Oakland: Serial killer sentenced to life without parole

By Malaika Fraley - Eastbaytimes.com

January 20, 2017

Oakland — An Oakland serial killer was sentenced Friday to life without the possibility of parole for killing three women in hammer attacks in 1989 and 1991.

Michael Monert, 50, confessed to killing several women after DNA testing in 2012 linked him to the July 28, 1991 slaying of Pamela Sanders, 33, in Oakland.

Oakland police then used details that Monert provided about his other murders to determine he also killed Debra Lynne Adkins, 29, on Oct. 1, 1989, and 37-year-old Janice Flahiff on May 20, 1991. All the women were killed in Oakland by being struck in the head with a hammer. Monert, a former grocer and bartender raised in Oakland, told police he believed the women were prostitutes.

An Alameda County jury in December convicted Monert of one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder. The special allegation of multiple murders made life in prison without the possibility of parole the mandated sentence.

Monert’s attorney argued that Monert suffers from a delusional disorder and falsely confessed to the murders.

People v Michael Jose Monert

Alameda County District Attorney's Office

January 11, 2017

On December 14, 2016, a jury found defendant Michael Jose Monert guilty of the first degree murder of Pamela Sanders, the second degree murder of Debra Adkins, and the second degree murder of Janice Flahiff, plus enhancements.

Defendant Monert was a serial murderer of prostitutes in Oakland during the late 1980s and early 90s. While awaiting trial for the murder of Pamela Sanders, Defendant Monert confessed to murdering two more women. During his confessions he provided details that only the killer would know. Some of these details included the manner of death, location of where the murders took place, and where he dumped the bodies.

In October 1989, Defendant Monert picked up victim Debra Adkins on International Boulevard and took her back to his home. When they were in his room, Defendant Monert hit Ms Adkins numerous times on the head with a hammer.

He then transported her body and dumped it above Skyline Boulevard, face down, near the entry to Roberts Regional Park. She was naked from the waist down with a rope draped loosely over her. He returned home and cleaned up Ms Adkins’ blood.

In May 1991, Defendant Monert picked up Janice Flahiff and drove her to Courtland Avenue, Oakland. While they were in the truck, Defendant Monert hit her on the head with a small hammer and dumped her body outside his truck.

At the time, Courtland Avenue was a dead-end street. This necessitated doing a three point turn to leave the area. In his haste to flee the area, he ran over the body of the victim. Ms Flahiff’s autopsy found tire tread marks on her leg. Ms Flahiff's fully clothed body was found lying face up.

In July 1991, Defendant Monert lured Ms Sanders into a local market he was working at. When Ms Sanders followed him into the rear of the store, Monert grabbed a hammer and struck her repeatedly in the head. He then cleaned up Ms Sanders’ blood and transported and dumped her body a few blocks away.

Mr Monert returned to the scene of the crime, where he and his unknowing girlfriend slept in the same area he had murdered Ms Sanders an hour before. The following morning, a man walking to West Oakland BART found the body of Pamela Sanders laying in the street. Her body was naked from the waist down and she wrapped in two large garbage bags. She had been beaten about her head.

Defendant Michael Jose Monert is scheduled to be sentenced on January 20, 2017. He will be sentenced to Life Without the Possibility of Parole.

The case was prosecuted by DDA Butch Ford with assistance from DA Inspector Cesar Basa and Victim-Witness Advocate Stephanie Lynch.

Oakland serial killer convicted of killing women in hammer attacks decades ago

Michael Monert, 50, convicted of killing three women; He says he killed four

By Malaika Fraley - Eastbaytimes.com

December 14, 2016

Oakland — Michael Monert, described by authorities as a serial killer who escaped justice for over two decades, was convicted Wednesday of special circumstance murder in the hammer attack killings of three Oakland women in 1989 and 1991.

Monert, 50, told police that he killed four women, but authorities said they could not identify the fourth woman, the one that Monert claimed to have strangled. His attorney argued he didn’t kill anyone, and his confession was based on the mentally ill man’s delusions.

An Alameda County jury deliberated for less than two days before finding Monert guilty on Wednesday of first-degree murder in the July 29, 1991 slaying of 33-year-old Pamela Sanders, and two counts of second-degree murder for killing 29 -year-old Debra Lynne Adkins on Oct. 1, 1989, and 37-year-old Janice Flahiff on May 20, 1991. A special allegation that he committed multiple murders makes Monert ineligible for parole.

