Elvin Bishop's ex-wife murdered
LandonEx
-- Famed musician's ex-wife, beau slain in area's
first homicides in 14 years --
MARIN COUNTY, Calif. -- The former wife of blues guitarist Elvin Bishop
was shot to death with her boyfriend early yesterday morning in Woodacre,
a tranquil community in Marin County's San Geronimo Valley.
Neighbors heard six to eight gunshots ring out about 5 a.m. and a
vehicle speeding away. The victims, Jennifer Villarin, 45, and a
middle-age man, were house-sitting at Villarin's daughter's studio
apartment on Redwood Drive.
"I heard a car pretty early whipping down the road,'' said Duncan
Draper, who lives two doors down from the studio and was buying stocks
on the Internet at the time of the shooting. "This is the kind of place
where people leave their doors unlocked. If you can't be safe in
Woodacre, where can you be safe?''
The last homicide in the San Geronimo Valley was in 1986, when a
70-year-old woman was raped and murdered by a local teenager.
Investigators said they had several leads in yesterday's killings and
have at least one person they want to talk to, but would not elaborate.
They have assigned at least six deputies to work on the case.
"We don't think it was random,'' said Marin County Undersheriff Dennis
Finnegan. ``We think there was probably a motive. But at this time, we
don't know what it was.''
Villarin and the man were in bed and were likely sleeping when they were
shot, said Sheriff's Capt. Tom McMains. Authorities are not releasing
the man's name until his family members have been notified.
Finnegan said detectives would comb the apartment for evidence until
late into the night. During the day, a sheriff's helicopter flew over
the area looking for clues and dogs searched the property.
UNCERTAIN MOTIVE
Investigators have ruled out robbery, but are looking at many
possibilities, McMains said.
Stunned friends up and down the picturesque valley speculated on what
might have happened, many believing that Villarin's death may have been
a case of mistaken identify.
Villarin was house-sitting the apartment while her daughter was camping
with a friend in Yosemite.
Detectives would not comment on the theory of mistaken identity.
Villarin's daughter, Selina Bishop, rented the downstairs apartment from
a couple who live on the top level of the home, investigators said.
Bishop is the daughter of Elvin Bishop, who, according to police, was
married to Villarin 20 years ago and has since remarried.
BISHOP OUT OF TOWN
Bishop, 57, is on tour in Central California and won't be home until
today, said his wife, Cara, when reached at their home yesterday evening
in neighboring Lagunitas. She hadn't heard of the killings and was
stunned near-silent by the news.
"Oh, gosh, that's terrible. . . . I'd better let Elvin know if I can
get a hold of him,'' was all she could say for several moments.
Bishop, a nationally lauded blues guitarist, briefly hit pop stardom in
1976 with his band's chart-topping song, "Fooled Around and Fell in
Love.'' He also wrote a song titled "Jennifer'' for Villarin, co-workers said.
A FRIEND TO ALL
"She was like a sister,'' said Roxanne Weber. "She doesn't drink and
she doesn't take drugs. She works her butt off. I've lived here for 40
years and nothing like this has ever happened.''
Weber said Villarin and her boyfriend had been together for a year and
were saving money for a Mexican cruise. Villarin occasionally worked at
the Nicasio General Store, waitressed at a nearby inn and tended bar at
the Paper Mill Creek Saloon.
"It had to be a case of mistaken identity,'' Weber said. "Jenny is the
kindest-hearted person you'll ever know. She'll give you the shirt off
her back. This is so distressingly sick. I can't believe it.''
Investigators interviewed workers at the saloon and at the Two Bird
Cafe, where Villarin's daughter is a waitress. According to one employee
there, who asked not to be named, a man claiming to be Selina Bishop's
boyfriend called at 6 a.m. asking for her. She and her boyfriend weren't
scheduled to be back at the cafe until today, said her co-workers.
MOURNING BEGINS
Last night, patrons, friends and co-workers gathered to memorialize the
couple at the rustic, country bar where Villarin served drinks and
touched the hearts of the regulars.
They said Villarin's boyfriend was a gentle giant, who stood 6 feet 4
inches tall and weighed about 240 pounds. He liked to play pool, they
said, and he loved to gamble.
"He would give Jenny and friends $200 each to gamble with when they
went to Reno,'' said Bill Mulloy, a friend of the couple. "He'd come
down here and buy a round for the house. We're all in major shock.''
Mulloy said he once took Villarin to the hospital when she injured
herself trying to build a fire in the bar's pot-bellied stove.
"She bought me free beers after that for a year,'' he said. "Sometimes
she worked 20 hours a day just to live in this county.''
Bonnie Kyle, Villarin's friend of 28 years and godmother to her
daughter, sat in the bar and wept.
"I loved her very much.''
