"The legs of the victim #1 were deformed. They appeared twisted. "

(Kiya Kitchen, Faith Tsarnas and Marci Kitchen)

Sgt. Jason Kadle of the Fortuna Police Department was only a  minute away from the location when he received a dispatch call at "approximately 9:16 p.m. in the evening" on July 12, 2016.

He was dispatched to the "Eel River area" for  a collision with possible deceased female lying in the roadway."


Sgt. Kadle described the location where he went as near the Eel River Track Club.

He arrived just seconds after FTO Gabe Charlton was on the scene. "A gentleman in the middle of road was flagging us,down."

"I observed a body," said Sgt. Kadle. "Officer Charlton could not find a pulse. I could not find a pulse. Victim was lying face down. We rolled her over on her back. Still could not find a pulse."

"She was face down, head to North, feet to South, no breathing, no pulse. "

Sgt. Kadle identified "the RP that phoned 911 was on scene." Sgt. Kadle spoke with him the next morning. He identified the reporting party as Duane Ashbach.

"The legs of the victim #1 were deformed. They appeared twisted. The neck was in an elongated position. There were marks on the torso, head and hands of the victim.

Deputy District Attorney Stacey Eads,asked about the victim's gender. Sgt. Kadle responded, "female." Ms. Eads asked what clothing the victim was wearing. Sgt. Kadle said, "I believe she was wearing shorts, a tshirt and a bra."

Marci Kitchen listened to all the testimony, with no visible emotion, including the discovery of her daughter's body, Kiya Kitchen was described as taking 'agonal breaths.'

Towards, the end of the testimony, Sgt. Kadle was asked to describe three photos of Victim #1 (Faith Tsarnas) by Ms. Eads. Sgt. Kadle had to pause before he responded as he was choked with emotion looking at the photos.

The courtroom was very silent. One person supporting Kitchen whispered, "those photos look dark." It was not possible to see the photos except to glimpse at colorsthrough the back of the paper as Ms. Eads was very careful not to display the photos to the audience.