Glenn Helzer and The Children of Thunder Murders

Glenn Helzer, a self-styled prophet, formed the Children of Thunder, in the summer of 2000, with his brother Justin and follower Dawn Godman, then carried out an extortion plot – and five murders.

Glen Taylor Helzer | Pic credit – AP/Karl Mondon

American Spree Killer

Last updated: October 22, 2025

Glenn Helzer | The Children of Thunder Murders

• Full Name: Glen Taylor Helzer (often reported as “Glenn” in early coverage)
• AKA/Group: Founder of the Children of Thunder cult (with Justin Helzer and Dawn Godman)
• Born: July 26, 1970 (Lansing, Michigan)
• Crimes: Five murders tied to an extortion/identity-theft scheme; dismembered remains of three victims found in duffel bags in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta (July–Aug 2000)
• Victims (2000): Ivan (85) & Annette (78) Stineman; Selina Bishop (22); Jennifer Villarin (45); James Gamble (54)
• Apprehended: August 7, 2000 (Concord, CA)
• Conviction/Sentence: Pled guilty; five death sentences (judgment entered March 11, 2005)
• Co-defendants: Justin Helzer-death; died by suicide (2013) at San Quentin. Dawn Godman-pled and received 25-to-life plus additional time.
• Current Legal Status: California Supreme Court affirmed the death judgment (Jan 22, 2024); U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari (Oct 7, 2024). SCOTUS California+1

Classification & Characteristics

An organized, coercive-control cult offender, Helzer blended religious grandiosity with instrumental violence – targeting former clients for money (Stinemans), then silencing witnesses (Selina Bishop, Villarin, Gamble). The pattern shows planning, delegation to followers, and staged logistics (transport, banking fronts, disposal), consistent with high-organization multi-offender crimes.

Psychologically, Helzer fused messianic delusion with financial opportunism, constructing a narrative to coerce complicity (promised “missions,” LDS takeover fantasy) while normalizing escalating violence inside the group. His leadership relied on charisma, isolation, and tasks that implicated followers – classic cult dynamics that compress doubt and accelerate harm.

Timeline of Children of Thunder Murders →

• July 30, 2000 – Concord: Ivan & Annette Stineman abducted; forced to write checks (~$100,000) as part of Helzer’s extortion plan; later murdered and dismembered. Los Angeles Times+1
• Aug 2, 2000 – Marin County: Selina Bishop killed to prevent her from exposing the scheme. SCOTUS California
• Aug 3, 2000 – Woodacre (Marin): Jennifer Villarin (Bishop’s mother) and James Gamble shot to death in Bishop’s apartment. SFGATE+1
• Aug 7, 2000 – Concord: Arrests of Justin Helzer & Godman; Glen arrested shortly after fleeing a nearby house. Wikipedia
• Dec 17, 2004 – Contra Costa County: Jury returns five death verdicts for Glen. SFGATE
• Mar 11–12, 2005: Judgment entered; brothers sentenced to death in separate hearings. Supreme Court+1
• Apr 14–16, 2013: Justin Helzer dies by suicide at San Quentin (news confirmed Apr 15–16). NBC Bay Area+1
• Jan 22, 2024: California Supreme Court affirms Helzer’s judgment of death (automatic appeal). SCOTUS California

→ Quick Answers

• Who: Glen Taylor Helzer – California inmate condemned for the 2000 Children of Thunder murders of five victims in the Bay Area (Stinemans, Selina Bishop, Jennifer Villarin, James Gamble). SCOTUS at Stanford
• Where now: Condemned in CDCR custody (California death row; housing administered under the Condemned Inmate Transfer Program historically centered at San Quentin). Calif. Dept. of Corrections & Rehab
• Current legal stage: Post–direct appeal. California Supreme Court affirmed the death judgment on Jan 22, 2024; the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari on Oct 7, 2024. A separate state habeas (S283398) is pending. SCOTUS at Stanford+2Supreme Court+2
• Appeals posture: Direct appeal concluded (affirmed); cert denied; collateral review ongoing in state court (S283398). Federal habeas expected to follow direct-review finality. SCOTUS at Stanford+1
• Mandate issued: Yes – remittitur/mandate issued following the California Supreme Court’s affirmance; direct review finalized by SCOTUS denial on 10/07/2024. SCOTUS at Stanford+1
• Stay/Warrant/Window: No death warrant. California executions are halted under the statewide moratorium ordered Mar 13, 2019; no execution window while the moratorium stands. Governor of California+1
• Sources: California Supreme Court (People v. Helzer, S132256) SCOTUS at Stanford · SCOTUS docket (No. 23-7295) Supreme Court · CDCR condemned population (official) Calif. Dept. of Corrections & Rehab · Governor’s Executive Order N-09-19 (moratorium) Governor of California

