Point Reyes Light - December 27, 2001

Trio to stand trial in Selina Bishop murder

Gregory Foley

A Contra Costa County judge last week ruled there is enough evidence to put three murder suspects on trial for allegedly killing Woodacre resident Selina Bishop and four others last year as part of an extortion plot.

Superior Court Judge Douglas Cunningham last Thursday said defendants Glenn Taylor Helzer, 31, his brother Justin Helzer, 29, and their former housemate Dawn Godman, all of Concord, must stand trial in Martinez on charges of murder, conspiracy, robbery, false imprisonment, and extortion.

The judge’s decision came after a nearly two-week preliminary hearing during which often incriminating and sometimes bizarre testimony was presented by Contra Costa prosecutors, who are seeking the death penalty against all three.

Suspect a ‘warlock’

The older Helzer, believed to be the ringleader, was quoted by witnesses as saying he was a "warlock" (male witch), that he believed Satan got a "bad rap," and that he legally is crazy and if caught would never be held responsible for his actions.

Prosecutor Harold Jewett has alleged that the three suspects in the summer of 2000 murdered Bishop, her mother Jenny Villarin, and Villarin’s companion James Gamble to cover up a plot to extort some $100,000 from elderly Concord residents Ivan and Annette Stineman.

Villarin, who was a bartender at the Papermill Creek Saloon in Forest Knolls, and Gamble were found shot to death on Aug. 3, 2000, in Bishop’s Woodacre apartment while they were housesitting.

Several days later, authorities found the dismembered remains of Bishop and the Stinemans stuffed into numerous duffel bags that had been dumped into the Sacramento River Delta.

How Bishop got involved

Deputy district attorney Jewett during the preliminary hearing presented evidence that the trio abducted the Stinemans and forced them to liquidate funds that could be used to finance elaborate drug dealing and prostitution ventures.

The plan included using Bishop (the daughter of Forest Knolls rock guitarist Elvin Bishop and a short-term girlfriend of the older Helzer) to deposit money into bank accounts in her name. Helzer allegedly told Bishop that he was receiving a sizable inheritance and would pay her to help with the financial aspects of his scheme.

The three suspects murdered Bishop, Villarin, and Gamble out of fear that they would tell authorities if they had knowledge or suspicions about the trio’s illegal activities, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors since the incident have presented large amounts of incriminating physical evidence to the court, including drugs found in the trio’s Concord home, tools they allegedly used in witchcraft and torture rituals, and evidence linking them to all five of the victims’ deaths.

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