He is scheduled to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole by Judge Kevin Murphy on Jan. 20.

Monert was a registered sex offender living in Hayward in 2012 when Oakland cold case investigators matched his fingerprints to those left on plastic bags wrapped around Sanders’ body, which had been dumped on 24th Street not far from Monert’s workplace.

Monert told police he lured Sanders into the back of the store around closing time and then bludgeoned her to death with a hammer. He said he believed she, and his other victims, were prostitutes.

He made the confession that he killed Sanders and three other women to police in 2013 as he was awaiting trial for Sanders’ murder. He could not give names or dates, but the information led to police solving the killings of Debra Lynne Adkins and Janice Flahiff, according to prosecutor Butch Ford.

Adkins was Monert’s first known victim. He killed her with a hammer in his bedroom on Oct. 1, 1989, a few days before his 20th birthday, and then dumped her body on Skyline Boulevard not far from his alma mater, Skyline High School. Monert told police they would find her blood soaked in the floorboards in his aunt’s former house on Paxton Avenue, and they did.

Monert said he killed Flahiff with a hammer in a truck in a truck stopped in a residential neighborhood. She was still alive when police found her on the 2100 block of Courtland Avenue. Monert said he ran her over while fleeing the scene.

Monert suffers from a delusional disorder, possibly from a brain injury he suffered in 2002, according to attorneys. He was found by a judge to be competent to stand trial after his first trial this year ended in a mistrial because of questions over whether he was mentally fit for prosecution.

Case against alleged Oakland serial killer is an ‘illusion,’ attorney says

Michael Monert, 50, is accused of killing three woman from 1989 to 1991

By Malaika Fraley - Eastbaytimes.com

December 14, 2016

Oakland — Jury deliberations began Monday at the triple murder trial for an alleged Oakland serial killer who confessed to killing three women in 1989 and 1991, each time bludgeoning his victim in the head with a hammer and then dumping her body on a roadway.

But a defense attorney, Todd Bequette, argued Monday that the prosecution’s case against 50-year-old Michael Monert is “an illusion,” spurred by the mentally ill former bartender’s delusional disorder.

“The reality is police took the delusional ramblings of a mentally disabled person and culled through hundreds of police reports … so they could match his delusions to the crimes,” Bequette said in his closing argument.

Prosecutor Butch Ford said the evidence is strong that Monert is a serial killer who preyed on women he believed were prostitutes.

Monert was a registered sex offender for an attempted rape conviction when cold case investigators in 2012 matched his finger and palm prints to those left on plastic bags that wrapped the body of 33-year-old Pamela Sanders.

Monert said he was working at an Oakland market on July 29, 1991 when he lured Sanders in around closing time, killed her in the back of the store, and then dumped her body nearby. Police found Sanders’ body nude from the waist down and wrapped in garbage bags in the 900 block of 24th Street, not far from Monert’s former employer.

Bequette argued that Monert gave a false confession to Sanders’ murder after hearing the details of her killing after his preliminary hearing. He suggested that Monert passed Sanders’ dead body after leaving work and draped the garbage bags on top of her, after she was killed by a violent gang member with whom she was involved.

Monert was awaiting trial for Sanders’ murder in 2013 when he summoned detectives to tell them he killed Sanders and three others. Police determined two of the victims, both killed with hammers, were Janice Flahiff and Debra Lynne Adkins, but a fourth woman that Monert claims to have strangled was never identified or linked to any known case.

Adkins, 29, was found dead Oct. 1, 1989, at the entrance to Roberts Regional Park on Skyline Boulevard. Monert told police he killed her with a hammer inside the bedroom of his aunt’s house on Paxton Avenue and then dumped her body near Skyline High School, from which he graduated in 1983.

Police later recovered Adkins’ DNA from blood soaked in the floorboards at the Paxton house. His attorney argued there is no evidence he ever lived there.

“Her DNA is in his bedroom 20 years later,” Ford said. “No amount of delusions could cause that.”

Monert said he killed Flahiff with a hammer in a truck when she tried to orally copulate him. She was still alive when police found her dumped in a residential neighborhood, in the 2100 block of Courtland Avenue. Monert said he ran her over while fleeing the scene, a detail about the killing that had never been released to the public.

His attorney said Flahiff was seen alive with a drug dealer after Monert claims to have killed her.