🕊️Victims of Glenn Helzer and the Children of Thunder

• Ivan Stineman (85) – abducted from Concord; forced to write checks; murdered; remains recovered in duffel bags (River Delta). SFGATE
• Annette Stineman (78) – abducted alongside husband; murdered; remains recovered in duffel bags (River Delta). SFGATE
• Selina Bishop (22) – killed to prevent testimony after being used to open accounts; dismembered, remains found in duffels. SCOTUS California+1
• Jennifer Villarin (45) – shot in Woodacre (Bishop’s apartment). SFGATE
• James Gamble (54) – shot alongside Villarin in Woodacre. San Francisco Chronicle

Glenn Helzer | The Children of Thunder Murders

→ FAQs

Glenn Helzer | The Children of Thunder Murders

The Story

When the River Broke Its Silence

In August 2000, nine black duffel bags began surfacing along the Mokelumne River in Northern California. A man on a Jet Ski spotted the first – washed up against the bank – unzipped it with shaking hands, and found a human torso inside. Hours later, a marina employee pulled a second bag from the water under a dock half a mile away; it held a human head. A marine biologist, surveying a nearby island, discovered a third. It, too, contained human remains.

By the time deputies finished their sweep, nine bags had been recovered.

Inside, the contents were co-mingled – pieces of three people – that took the Sacramento County coroner more than a week to sort and match. When the work was done, the fragments resolved into an elderly couple and a young woman – an awful puzzle whose edges would lead investigators back to the Bay Area, and to a small cult with a loud name: the Children of Thunder.

The Cult That Called Itself Children of Thunder

The grisly discovery traced back to a trio of excommunicated Latter-day Saints who crowned themselves the Children of Thunder – a tiny cult with a grand delusion. They preached a crooked gospel: a scheme dressed up as “joy, love, and peace,” a promise that God had blessed their crimes, and a fantasy that their mission would hasten the return of Jesus Christ. In their hands, revelation became a ledger, and mercy was just a word you said while you emptied someone’s life.

Glenn Helzer, his brother Justin and Dawn Godman were taken into custody the very day the first bag surfaced. What followed wasn’t quick: four more years of hearings and testimony before juries could untangle the senseless from the staged, the prophecy from the paperwork, and name the spree for what it was – murder by design.

Who Were Glenn Helzer and Justin

Glenn Taylor Helzer was the older brother with the blueprint – raised in the LDS faith, later excommunicated, and determined to trade his ordinary life for a messianic script of his own making. He could be smooth when he needed to be: a onetime financial adviser who knew how money moves, a talker who could make a wild idea sound like a plan.

Under the polish sat grandiosity and grievance. He recast himself as a prophet, cherry-picked scripture, and stitched together an end-times fantasy in which “mission” justified every step: raise cash, gather followers, bend the world. He called his tiny band the Children of Thunder, as if the name itself conferred authority.

Justin Helzer was the younger brother drawn into Glenn’s orbit – quieter, suggestible, looking for meaning and a place to belong. Where Glenn supplied doctrine and direction, Justin supplied loyalty and labor. He adopted the language, accepted the tasks, and let his brother’s certainty do the steering. Together they formed a closed circuit: Glenn’s delusions fed Justin’s devotion; Justin’s obedience confirmed Glenn’s power.

Add in Dawn Godman, eager to please and eager to be chosen, and the trio hardened into a cult that confused control for faith and violence for destiny.

