’s parents were separated. She lived full-time with her mother, Eve Nichol, but was very, very close to her father, Marc Klaas. They spoke on the phone every single day, and Polly spent her weekends with her father every chance she got.
Eve’s home in Petaluma, California, was across the street for a very particular park. This should have been Polly’s dream, but this park was not safe for children. It was known as a gathering place for people looking to get high and get drunk with their friends. Drug deals were very common, and people would be in and out of the park at all hours to conduct less than savoury business deals.
On October 1st, 1993, Polly was enjoying an evening at home with two of her best friends, her younger sister, and her mother. The girls had planned a slumber party, and Eve was more than happy to host the girls.
At some point in the evening, Eve took Polly’s younger sister, and went to bed. She asked the girls to tone down the volume just a little, as she had a migraine. Eve then took a dose of her prescribed sleeping pills to try to ease the pain of the migraine. The girls were in Polly’s room, and she figured they were safe there.
At around 10:30 PM, the girls decided it was time for them to get some sleep, and Polly opened her bedroom door, intending on getting some sleeping bags and blankets from the hallway closet. She was extremely started to find a man standing on the other side of her door, holding a knife in his hand, and carrying a duffle bag.
The man – Richard Allen Davis – then came into the room, and told the girls that he wasn’t there to do any harm, he just wanted to know where the money in the house was. Davis then pulled pieces of a cut-up silk-like material out of his bag, and tied up all of the girls. He then placed pillow cases over the heads of Polly’s friends. He instructed them to count to 1,000, saying that Polly would be back in the room by the time they’d finished. He was only taking Polly to show him where the money and valuables were.
At first, the girls thought this was a really scary prank. But as more time went on, they realized that Polly hadn’t come back, and this wasn’t a prank. They got themselves loose, and then woke up Polly’s mother, telling her what had happened. Eve called the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department immediately.They wasted no time calling in the FBI for assistance.
The Sheriff’s Department put out an APB – an all-points-bulletin – as soon as possible, but they marked is as “not-for-press”. This meant that the APB only went out on certain channels, and hadn’t reached other law enforcement agencies in the area.
When investigators reached Eve’s home, they knew that this was not going to be easy. It appeared to them that this was a stranger abduction – making it that much harder to investigate.
As investigators searched around the home for clues, the FBI forensics team descended upon Polly’s bedroom – the last place Polly had been in the house.
There, they found a partial palm print, which they pulled from Polly’s bed frame. They also found a tiny fibre that didn’t match any of the carpets in the home, or any vehicles that Polly would have been in. A strand of hair that appeared to have been torn from someone’s head was also found. However, forensics was in its infancy at this time. While valuable pieces of evidence, there was very little they could do with the fibre and the hair.
Not long after Davis had kidnapped Polly, a babysitter on her way home from a job spotted a car stuck in the ditch of her employer’s driveway. She saw a man near the vehicle, who looked dirty, dishevelled, stuffy, and scruffy. The man approached her car aggressively, which spooked her. Instead of offering the man any assistance, the babysitter drove on, and called 911 about the man, and his car, when she found a payphone at a service station.
Two deputies from the state patrol were dispatched, and found the man exactly where the babysitter had said she’d last seen him. They alerted the man that he was on private property, and ask him what he was doing out on the road at 11:30 at night. He said he was out sightseeing. While they noticed leaves and twigs in his hair, and that he was very sweaty and out of breath, they didn’t notice anything else that was all that suspicious about him.
As the APB had not reached their radios, they were unaware that they were looking for a man fitting the description of the man stuck in the ditch, nor that he had taken a 12-year-old girl. With little to go on, the deputies ran the man’s driver’s license, and his plate number, which came back to Richard Allen Davis. The check came back clean – though Davis had multiple previous convictions on his record.
Davis had been incarcerated multiple times for burglary, assault, and kidnapping. He’d previously been sentenced to 16 years, but was released after serving 8 due to overcrowding. He’d been released just a few months prior, in June of 1993.
To stop Davis from trespassing, the deputies called for a tow truck to help him get his car out of the ditch. Before the tow truck arrived, the deputies performed a search of the car, but found nothing suspicious. They did find an open container of beer, which they instructed Davis to pour out. Instead, Davis simply chugged the beer, and threw away the empty container.
Before they let him go, the deputies filled out a Field Interrogation card, which was then filed. There was nothing else to be done, based on the information they had. Once free of the ditch, Davis got in his car, and drove away.
A massive search for Polly was underway in the days following her kidnapping. Winona Ryder, having been born and raised in Petaluma, offered a $200,000 reward for any information that would lead to bringing Polly home. The case so affected her, she refused to partake in “dark movies”. She also dedicated her role in the film Little Women to Polly, as it was her favourite book.
