Victim’s Daughter Leaves Town After One-Time Murder Suspect Walks
An accused killer-turned-evangelist was free today after murder charges stemming from the shooting deaths of a tribal leader and two other people were dropped, prompting a victim’s daughter who helped investigators to go into hiding.
James “Jimmy” Hughes, 53, was released just before 9 p.m Thursday from the Indio Jail, where his wife, Jessica Hughes, and two children and several supporters were waiting.
“When you are vindicated there is no words almost to express being with my family and thank God for his goodness and continue to do what we do — fight for the rights of children and young people, helping them to develop their lives and be somebody,” Hughes told reporters.
Murder charges were dismissed earlier Thursday against Hughes, who founded Jimmy Hughes Ministries in Honduras in 1995.
Hughes had been charged in the deaths of Ralph Arthur Boger, 42, Patricia Roberta Castro, 44, and Fred Alfred Alvarez, 32, who was vice chairman of the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians Tribal Council. They were found dead July 1, 1981, at 35040 Bob Hope Drive in Rancho Mirage.
Hughes was accused of conspiring with three other men to commit the murders to keep Alvarez from exposing alleged illegal activities by the tribe’s casino founder, John Philip Nichols.
Boger’s daughter, Rachel Begley, told City News Service she fears for her life.
“After the hearing I decided to go out of town, and very few people know where I am at right now,” Begley said.
She said she has received “veiled” threats from Hughes in the past and “outright threats from some of his followers.”
Begley helped the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigate the murders before he was charged by the state Attorney General’s Office.
During a hearing Thursday, Deputy Attorney General Mike Murphy asked a judge to drop the charges, saying his office had uncovered new evidence that made them doubt their ability to convince a jury of Hughes’ guilt.
Riverside County Superior Court Dale R. Wells dismissed the case without prejudice, meaning prosecutors can re-file the charges if they choose to do so.
