Homeland Man Sentenced for Murder of Woman 33 Years Ago

Menifee247.com

August 16, 2013

A Homeland man was sentenced today to 25 years to life in prison for the murder of a Hemet woman 33 years ago.

Shelby Glenn Shamblin, 49, was convicted in June of first-degree murder in the 1980 death of 67-year-old Elizabeth Crossman in her home in Hemet. He was sentenced today by judge Patrick Magers in Riverside Superior Court.

According to a press release by the District Attorney's Office, Shamblin was 17 years old when he murdered Crossman inside her home on Florida Avenue on Jan. 17, 1980. The victim died of strangulation. At the time of the murder, detectives had biological samples taken from the victim's body.

The victim's husband told detectives he had hired the stepson of an employee to do odd jobs around the house and identified that person as Shamblin. Detectives were unable to gather enough evidence to connect Shamblin to the murder at that time.

In 2002, Hemet detectives forwarded biological samples in the murder to the Department of Justice for analysis. Results were entered in a national database of DNA profiles but did not result in any suspect for murder.

In 2011, Hemet police detectives were notified that the sample submitted in 2002 had produced a match to Shamblin. His DNA had recently been entered into the national system for the first time following a drug arrest at his Homeland residence in 2010. Shamblin was arrested in connection with the Crossman murder on Feb. 2, 2011.

Jury convicts man in 33-year-old murder case

A jury convicts Shelby Glenn Shamblin of killing Elizabeth Crossman, of Hemet, in 1980

By Michael J. Williams - Pe.com

June 25, 2013

A jury has found a Homeland man guilty of first-degree murder in the 1980 slaying of a 67-year-old woman in her Hemet home.

Shelby Glenn Shamblin, 50, faces a punishment of 25 years to life in prison after the 10-men, 2-women jury convicted him Tuesday, June 25, at Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 16.

More than three decades have passed since Elizabeth Crossman’s husband found her lying naked and lifeless on the bedroom floor of their Hemet home.

DNA tests of Shamblin after authorities arrested him in 2010 on a drug-related charge turned up a match with semen taken from Crossman’s body, leading prosecutors to open the case against the man.

Following their verdict Tuesday, jurors declined to be interviewed.

Deputy District Attorney Brandon Smith said the case was the oldest he has prosecuted. He said he hopes the conviction will lead to consideration of reopening more cold cases. He said he felt relief that justice had finally been served on behalf of Elizabeth Crossman and her family.

“Clearly after 33 years, the only thing that could bring this case into being was DNA,” Smith said. “That’s why we’re here today.”

Testimony began Monday, June 17, in the trial of Shamblin, who was 17 when prosecutors say he raped and strangled Crossman.

After the DNA match popped up, prosecutors charged him with murder in 2011. Though he was a minor when the crime occurred, Shamblin was tried as an adult.

The incident occurred a little before 6 p.m. on Jan. 17, 1980. Frank Crossman returned home from his RV sales lot, about 200 yards away on West Florida Avenue, to find his wife sprawled out on her back, her clothing strewn about the room.

He covered her with a blanket and called the police.

After the killing, police interviewed workers building an apartment complex nearby and others. Some witnesses reported seeing a scruffy-haired teenager in a blue windbreaker lingering near the house.

Shamblin had worked odd jobs for Frank Crossman and had drawn the attention of police previously because he and a friend had stolen a coin collection from the Crossmans’ other home.

Detectives interviewed Shamblin at the time but he claimed to have been elsewhere the day of the killing. And none of the witnesses picked him in a photo lineup.

Police couldn’t test for DNA in 1980 and the case went cold.

In 2002, Hemet police reopened the case and submitted evidence for DNA testing.

At the time, no match was found. After Shamblin’s arrest, Hemet police learned of the DNA hit in January 2011 and arrested him.

33-year-old murder cold case goes to trial

By Sarah Burges - The Press-Enterprise

June 17, 2013

More than three decades have passed since Elizabeth Crossman's husband found her lying naked and lifeless on the bedroom floor of their Hemet home.

On Monday, June 17, testimony began in the murder trial of 50-year-old Shelby Glenn Shamblin, of Homeland, who prosecutors say raped and strangled Crossman, 67.

“For 33 years, Shelby Shamblin has had a secret,” prosecutor Brandon Smith told jurors in his opening statement at the Southwest Justice Center in French Valley. “A 17-year-old Shelby Shamblin murdered Elizabeth Crossman.”

“He beat her, he strangled her and he raped her,” Smith said. “I'm going to ask you to give Mrs. Crossman the justice she's been denied for 33 years.”

Shamblin was arrested in 2011 after DNA tests matched his semen taken from Crossman's body. He has pleaded not guilty to murder. Though he was a minor when the crime occurred, Shamblin is charged as an adult.

Today, the house where Elizabeth Crossman was killed is gone. Her husband died long ago. The lead detective who investigated Crossman's death and the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy are gone, too, Smith said.

Defense attorney Amir Madjd told jurors in his opening statement there isn't enough evidence to convict Shamblin of first-degree murder.

“They can't show that Shelby Shamblin entered that residence with any kind of bad motive,” he said.

A little before 6 p.m. on Jan. 17, 1980, Frank Crossman returned home from his RV sales lot, about 200 yards away on West Florida Avenue, to find his wife sprawled out on her back, her clothing strewn about the room. He covered her with a blanket and called the police.

The first officer on the scene, Douglas Riesland – now retired – testified that Frank Crossman sat in the kitchen while police investigated. The last time he saw his wife alive she was in the kitchen playing solitaire.

“He just sat there and stared at the table,” Riesland said.

Frank Crossman's son-in-law, Ronald Stoh, who knew Elizabeth as Betty, testified that he had lunch with the couple at their house that day.