The search for Polly went on, but soon grew cold. Investigators knew it would be a very difficult case. And the kidnapping of Polly Klaas took its toll on them. But just as soon as the case cooled down, it heated right back up.
On November 28th, 1993, the owner of the property where Davis had gotten his car stuck took a look around her property, and came across items that seemed highly suspect. Wasting no time, she called the sheriff’s department in to investigate.
Upon their arrival, investigators found a pair of leggings. The leggings were clearly in a child’s size, and when asked, the property owner stated having never seen them before. When she was further questioned, she asked them if this may have had anything to do with the man who’s car had gotten stuck on her driveway. The investigators had no idea what she was talking about.
Reviewing the calls that had been made to all law enforcement agencies on the night the car had gotten stuck, investigators found the Field Interrogation card that had been filed, and traced it back to Richard Allen Davis. Slowly, the pieces fell into place – these leggings belonged to Polly Klaas, and Davis was involved in the kidnapping.
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department, the FBI, and the Petaluma Police cooperated with each other, and launched a massive search of the property. They tried to keep the discovery out of the press, as they were keeping Davis under covert surveillance in Ukiah, California.
The search garnered no new leads, nor did the surveillance detail. With a hunch, and very little circumstantial evidence, it was decided that Richard Allen Davis would be arrested for the kidnapping of Polly Klaas. Upon his arrest, investigators were able to determine that his palm print matched the one found in Polly’s bedroom.
On December 3rd, 1993, another search was launched. Over 500 search team members, spanning 24 agencies, came together in order to search for any additional information as to Polly’s whereabouts. They were under no illusions that they were likely looking for her remains.
During Davis’ interrogation on Saturday, December 4th, he confessed to having kidnapped, and murdered, Polly.
He directed investigators just off of Highway 101, just shy of a mile from the Cloverdale, California city limits. There, he led them a short way off the highway, and to a shallow grave.
In his confession, Davis indicated that he had no idea how the events of October 1st, 1993, happened. He told them that one minute he was in the park across from Polly’s house. Then, he was suddenly in her house, and the next thing he knew, he had the young girl in his car.
It is theorized that Davis murdered Polly when his car got stuck, fearing that he would be caught with her in the car, already having a kidnapping charge to his name. He then hid her body in the woods, and went back for her when his car was freed from the ditch. Then, he found another secluded spot, and buried her.
Then he drove to Ukiah, California, where he had to meet with his parole officer once a week.
Davis’ trial was long, and extremely difficult on Polly’s family. More than once, Davis made crude gestures and remarks to both courtroom cameras, and Polly’s family. He even went so far as to accuse Polly’s father, Marc, of horrific things, just for the shock value, and to take some of the heat off himself.
On June 18th, 1996, Richard Allen Davis was convicted of the first-degree murder of Polly Klaas, with four special circumstances for robbery, burglary, kidnapping, and attempted lewd act on a child. He was sentenced to death, and is still sitting on death row in San Quentin State Prison.
In the aftermath of Polly’s death, Marc threw his energy and grief into helping others that found themselves in a similar situation. He established the KlaasKids Foundatikon. The foundation provides free fingerprinting for children, and offers an abundance of resources that help keep children safe.
In addition to this, Marc, with the help of other parents of missing children, established The Polly Klaas Foundation. The Foundation has assisted in search efforts, and offers a huge support network for parents of missing children.
In light of the miscommunication when Polly’s APB was issued, the radio system in California was upgraded. Now, all bulletins are broadcast across all police channels through a centralized 911 dispatch system.
Most notably, the kidnapping and murder of Polly Klaas helped establish the “Three Strikes” law in California. The law indicates that any person who commits 3 felonies receives a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life, no matter how minor that 3rd felony may be.
Marc Klaas was in disagreement with this. He felt that those convicted of less serious offences were being unjustly targeted, when the intention of the law was to prevent the release of men like Richard Allen Davis.
In 2012, the law was reformed. Voters insisted in eliminating life sentences for those convicted of less serious, and non-violent 3rd convictions.
Many things can come from tragedy. But there are few cases so horrific that so much change transpired as a result.
— — —
Like what you’re reading? Follow me on Twitter or Facebook for the latest updates!
Sources:
A 12-year-old girl is kidnapped, leading to California’s “three strikes” law – history.com
Polly Klaas Was Kidnapped And Murdered In 1993, And Her Story Still Haunts Us 30 Years Later – Amanda Sedlak-Hevener – Ranker
Their Sister’s Murder Was Used to Justify Tough On Crime Laws. Now They Want to Build Her a Different Legacy – Madison Feller – Elle
The Brutal Murder of Polly Klaas – Ana Coughlin – Medium
The Kidnapping and Murder of Polly Klaas – Kiley – It’s Crime O’clock Somewhere
Morbid podcast – Episode 112 – The Abduction and Murder of Polly Klaas
Murder of Polly Klaas Wikipedia page