Monert faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted as charged. His first trial for the three killings earlier this year ended in a mistrial because of concerns over whether he was mentally fit for prosecution. He was deemed competent by a judge in November after a hearing on his mental health.

Man found competent to stand trial for three Oakland hammer attack killings

Bay City News

Monday, November 14, 2016

It took a jury only two hours Monday to decide that a 50-year-old former bartender is mentally competent to stand trial on three counts of murder for the brutal hammer attack killings of three women in Oakland more than 25 years ago.

The jury's verdict means that Michael Monert will have a second trial beginning Nov. 30 on three counts of murder and the special circumstance of committing multiple murders for the deaths of the women in 1989 and 1991.

Monert's first trial began on May 17 but at the request of Monert's attorney, Todd Bequette, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Kevin Murphy declared a mistrial two days later based on Monert's courtroom conduct, which included talking during opening statements in the case.

Prosecutor Butch Ford said the killings of the three women had gone unsolved for more than 20 years, but in 2012 Monert was arrested and charged with the murder of Pamela Sanders on July 29, 1991, after his fingerprints, which were on file for a separate sexual assault case in Oregon, were matched to those found on a tarp that was covering her body.

After undergoing a preliminary hearing and being ordered to stand trial for Sanders' death, Monert sent a note to bailiffs at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin in December 2013 saying that he wanted to make a full confession, Ford said.

Monert then provided Oakland police Officer Herb Sanders, who was investigating the case, with details about Sanders' death and also said he had killed 29-year-old Debra Lynn Adkins at the entrance to Roberts Regional Recreation Area on Skyline Boulevard on Oct. 1, 1989, and 37-year-old Janie Flahiff on May 20, 1991, according to Ford.

Monert was charged with the additional murders in January 2014 but then a long legal odyssey began.

Criminal proceedings against Monert were suspended later in 2014 for him to be mentally evaluated but in 2015 he was found to be mentally competent to stand trial.

After Murphy declared a mistrial in May, he ordered another psychiatrist to examine Monert even though he'd already been examined by a number of other psychiatrists over the years.

His competency trial, which began last week, featured testimony by several psychologists.

In his closing argument in the competency trial Monday, Ford told jurors that they should find Monert to be competent because that is what five of the seven psychiatrists who've examined him have said.

Ford admitted that Monert often acts up in court, as Monert did Monday when he disrupted the argument by his own attorney Todd Bequette. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Kevin Murphy ejected him from the courtroom.

But Ford told jurors, "Focus on what he (Monert) is saying, which is rational."

However, Bequette said Monert should be found incompetent because he's not able to assist him in presenting the defense's case.

"He's demanding that I pursue an irrational defense," Bequette said.

The defense attorney said one of the key issues in the case is that Monert suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was physically assaulted in 2002. He said that triggered a delusional disorder that falsely convinced Monert that he had killed the three women who are listed as the victims in the case.

Bequette said Monert's explanation for the reason he confessed "is not rational" because Monert claims he was given a drug that made him confess and he was tortured in his jail cell by the jail's intercom.

In his opening statement in Monert's trial in May, Ford said Monert was "a serial killer" who lured women he believed were prostitutes, killed them by hitting them in the head with a hammer and then dumped their bodies in secluded parts of Oakland.

Ford said that when Monert made his confession, he revealed information only the killer would know.

But Bequette said, "The criminal justice system is prosecuting an innocent man," saying he believes Monert's delusional disorder is the reason he confessed.

After the jury ruled that Monert is competent to stand trial, Bequette asked Murphy to reverse the verdict based on his opinion that there was no factual basis for it or it was contrary to the law. Murphy will rule on that motion.

In another development after the verdict, Monert asked that he be allowed to represent himself and Murphy said he will hold a hearing on that issue on Thursday.

Shortly before that, four armed bailiffs temporarily removed Monert from the courtroom when he ignored an order by one of the bailiffs that he stop talking to Murphy's court reporter while Murphy was in his chambers researching a legal issue in the case.

Monert tried to push a heavy wooden chair at the deputies during the encounter and shouted, "I'm trying to have a conversation here!" and, "I've never been so insulted in my life!"

Oakland judge orders third doctor to examine accused serial killer

Bay City News

July 1, 2016

Oakland — A judge Friday ordered a third psychiatrist to examine a 49-year-old former bartender who’s accused of killing three women in Oakland more than 20 years ago because the first two psychiatrists who recently examined him disagreed about whether he’s competent to stand trial.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Kevin Murphy said one of the psychiatrists who examined Michael Monert, 49, recently concluded that he isn’t mentally competent to stand trial but the other psychiatrist who saw Monert said that he was competent.