“Betty loved cruises. They had been to Panama ... and they were planning another cruise,” he said.

Stoh said the Crossmans had married in the late 70s after both their spouses died of cancer. Elizabeth had been Frank's landlady, Stoh said. Elizabeth had no children of her own, but Frank had two daughters and a son.

After the killing, police interviewed workers building an apartment complex nearby and others. Some witnesses reported seeing a scruffy-haired teenager in a blue windbreaker lingering near the house.

Shamblin had worked odd jobs for Frank Crossman and had drawn the attention of police previously because he and a friend had stolen a coin collection from the Crossmans’ other home. Detectives interviewed Shamblin at the time but he claimed to have been elsewhere the day of the killing. And none of the witnesses picked him in a photo lineup.

Police couldn't test for DNA in 1980. The case went cold.

In 2002, Hemet police reopened the case and submitted evidence for DNA testing. At the time, no match was found. But Shelby Shamblin got arrested on a drug-related charge in October 2010 and was required to give a DNA sample.

In January 2011, Hemet police learned there was a DNA hit. Less than a week later, police arrested Shamblin.

“I knew that I was caught after they took the DNA,” Shamblin later told a jail deputy, according to Smith. “I knew it would catch up with me sooner or later.”

Accused teen in 1980 killing to be tried as adult

By John Asbury - The Press-Enterprise

April 27, 2011

A 48-year-old Hemet man charged with killing a woman when he was 17 will be tried as an adult, not a juvenile, a judge has ruled.

On Wednesday, the day after the ruling, Riverside County prosecutors refiled in adult court one count of murder against Shelby Glenn Shamblin. He appeared in a French Valley courtroom but his arraignment was postponed to May 11.

Shamblin was charged early this year in the 1980 rape and strangulation of Elizabeth Crossman, 67. The break in the three-decades-old cold case came when his DNA was matched to evidence found on her body that had been entered into a state database in 2002. If convicted, Shamblin could face up to life in prison.

Because Shamblin was 17 when the crime was committed, prosecutors first filed juvenile charges. During a hearing Tuesday, a Riverside County Superior Court judge ruled Shamblin was fit to be tried as an adult.

As part of the hearing, police presented evidence found during the cold case investigation, district attorney's officials said.

Crossman's husband, Frank Crossman, found her body on her bed following the daytime attack Jan. 17, 1980, according court records.

Her husband had returned home for lunch, and found the door locked and the curtains closed.

Inside, he discovered his wife's wallet and $200 in cash missing. Her watch, jewelry and eyeglasses also were taken.

"Frank Crossman stated he had no idea who would have murdered his wife," according to a January 2011 search warrant by Hemet police Cpl. Jeff Dill.

Outside the home, detectives found a shoeprint on the patio that matched some found at an adjacent construction site, the warrant states.

Detectives interviewed several construction workers who reported a teenager loitering near the home, and keeping a lookout.

SUSPECT KNEW VICTIM

Frank Crossman told police at the time that Shamblin, who did yard work for the Crossmans' business, had burglarized their previous home and knew where they lived when his wife was killed, according to the warrant.

Shamblin was reported as a runaway who had been missing for the week Crossman was killed. In the weeks that followed, police interviewed him but he claimed he was at Rubidoux High School.

The case lay dormant until detectives reopened it in 2002. DNA swabs were resubmitted to the state Department of Justice crime lab's database.

DOJ analysts contacted Hemet police in January to report that Shamblin's DNA matched the samples. He had been required to submit a DNA sample the previous October after a drug conviction in Homeland.

DNA leads to suspect in 1980 slaying

By John Asbury - The Press-Enterprise

February 03, 2011

A match on DNA evidence in a 31-year-old case led to an arrest Wednesday in the Hemet Police Department's oldest unsolved homicide.

Police arrested Shelby Glenn Shamblin, 48, of Homeland, in the 1980 rape and strangulation of 67-year-old Elizabeth Crossman at her home off Florida Avenue.

Shamblin was linked to the Hemet case after a DNA sample he was required to provide for a drug conviction in October was matched to DNA from the 1980 crime, Hemet police Lt. Duane Wisehart said in a news release.

Detectives had revisited the case frequently. In 2002, they sent evidence back to the lab to be tested with technology that previously hadn't been available. The DNA hit came this Jan. 27 from the Department of Justice crime lab's database in Richmond.

"There are certain cases we hold on to forever; we don't purge that," Capt. Rob Webb said. "This was a bizarre case and a prominent family. We knew we had evidence to bring to the forefront."

Crossman's husband, Frank, worked at a family business that sold recreational vehicles. He came home from work the evening of Jan. 17, 1980, and found her body in their bedroom, where she had been raped and strangled. Jewelry, credit cards and cash were stolen.

It appeared that her card game of solitaire had been interrupted. The only sign of a struggle was her torn clothes in the bedroom.

Police asked construction workers at a nearby apartment complex if they had seen anything. Witnesses spotted a male in his late teens with long, curly hair near the scene. However, a composite sketch yielded few tips.

Shamblin, a 17-year-old runaway at the time, who knew Crossman and worked odd jobs for the RV business, was interviewed as a person of interest. But no one was ever conclusively tied to the slaying.

After about a year, the case was declared cold.

In the ensuing years, Shamblin was arrested on a number of drug charges and was in the process of completing drug-diversion programs, court records show.

He had been living in the San Jacinto Valley since the killing occurred, working odd jobs. He was living in Homeland at the time of his arrest, Webb said.

On Wednesday, police were able to notify Crossman's only living daughter of the arrest. She did not want to comment publicly, police said.

Crossman's husband and other daughter, as well as the original lead detective, are now deceased.