Dawn Godman and Justin

Dawn Godman wanted belonging more than doctrine. Glenn offered both. He called it a mission, wrapped it in scripture shards and certainty, and then handed her a place inside it – important, chosen, necessary. The early days felt like warmth: late-night talks about purpose, compliments dressed as revelations, tasks that looked harmless until they didn’t. That’s how control works when it wears a smile – love-bomb first, isolate second, assign jobs third.

With Justin, the hook was different but the pull was the same. He was the younger brother searching for a compass; Glenn handed him one and then turned the needle. Dawn and Justin became the willing hands to Glenn’s voice: opening accounts, running errands, moving money and bodies, cleaning what couldn’t be explained. Each small step made the next one easier, each “mission” binding them tighter to the story Glenn needed them to believe. By the time the thunder he promised arrived, it sounded less like heaven and more like orders they were too entangled to refuse.

The Schemes of Glenn Helzer

Glenn Taylor Helzer didn’t just preach a mission – he workshopped it like a startup gone rotten. He sketched a self-help empire called “Impact America,” then drafted criminal spin-offs to fund it. One idea, a subsidiary dubbed “Intimacy,” would sell drugs and sex to wealthy businessmen. He, Justin, and Dawn Godman even handed out fliers at all-night dance parties, trying to recruit call girls. It fizzled fast – but the brainstorming didn’t stop.

“Impact America” Becomes Predation

Another pitch veered darker: import underage girls from Brazil – where Glenn had served as a missionary and burnished a reputation as a “prophet” – to seduce married executives and then blackmail them. And then came the most unhinged draft of all: adopt Brazilian orphans, train them as assassins and kill the 15 leaders of the LDS Church so Glenn could take over the institution, fulfilling what he claimed was prophecy.

When fantasy finally met logistics, the trio settled on something “practical”: extortion.

Settling on Extortion

As a former stockbroker/financial adviser, Glenn had a ready-made hit list – retirees with comfortable portfolios who trusted him. The plan was brutally simple: pick an elderly client who’d open the door, extract money and eliminate the witness. The first marks would be Ivan and Annette Stineman.

The Final Element

There was one missing piece: they needed a third party to open bank accounts, deposit checks, and launder the money – someone disposable. Use them, pay them lip service, then kill them too.

The Bridge – Selina Bishop

Selina Bishop fit the plan. Twenty-two, starry-eyed, ready for romance – she met Glenn at a rave in spring 2000. He told her to call him “Jordan.” She was a waitress at the Two Bird Café in San Geronimo, and she told coworkers about her new boyfriend, the mysterious Jordan who wouldn’t share a last name, home phone, or even allow photos. Friends and family bristled; Selina didn’t care. She was in love – exactly where Glenn needed her.

“She Fooled Around and Fell in Love”

By early July, Glenn helped Selina move into a studio apartment. Her mother, Jennifer Villarin (45), had met him only briefly and stayed uneasy. She made an unannounced drop-in at the new place – “just to borrow a blouse” – to size him up. “He’s cute… seems like a real nice kid,” she told an acquaintance afterward, still unconvinced but trying to believe her daughter was safe.

Four Accounts and a Lie

Glenn told Selina he was about to inherit money and needed to hide it from an ex-wife. Selina agreed to open four bank accounts in her name for him – never knowing the inheritance story was a sham and that California law wouldn’t have required “hiding” inherited funds anyway. The real reason was far more sinister: those accounts were the funnel for money tied to the Stinemans. Selina trusted “Jordan” so completely she handed him a key to her apartment as soon as she moved in.

Cracks Begin to Show

In her last weeks, Selina pushed for answers. Jordan ran hot and cold – warm one hour, remote the next. She wanted him to finalize his divorce so they could move forward. Glenn had other priorities: steal the money and neutralize the people who connected him to it.

Tools for a Mission

By then, the logistics were in motion. The reciprocating saw was purchased at Sears. The black duffel bags – the ones the river would not keep – came from K-mart. Glenn called it a mission. In truth, it was a checklist marching toward murder.