San Francisco Chronicle / August 4 2000
=L=
Laninna
Missing Couple Add to Mystery In Marin Slayings
Slain woman's daughter, pal gone
Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, August 5, 2000
WOODACRE -- The search for the daughter of blues guitarist Elvin Bishop
intensified yesterday after she failed to return to the Woodacre home
where her mother and a friend were shot to death in their sleep early
Thursday.
An all-points bulletin was put out by the Marin County Sheriff's
Department for Selina Bishop, who left on a camping trip to Yosemite on
Wednesday and was supposed to return yesterday.
Bishop's mother, Jennifer Villarin, 45, of Novato and her mother's
boyfriend, James Gamble, 54, were shot multiple times about 5 a.m. as
they slept in Bishop's downstairs rental unit on Redwood Drive in the
normally peaceful San Geronimo Valley.
``We´re concerned for her safety since she is next of kin to the victim
of a homicide,´´ said Sheriff´s Lt. Rick Russell. ``We´ve been unable
to locate her in Yosemite or in any of the other places she is alleged
to have gone. She left earlier in the week, and she is overdue at this
point.´´
Villarin was house-sitting for her daughter, who had said she was going
camping with her boyfriend. The boyfriend is also missing.
Taped to the door of Bishop's apartment yesterday was a hand- printed
sign reading: ``Selina, do not go inside. Call 499-7233,´´ the number
for the Sheriff´s Department.
Russell said a missing person's report was sent to law enforcement
agencies around the state urging them to be on the lookout for Bishop
and her gray 1984 Honda Accord, California license plate 4CQD822.
Russell said investigators have ``a possible name´´ for the boyfriend
and are looking for him but declined to say whether he or the daughter
are suspects.
The deaths and the disappearance of Selina Bishop have created a panic
in the bucolic West Marin community of hippies, artists, doctors and
lawyers.
The 28-year-old Bishop was scheduled for a 10:30 a.m. shift yesterday
as a waitress at the Two Bird Cafe, about two miles from the slaying
scene. Sheriff's investigators, friends and co-workers were waiting for
her there, but she never arrived.
``We were all very disappointed she wasn´t here,´´ said cafe owner
Anthony Miceli. ``We were all confident that she would show up. But now
the questions are as big as ever.´´
In another mysterious twist, the boyfriend who was supposed to be on
the camping trip called the cafe looking for Selina three or four hours
after the slayings -- indicating that he was not with Selina.
``We´re following up on that,´´ Russell said. ``Also, it´s interesting
that we haven´t been recontacted.´´
Neighbors reported hearing six to eight gunshots and then a car
speeding away on the morning of the slayings. Investigators said
nothing was stolen from the apartment, and there were no signs of a
struggle.
Villarin, who separated from Elvin Bishop two decades ago, was
described as a happy, kindhearted woman. She worked several jobs in the
San Geronimo Valley and tended bar at night at the Paper Mill Creek
Saloon, in nearby Forest Knolls.
Bishop, a nationally lauded guitarist, hit pop stardom in 1976 with his
band's chart-topping song, ``Fooled Around and Fell in Love,´´ which
Villarin´s brother said was written for Villarin. Elvin Bishop could
not be reached for comment.
Gamble was an Air Force veteran who, acquaintances said, owned a
turquoise mine in Arizona. He apparently split time living in Arizona
and in Mendocino County with his 92-year-old mother.
A bear of a man, Gamble was said to carry a gun, but sheriff's
detectives said no gun was found at the scene.
According to friends, neither Gamble nor Villarin had any enemies.
Villarin's driver's license had been suspended but neither had a
criminal record.
Villarin often visited her daughter and stayed overnight, according to
friends. The morning of the shooting, Villarin had closed the Paper
Mill Creek Saloon at 2 a.m., left a note saying she was planning to
make jam the next day and went back to the studio apartment with Gamble.
Several of Villarin's acquaintances said Selina hung around with a
rough crowd.
Russell said a motive for the killing is not known but nothing is being
ruled out.
``Anything is a possibility,´´ he said. ``We´re looking into any
possible reason for the killing, whether it´s mistaken identity or an
intentional killing.´´
David Villarin, 49, of Salinas said he is heartbroken by the loss of
his sister but is focusing all of his energy now into finding his niece
and bringing her home safely. With her long, nearly jet black hair,
friends and relatives said Selina looks just like her mother.
``We´re just hunting for our niece right now,´´ said Villarin. ``I´m
very concerned. One of my brothers passed away in the 1980s, and my
parents passed away three years ago, and now this. It´s hard to deal
with.´´
A memorial was set up yesterday on a wooden fence across the street
from the Paper Mill Creek Saloon. Flowers were placed on the ground,
and written tributes to the victims were displayed on white poster
board, as mourners gathered at the bar amid television cameras.
``Some people deserve to be shot,´´ said John Umphrey, 27, who ordered
the last drink Villarin served, a Kamikaze. ``These two people were
definitely not among them.´´
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