Murphy told Monert, “We have to have a third doctor examine you to give a third opinion” that would break the tie.

However, Monert said, “I see no reason to talk to another doctor,” saying that he has already been examined by eight psychiatrists over the years.

Monert, who was guarded by two bailiffs during his hearing Friday, told Murphy, “Don’t waste the court’s time.”

Murphy said it’s up to Monert to decide if he wants to cooperate with the third psychiatrist but said if Monert doesn’t talk to the psychiatrist his case can’t proceed to a trial.

Monert is charged with three counts of murder and the special circumstance of committing multiple murders in the alleged hammer attack killings of three women between 1989 and 1991.

Monert went on trial for the killings on May 17 but Murphy declared a mistrial the next day at the request of Monert’s attorney, Todd Bequette, who said his conduct in court, which included interrupting attorneys during their opening statements, indicated he couldn’t assist in his defense and was incompetent to stand trial.

Criminal proceedings against Monert previously were suspended in 2014 so he could be mentally evaluated but in 2015 he was found to be mentally competent to stand trial.

Bequette said Monert suffers from a delusional disorder because of a traumatic brain injury that he suffered when he was physically assaulted in 2002 and “the stresses of his trial” seemed to exacerbate his symptoms.

In his opening statement in Monert’s trial, prosecutor Butch Ford said Monert was “a serial killer” who lured women he believed were prostitutes, killed them by hitting them in the head with a hammer and then dumped their bodies in secluded parts of Oakland.

Ford said the killings of the three women had gone unsolved for more than 20 years, but in 2012 Monert was arrested and charged with the murder of Pamela Sanders in the 900 block of West Oakland on July 29, 1991, after his fingerprints, which were on file for a separate sexual assault case in Oregon, were matched to those found on a tarp that was covering her body.

After undergoing a preliminary hearing and being ordered to stand trial for Sanders’ death, Monert sent a note to bailiffs at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin in December 2013 saying that he wanted to make “a full confession,” Ford said.

Monert then provided Oakland police Officer Herb Sanders, who was investigating the case, with details about Sanders’ death and also said he had killed 29-year-old Debra Lynn Adkins at the entrance to Roberts Regional Recreation Area on Skyline Boulevard on Oct. 1, 1989, and 37-year-old Janie Flahiff on May 20, 1991, according to Ford.

Monert was charged with the additional murders in January 2014.

Ford said that when Monert made his confession he revealed information only the killer would know.

But Bequette said in his opening statement that, “The criminal justice system is prosecuting an innocent man” and that because of his delusional disorder Monert became falsely convinced that he had killed the three women.

Bequette said Monert’s confession is filled with “grandiose delusions” and should be disregarded.

Murphy ruled before Monert’s trial began that his confession could be admitted as evidence but Monert told the judge Friday that he believes his confession is “unconstitutional” and should be thrown out.

Monert also said, “I want another lawyer” because he’s unhappy with Bequette.

However, Murphy didn’t act on Monert’s request and maintained Bequette as his attorney.

Mistrial Declared for Michael Monert Accused of Allegedly Murdering 3 Woman 20 Years Ago

Fugitive.com

May 20, 2016

A mistrial has been declared for a 49-year-old former bartender who’s charged with three counts of murder for the brutal hammer attack killings of three women in Oakland more than 20 years ago.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Kevin Murphy declared the mistrial for Michael Monert on Wednesday, which was only the second day of his trial, at the request of his attorney, Todd Bequette, based on Monert’s conduct in court, which included talking during opening statements in his case.

Murphy scheduled a hearing for June 16 to determine if Monert, who is charged with three counts of murder and the special circumstance of committing multiple murders, is able to understand what is going on in court and can rationally participate in his own defense. Bequette said today that two psychiatrists will now examine Monert to determine if he’s mentally incompetent. Criminal proceedings against Monert were suspended in 2014 for him to be mentally evaluated but in 2015 he was found to be mentally competent to stand trial.

Bequette said Monert suffers from a delusional disorder because of a traumatic brain injury that he suffered when he was physically assaulted in 2002 and “the stresses of his trial” seemed to exacerbate his symptoms.