Glenn Helzer | The Children of Thunder Murders

Glenn Helzer | A Plan in Motion

Annette Stineman, 78, and her husband Ivan, 85, had been married fifty-five years – quiet, trusting, and living their golden years just a few miles from the Concord house rented by the Helzer brothers and Dawn Godman. They knew Glenn Taylor Helzer as their former stockbroker from Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, a polite young man who’d cultivated their trust: drop-in visits, a summer river-rafting trip with their daughter Nancy Hall, the easy warmth of a friendship built on money talk and manners.

They weren’t Glenn’s first choice. Prosecutors later said he’d listed five former clients as targets; when the man in Walnut Creek (No. 1 on the list) wasn’t home on Sunday, July 30, 2000, the trio moved to the No. 2 slot: the Stinemans.

According to the criminal complaint, the brothers arrived in business suits with briefcases, while Godman waited in a white pickup nearby. They had already purchased shackles from an adult bookstore to immobilize their victims and bring them back to the rental house. The plan was finally in motion.

At the same time, the money pipeline warmed up. A Morgan Stanley Dean Witter branch manager would testify that a woman calling herself Annette Stineman phoned to liquidate accounts. The request, unusual as it was, went through. Prosecutors believe the Stinemans were then forced to drink Rohypnol – slipping in and out of consciousness – while being made to write two checks: $33,000 and $67,000, both payable to Selina Bishop.

Glenn had counted on the sedative to do the killing for him. It didn’t. When the couple kept breathing, the cruelty moved to the bathroom. Justin bashed Ivan’s head against the tile floor. Glenn took a hunting knife to Annette’s throat as Godman watched. “I couldn’t really believe this was happening,” she testified later. “The only thing I could do was pray that the couple would die quickly, so it would just be done and over with.”

The next day, the brothers turned to cleanup. A power saw came out. Glenn, self-anointed leader, had Justin “do most of the dirty work.” “Glenn said he had more important things to do – sit and meditate and listen to the spirit,” Godman told the court. When the cutting was over, the trio knelt beside the parts, and Glenn thanked the Stinemans for “being willing to sacrifice their lives for a greater cause.”

Even the disposal had a plan. They had adopted dogs from a pound to destroy remains; it failed. The fallback: black gym bags, rocks and stepping stones gathered from outside to weigh them down, a grim inventory packed for the river.

With the bodies hidden, they moved the money. On video, Godman rolls into Walnut Creek in a wheelchair, gold cowboy hat flashing, and tells a teller she needs to deposit $100,000 in Selina Bishop’s account immediately – “open-heart surgery,” she explains, money from Selina’s “grandparents,” and she’s just helping the family. The checks cleared. Who cashed them and when remains murky in public records. Some close to the case believe Selina herself deposited funds for Glenn, then hesitated – talked about going to the police. Whether she wavered or not, the outcome for her was already written in Glenn’s script: a witness turned liability.

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What Happened to Elvin Bishop’s Daughter?

Selina Grace Bishop was born on October 17, 1977.

Selina Grace was the daughter of well known American blues and rock-and-roll musician, guitarist, and songwriter Elvin Bishop, and Jennifer Lea “Jenny” Villarin.

Selina had been dating Glenn Helzer, whom prosecutors painted as an innocent victim, killed to keep her from revealing information she had learned about the extortion and murder plot of the Children of Thunder cult.

She was last seen with Glenn Helzer leaving their favorite pub on August 2, 2000

Selina was first hit in the back of the head by a hammer wielded by Justin Helzer. Glenn then drug her body into the bathroom and slit her throat. Justin and Dawn Godman then cut her body into pieces.

Selina’s dismembered body was discovered in a duffle bag that surfaced in the Mokelumne River several days later.

She was just 22 years old.

Find A Grave- Selina Bishop

article continued below

The Final Date

On August 2, 2000, Selina Bishop met her secretive boyfriend “Jordan” (Glenn Taylor Helzer) at Bison Brewing Company in Berkeley – their usual midpoint. He was late, as usual. Selina asked bartender Matt King for change to call him, rolling her eyes.

