Orinda, CA case: Neighbors Support Bodfish Wish to Donate Land
Hermit (of the Glen)
paragraph):
Published Monday, August 28, 2000
Orinda may get open space
Neighbors support slain resident's goal to transform
botanically rich property into a public park
By Andy Jokelson
TIMES STAFF WRITER
ORINDA -- Slaying victim Margaret Bodfish's desire to have her
seven-acre
Miner Road property become public open space has won support from
neighbors.
A trust she left states her goal of turning the property into a public
park,
recreation area or wildlife sanctuary.
"Somebody giving up seven acres of property in this neighborhood,
that's
pretty magnificent," said Miner Road resident Sandy Ivey.
Open space would help preserve the rural character of the neighborhood,
Ivey said. She called the Bodfish property a remarkable botanical
preserve
laden with oak trees and other vegetation and a wildlife haven where
foxes,
deer, skunks, raccoons and other animals have been seen.
"And the really neatest part, I think, is that it adjoins the open
space of the
Orinda Highlands development," Ivey said.
She envisioned creation of a trail connecting both properties to
"really make
a nice walk for the neighborhood." Bodfish's property has a few short
trails,
including one along Miner.
Carol Bergren, another Miner Road resident, said Bodfish's wishes for
her
property "should be honored ... It seemed like she wanted everything to
be
open space."
Bergren likes the idea of keeping the property "a low-key place that
neighbors can enjoy," with trails and perhaps a bench or two.
"I like the idea of a little park," said Miner Road resident Oliver
Pearson,
Ivey's father. That would help preserve "the country aspect of living
here,"
said Pearson, who has been clearing poison oak from Bodfish's property.
Orinda has offered to take title to all seven acres with the
understanding that
the property would then be subdivided into two lots: a one-acre parcel
that
includes Bodfish's one-story, three-bedroom home, and the remaining six
acres, which would be open space.
The offer, submitted in February, says the city would sell the one-acre
portion for fair market value. It would use proceeds to improve trails
on the
property, create an endowment for maintenance, clear some vegetation
and
perhaps install a bench on a knoll.
Any remaining funds could create a public garden next to the new Orinda
library and Orinda Community Center, the offer says.
"We're still glad to accept the property and try to have it be an open
space
area," City Manager Bill Lindsay said this month.
Garrett Riegg, who was Bodfish's lawyer, said, "The issue is what do we
do
with the house? Do we sell it? Do we lease it. Do we try to incorporate
it into
the park? Do we cut it out of the park?"
The house, which sits in the middle of her property, could be razed, he
said.
Neighbors he's spoken with don't want the home "to be irrevocably given
to
somebody else or sold to somebody else," he said.
"The thought is the house eventually would come down (and the land
would)
return to nature, so to speak," Riegg said.
Ivey said the house is well built and "could be a real asset if the
city could
figure out a way to put it to work." It should be demolished eventually
because in 20 years it might be too run-down to maintain.
Pearson said he wants the house to remain only if it's rented to
someone
who would live there and if it generates income "to take care of the
park
property."
Bodfish's bludgeoned body was found in her home June 30, 1999. She had
been living as a man for more than 20 years.
They have not arrested anyone in connection with her death.
Her 34-year-old son, Maxwell Emmon Wills, killed himself in Southern
California, authorities say, the day after his 56-year-old mother's
body was
discovered.
Contra Costa Sheriff's Lt. Dan Lawrence, who serves as Orinda's police
chief, has said he believes that someone who knew Bodfish -- possibly
her
son-- killed her.
Andy Jokelson covers Lamorinda. Reach him at 925-943-8379 at
ajok...@cctimes.com.
.
--
I previously posted as glenh...@AOL.com.
I'm trying a better news service (I hope!).
Patty
Hermit (of the Glen) :
: Contra Costa Sheriff's Lt. Dan Lawrence, who serves as Orinda's police
: chief, has said he believes that someone who knew Bodfish -- possibly
: her son-- killed her.