In his opening statement in Monert’s trial on Tuesday, prosecutor Butch Ford said Monert was “a serial killer” who lured women he believed were prostitutes, killed them by hitting them in the head with a hammer and then dumped their bodies in secluded parts of Oakland.

Ford said the killings of the three women had gone unsolved for more than 20 years, but in 2012 Monert was arrested and charged with the murder of Pamela Sanders in the 900 block of West Oakland on July 29, 1991, after his fingerprints, which were on file for a separate sexual assault case in Oregon, were matched to those found on a tarp that was covering her body.

After undergoing a preliminary hearing and being ordered to stand trial for Sander’s death, Monert sent a note to bailiffs at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin in December 2013 saying that he wanted to make “a full confession,” Ford said.

Monert then provided Oakland police Officer Herb Sanders, who was investigating the case, with details about Sanders’ death and also said he had killed 29-year-old Debra Lynn Adkins at the entrance to Roberts Regional Recreation Area on Skyline Boulevard on Oct. 1, 1989, and 37-year-old Janie Flahiff on May 20, 1991, according to Ford.

Monert was charged with the additional murders in January 2014. Ford said that when Monert made his confession he revealed information only the killer would know. For example, a pathologist who examined Flahiff in 2014 confirmed that she died from the injuries she suffered when she was hit in the head with a hammer but also noticed that she had marks on her legs that looked like tire marks, according to Ford.

When investigators asked Monert about the marks, he said he had inadvertently driven over her because he had “freaked out” and wanted to quickly get out of the area where he had dumped her body, Ford said.

Monert also told investigators that they would find Adkins’ blood underneath the carpet at his former home on Paxton Avenue and when police went there 25 years after she was killed they indeed found her blood, Ford said. But Monert’s lawyer, Todd Bequette, said in his opening statement that, “The criminal justice system is prosecuting an innocent man” and that because of his delusional disorder he became falsely convinced that he had killed the three women.

Bequette said the only physical evidence against Monert is that his fingerprints were found on the tarp that covered Sanders’ body and said the innocent explanation for that is because he was living in the neighborhood at the time and touched the tarp after she was already dead.

Bequette said Monert’s confession is filled with “grandiose delusions” and should be disregarded. In addition, Bequette said, “There’s pretty strong evidence” that another man who was initially the prime suspect in the case is the person who killed Sanders in 1991.

Prosecutor: Serial killer confessed to beating women to death in Oakland cold case murders

By Angela Ruggiero - Eastbaytimes.com

May 17, 2016

Oakland — A man accused of killing three women in Oakland more than 20 years ago pointed investigators to evidence that only he would know about, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

“The evidence will show that, this man right here, is a serial killer,” said prosecutor Butch Ford, pointing to the defendant in Alameda County Superior Court during opening statements.

Michael Monert, 49, is accused of killing three women in the 1980s and 1990s in Oakland — Debra Adkins, 29, found Oct. 1, 1989 at the entrance of Roberts Regional Park on Skyline Boulevard; Janice Flahiff, 37, found May 20, 1991 on the 2100 block of Courtland Avenue in East Oakland; and Pamela Sanders on July 29, 1991 on the 900 block of 24th Street.

Each slaying was conducted in the same way — lure women he believed were prostitutes, then hit them with on the head with hammer until they bled out and then dump their bodies in secluded areas of the city, said Ford.

Monert wasn’t arrested on Sanders’ cold case until 2013, after Oakland Officer Herb Webber linked Monert to the case with DNA evidence. His fingerprints, which were on file from a separate Oregon sexual assault case, were found on the tarp that covered her body, Ford said. While Monert was in jail awaiting trial, he told Alameda County Sheriff’s deputies something that was “a bit of a surprise,” Ford said.

“I would like to make a full confession regarding my case. Thank you,” read a note that Monert sent to deputies.

It was then that Monert allegedly told investigators about two other murders he had committed, revealing information only the killer would know. For example, in Flahiff’s death, he allegedly said he ran over her body when he was trying to make a turn on Courtland Avenue. Flahiff had tire marks on her body — a detail that was not made public, Ford said.

Monert also told investigators that if they went to his old home Paxton Street and lifted the carpet of his room there — they would find Adkins’ blood, Ford said. Investigators did just that and found traces of blood from 25 years ago.