When Glenn finally arrived, they sat by the window, talking about a planned Yosemite camping trip – Selina hoping the time away might bring them closer. After a short while, King watched them leave together.

The next day, neighbor Kaye Shaman saw a 1984 Honda Accord pull up to the Helzers’ Concord rental. Glenn stepped out with a young woman with long brown hair. He kissed her lightly and led her inside. What happened after came from Dawn Godman’s testimony.

Glenn offered Selina a massage on the family-room carpet. As Selina lay face-down, Justin Helzer entered quietly, a hammer in his hand and struck her head several times. Still alive, Selina was carried to the bathroom – the same room where the Stinemans had been killed. Glenn lifted her by her hair so Godman could see her face. He then cut her throat with a hunting knife.

Godman later testified Glenn had always planned to kill Selina. She had been the money bridge, nothing more.

They Just Knew Too Much

Selina had introduced “Jordan” to her mother, Jennifer Villarin (45) – a kind gesture that, in Glenn’s calculus, became a liability. Villarin knew where Selina lived, knew about the accounts, and could identify Glenn.

In the pre-dawn hours that followed, Glenn used the key Selina had given him to enter her Woodacre studio. Villarin wasn’t alone. James Gamble (54), a patron from the Papermill Creek Saloon where she bartended, was there too. Glenn crept to the bed and fired a 9mm at point-blank range, killing them both.

Upstairs neighbor and landlord James Soladay awoke to gunfire, heard footsteps and a car peel away, and descended to a scene that would haunt him – two motionless bodies on the bed. He dialed 911.

Glenn Helzer | The Children of Thunder Murders

Missing Persons, Same Day

On August 4, the Stinemans’ daughter reported her parents missing. Hours later, when Selina Bishop didn’t show for her shift, friends filed a missing-person report with the Marin County Sheriff’s Office. Two families, two calls, one timeline beginning to braid.

Jet Skis and Duffel Bags

That same day, neighbor Kaye Shaman saw her mysterious Saddlewood Court neighbors in a truck towing Jet Skis with duffel bags piled in the bed – and another duffel resting on the passenger’s lap. A bridge camera later captured a vehicle matching Justin Helzer’s truck crossing the San Joaquin River, towing Jet Skis. Prosecutors would argue it was the run to the Mokelumne to dump the bags.

The Abandoned Minivan

On Sunday, August 6, the Stinemans’ minivan turned up in an Oakland industrial area. Inside: a chainsaw and a sawhorse. Latent prints tied the vehicle to Justin Helzer and Dawn Godman.

Kool-Aid

Later that day, a professional carpet cleaner arrived at the Helzer house to tackle a large red stain in the living room. As he worked, Justin and Godman sat in the kitchen, snacking and watching.
“Maybe it’s Kool-Aid,” cleaner Hazem Belal offered.
“Yeah, it’s Kool-Aid,” Justin replied.

The Warrant and the Knock

Early the next morning, deputies served a search warrant at Saddlewood Court, looking for the 9mm used to kill Jennifer Villarin and James Gamble. Bishop’s coworkers had already told them about the secretive boyfriend “Jordan.” Inside, officers found ecstasy, hallucinogenic mushrooms, and paraphernalia – but no gun. The trio was taken on drug charges as the search continued.

Glenn Runs, Badly

While investigators moved room to room, Glenn bolted out the back, forced his way into a neighbor’s home and demanded a weapon. She handed him a steak knife and sewing scissors. He cut off his ponytail, changed into her husband’s clothes and fled. Deputies caught him a few blocks away, stuffed him into a squad car – then he dove out the open rear window and ran again. They brought him down a second time.

The House Tells Its Story

Back inside, investigators found news tape recordings about Selina’s disappearance, evidence linking the trio to the Stinemans, and in Justin’s pickup, handcuffs and leg irons. The picture was no longer theory; it was inventory.

The River Rises

Later that day, the first two duffel bags surfaced on the Mokelumne River – one with a human head, another with a torso. More bags followed, nine in all. Forensics at the Contra Costa County Crime Lab used DNA to confirm what dental records had begun to suggest.