:
Do you think the son killed his mother? I would be interested if the gay
newspaper you also were posting from has any updates and what they
think. I was ready to believe he didn't do it and his suicide was because
of his own depression and over the sadness of losing his mother. She
was blungeoned, right. And he was very close to her and they were
both very depressed people. I guess I think if he killed her, it would have
been done in a more gentle way.
Hermit, the Stineman murders are close to your neck of the woods, what
do you think of that whole case?
Hermit (of the Glen)
PattyC4303 wrote:
> In article <nFGq5.34223$gb.11...@nntp2.onemain.com>, "Patty" <pa...@cake.com>
> Well, the profilers do say that beating about the face is often "personal."
> And bludgeoning may very well fit that bill. Also, overkill is often said to
> indicate personal feelings. So maybe the son was pretty angry at mom?
>
> PattyC
>
> "Feminism is the radical notion that women are people."
I have no idea whether the son did it or not, but I agree with the impression that
he would have found a gentler method if he thought he was putting his mother out of
her misery.
The last articles I remember on the case all seemed to say the police did not think
the son was involved. Now, he's a suspect. Today's paper has an article
headlined, "Suspect's death stymies slain woman probe." Unfortunately, I could not
find this article on the CCT website. It says that the evidence points to the son
but does not say what that evidence is. The only other new info is that the
authorities revealed that writing in the son's diary "put his mother's name at the
top of a list of people who should die." Wonder who else was on that list.
(I've checked The Bay Area Reported website but found no articles on the case.)
The Stineman/Bishop murder is yet another case where I can't believe how stupid
these criminals can be! They obviously don't read true crime books (or watch the
TV shows) or they wouldn't leave such a wide trail of evidence straight to their
own front door!
Hermit
PattyC4303
Patty
No help through that search engine of theirs, though.
You had me so curious after you posted about a list,
I was determined to find it. I found it under the Bay Area
section of the news. They must have some new people
working there who are sticking everything under Bay Area.
When the Stinemans first disappeared, I also couldn't find it
on their site until days later.
Suspect's death stymies probe of beaten woman
Police say a man who committed suicide may have killed his mother, Margaret Bodfish of
Orinda, but they lack proof to close the case
By Kristi Belcamino
Contra Costa Times
ORINDA -- Police say they have reached a stalemate in the murder investigation of Margaret
Bodfish because even though they believe the woman's son probably killed her, they don't
have enough proof to close the case.
Bodfish, 56, was found bludgeoned to death in her Miner Road home June 30.
Evidence points to her son, 34-year-old Maxwell Wills, as the most likely killer, said
Orinda Police Chief Dan Lawrence. But Wills committed suicide in a Santa Monica motel room
the day after his mother's body was found, and police never spoke to him.
His death has left investigators stymied.
"If he was alive, we would be questioning him," Lawrence said. "We would be able to
develop more evidence that could lead to an arrest."
Barring new evidence, police have exhausted all leads. And without that evidence, they
remain cautious.
"There is an outside, although remote chance" that someone else is responsible,, he said.
"I don't think we can say, 'Yeah, he did it.'"
Lawrence does say he believes Bodfish's killer knew her and that her slaying was not
random.
"Through her memoirs, it was determined she wanted to die in the manner she did," he said.
Nine months after their deaths, authorities released excerpts from 22 years of diaries
written by Bodfish that detailed exactly how, when and where she would die. Authorities
also revealed that writing in her son's diary put his mother's name at the top of a list
of people who should die.
Investigators have said Bodfish's death and its foreshadowing in her diary are more than a
mere coincidence. Previously, police said one theory is that Bodfish orchestrated her own
death or made plans with her son to do so.
In her diaries, Bodfish wrote about how she hated her body and talked about "Bl.D.C.,"
which stands for "Blue Demon Conscience."
In one entry, she wrote:
"Tell body it's a stupid piece of (expletive) that should be beaten to death."
Bodfish also lived a double life. Longtime Orinda residents knew her as a woman, while
residents in Mill Valley, where she also owned a home, knew her as a man.
Investigators have said one reason they have had difficulty solving the slaying is that if
the son is not the killer, he may have been the only one who knew who killed Bodfish.