Monert, wearing an untucked short-sleeve shirt and dark slacks, stood as the jury entered the courtroom Tuesday nodding at them and smiling as they passed him. Ford said that in Monert’s December 2013 confession, he appeared almost cordial to investigators and even stated that he felt terrible for what he had done.

But Monert’s defense attorney, Todd Bequette argued on Tuesday that Monert wasn’t responsible for Sanders’ death. Monert suffers from delusional disorder, Bequette said.

Monert couldn’t tell police what race the women were that he allegedly killed, or what month or year the murders took place, Bequette argued. He also made statements that he believed he was going to be electrocuted by investigators.

Criminal proceedings had to be suspended for Monert after he was charged with the additional two murders in 2014 so he could be mentally evaluated. He was found to be mentally competent in 2015.

During the opening statements on Tuesday, Judge Kevin Murphy had to tell Monert to be quiet on several occasions when he tried to speak over both attorneys.

“The mental health system failed Monert,” Bequette said. “And now the criminal justice system is prosecuting an innocent man.”

Criminal proceedings to begin for man charged with three Oakland cold case killings

By Harry Harris and Angela Ruggiero - Mercurynews.com

April 1, 2016

Oakland — After more than two years of psychiatric evaluations that deemed him mentally competent and other continuances, a 49-year-old former bartender and registered sex offender will face criminal prosecution in the killings of three women in Oakland more than 20 years ago, authorities said.

Michael Monert, who has been in custody since September 2012, is charged with three counts of murder and the special circumstance of multiple killings that happened between 1989 and 1991. Authorities believe he could be responsible for other killings.

According to authorities and court records, Monert has admitted to the killings he is charged with, providing details only the killer would know, with bludgeoning the main method of death. He believed the women were prostitutes.

The cases Monert is charged with are:

Pamela Sanders, found July 29, 1991, on the 900 block of 24th Street in West Oakland.

Janice Flahiff, 37, found May 20, 1991, on the 2100 block of Courtland Avenue in East Oakland.

Debra Lynn Adkins, 29, found Oct. 1, 1989, at the entrance to Roberts Regional Park on Skyline Boulevard in the Oakland hills.

He is scheduled for a court appearance for the three killings on April 11. He is being held without bail.

Officer Herb Webber, the lead investigator in the cases, said the Sanders killing led to the other women being identified as suspected Monert victims.

Sanders was found with her head bashed in covered with debris. She was killed elsewhere and her body dumped on the street. Fingerprints were found at the scene but none could be matched at the time.

Webber took over the investigation as part of the “cold case” team in 2012.

He learned Monert’s fingerprints had been put on file after an Oregon sexual assault conviction that mandated he register as a sex offender. His prints matched those found at the scene where Sanders was found.

Monert was arrested in September 2012 in Hayward where he lived at the time and was charged with Sanders’ killing. He would not talk to police then.

After a preliminary examination he was ordered to stand trial for the killing and was being held at Santa Rita Jail.

Webber continued to sift through cold cases looking for other similar killings and in December 2013 got help from an unexpected source: Monert.

Monert told Santa Rita deputies he wanted to make a full confession to his “cases.” According to court records he talked freely to police about the killings. He said he believed all the women were prostitutes but that he never had sex with them.

He admitted killing Sanders in a San Pablo Avenue produce market where he worked at the time before dumping her on 24th Street.

He said he picked up a woman later identified as Flahiff on International Boulevard and drove her to the 2100 block of Courtland Avenue in East Oakland. He said he hit her with a hammer, pushed her body onto the street and ran over her with his truck. Autopsy records confirmed she was hit in the head and there were tire marks on her body.

The slaying of Adkins was confirmed using Oakland Tribune archives.

Authorities said Monert admitted picking up a woman later identified as Adkins on International Boulevard on the pretext of having sex and driving her to a house on Paxton Street in East Oakland where he then lived. There, he bashed her head in, leaving a pool of her blood on the floor before dumping her in the Oakland hills, authorities said.

The case was not in the Oakland homicide unit records. But a clipping about the death and where Adkins was discovered at the Roberts Park entrance was found in Tribune archives at the Hayward Area Historical Society.

East Bay Regional Park District police first handled the case but turned their investigation over to Oakland police.

The blood found on the floor of the Paxton Street house was later determined to be Adkins’, authorities said.

Monert was charged with the additional murders in January 2014 but soon after court proceedings started, they were suspended for him to be mentally evaluated. He was found to be mentally competent in 2015 but there were other continuances since then.

Michael Jose Monert