The Remains

“The remains we have found have been dismembered and co-mingled in the bags,” county coroner Paul Smith said. “It’s pretty horrific.” He noted the mixing likely aimed to impede identification – a final insult layered onto murder.

A Tasteless Coda

Weeks later, in jail awaiting his court date, Glenn Taylor Helzer tried to sell the story of his murder spree for $400,000. No one bought it.

Trials, Deals, and Verdicts

At a two-week preliminary hearing in December 2001, prosecutors laid the case out piece by piece: receipts for a hand-held power saw, shackles bought at a sex shop, ski masks from a sporting-goods store, and several “plans of action” written by Glenn Helzer that mapped the extortion scheme in chilling detail.

Glenn and Justin Helzer, along with Dawn Godman, were each charged with 18 felonies, including murder, extortion, and kidnapping. Debra McClanahan – a former Mormon and friend of Godman – testified that she had provided an alibi for the trio the night the Stinemans were taken, buying four tickets to X-Men at Glenn’s direction and initially telling investigators the group had gone to dinner and a movie. When she learned what had actually happened, she turned over a safe stored in her apartment containing a 9-mm handgun, drugs, and Stineman property, admitting she had lied out of “loyalty, fear, love, disbelief and denial.”

Confronted with overwhelming evidence, Godman struck a deal: she pled guilty to five counts of murder and agreed to testify against the Helzer brothers in exchange for avoiding the death penalty and receiving a sentence of 38 years to life.

In March 2004, Glenn entered a surprise guilty plea; his attorney delivered an impromptu confession that stunned the courtroom. On June 16, a jury convicted Justin Helzer on 11 counts – including murder, extortion and kidnapping – and he pursued a not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity defense.

A jail psychiatrist testified that Justin believed Glenn was a prophet and could not comprehend the moral wrongfulness of the killings. The jury was unmoved. In July, just before the penalty phase, Justin erupted in court – “I want this life to be over. I want to die.” On August 4, 2004 – four years to the day after the final murders – he was sentenced to death for three killings and to life terms for the other two.

On December 15, 2004, a separate jury returned five death sentences for Glenn Helzer. Prison records list Glenn Taylor Helzer as a condemned inmate housed on death row at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California.

Source: murderpedia | dailymotion.com | CA Dept. of Corrections | findagrave | Wikipedia

📚 Additional Resources

• California Supreme Court opinion in People v. Glen Taylor Helzer (case background, facts, and procedural history). Scocal
• PEOPLE’s case overview tied to the People Magazine Investigates episode (clear narrative of the murders and cult context). People.com+1
• SFGATE on Justin Helzer’s 2013 death at San Quentin (aftermath/case closure details). SFGATE

📚 Further Reading / Watching

• Robert Scott, Unholy Sacrifice – the definitive book-length account of the Children of Thunder murders.
• Ben Oakley, Bizarre True Crime, Vol. 16 – includes a chapter explicitly on the “Children of Thunder” cult.
• Occult Crimes – S1 E1 “Children of Thunder” primevideo.com
• Wicked Attraction – S3 “Deadly Disciple” (season available on Prime; episode covers the Helzers). Amazon
• People Magazine Investigates – S3 E11 “Children of Thunder” (Prime listing via Amazon/Discovery networks). Amazon

This site contains affiliate links. We may, at no cost to you, receive a commission for purchases made through these links. Thank you for your support.

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Related WickedWe Cases

• Leonard Lake / Bad Enough On His Own / Add Ng and Go Straight To Hell
• Jeffrey Lundgren / The Kirtland Massacre / Mass Murder of Mormons

👉 This page is part of the WickedWe True Crime Archive – a resource for researchers, students, and true crime enthusiasts seeking verified facts, case records, and deeper historical context. [Disclaimer→ WickedWe.com is an educational/entertainment column only. No graphic imagery. Victim-respect policy. Nothing herein is legal advice.

• Dawn Godman – She’s serving 38-years-to-life in CDCR custody and is housed at Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF), Chowchilla. At her initial parole suitability hearing on Jan 16, 2025, the Board denied parole for 3 years, which means her next hearing window is around Jan 2028 unless advanced. SFGATE+2CDCR+2
• Glenn Taylor Helzer – He remains under a death sentence. The California Supreme Court affirmed his judgment on Jan 22, 2024 (People v. Helzer, S132256), and the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari on Oct 7, 2024 (No. 23-7295). California, however, has a statewide execution moratorium (Executive Order N-09-19, Mar 13, 2019), and CDCR has dispersed condemned inmates under the Condemned Inmate Transfer Program-so no execution date or warrant is in play while the moratorium stands. A state habeas petition (In re Glen Taylor Helzer, S283398) is pending, which is another reason he’s not currently “looking at” an execution date. Supreme Court+7Justia Law+7SCOTUS at Stanford+7

Roll Card – Snapshot

• Status: Condemned in CDCR custody; California has a statewide execution moratorium (Exec. Order N-09-19, Mar 13, 2019). No execution date or window. Governor of California+1
• Convictions & Sentence: Five first-degree murders with special circumstances (robbery/kidnapping; witness-killing), plus related counts → death sentence (jury penalty verdict Dec 2004; judgment entered Mar 11, 2005). SFGATE+1
• Case ID: People v. Helzer, S132256 — affirmed by the California Supreme Court (Jan 22, 2024); SCOTUS cert. denied (Oct 7, 2024, No. 23-7295). SCOTUS at Stanford+1
• Current Housing Note: Under CDCR’s Condemned Inmate Transfer Program (CITP), condemned inmates can be housed at designated prisons outside San Quentin; death sentences remain in force. CDCR+2CDCR+2

Docket Map – Proceedings (Condensed)

• Jul–Aug 2000: Five murders tied to extortion/identity-theft scheme; dismembered remains in Mokelumne River duffels; arrests Aug 7, 2000. (Facts summarized in CA Supreme Court opinion.) SCOTUS at Stanford
• Dec 2004: Jury returns five death verdicts for Glen Taylor Helzer. SFGATE+1
• Mar 11, 2005: Contra Costa Superior Court enters judgment of death (People v. Helzer, No. 012057-6). Supreme Court
• Jan 22, 2024: California Supreme Court affirms the judgment (automatic appeal). SCOTUS at Stanford+1
• Oct 7, 2024: U.S. Supreme Court denies certiorari (No. 23-7295) – direct review concluded. Supreme Court
• State Habeas: In re Glen Taylor Helzer, S283398 – filed Jan 12–13, 2024; pending. Supreme Court+1

Co-Defendants – Disposition

• Justin Helzer: Death sentence; died by suicide at San Quentin (Apr 14, 2013). SFGATE+1
• Dawn Godman: Plea deal; 38-years-to-life; testified for the state at penalty phase. SFGATE

Execution Window | Monitoring (California)

• Operational Reality: Executions are on hold statewide under Newsom’s 2019 order; chamber closed and protocol withdrawn. No warrants are being set while the moratorium stands. Governor of California+1

Case File Extras – What the Record Shows

• “Plans of action,” receipts, and tools: The opinion catalogs written plans, receipts for a hand-held power saw, shackles, ski masks, and other physical evidence tying the trio to abductions, killings, and disposal. SCOTUS at Stanford
• Special-circumstance findings: Robbery/kidnapping in the Stinemans’ murders; witness-killing in Selina Bishop’s murder; additional counts affirmed on appeal. SCOTUS at Stanford

Source Pack

• California Supreme Court (Published Opinion, 1/22/2024): People v. Helzer, S132256 – facts, special circumstances, disposition. SCOTUS at Stanford+1
• SCOTUS Docket: Helzer v. California, No. 23-7295 – cert denied Oct 7, 2024. Supreme Court
• SFGATE: Justin Helzer hangs himself in prison (Apr 16, 2013). SFGATE
• SFGATE: Godman sentenced to 38-to-life (May 3, 2005). SFGATE
• CDCR: Condemned Inmate Transfer Program – death-row dispersal policy (moratorium context). CDCR

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