Unsolved mass killing
On September 17, 2006 three people were brutally murdered in Pinyon Pines, a mountain community south of Palm Desert.
The case remains unsolved.
John Hayward, Vickie Friedli, and her 18-year-old daughter Becky Friedli were burned to death as the Friedli home was set fire.
Years worth of memories from when times were good came back to Ron Friedli when he returned to the site of the home he built for his family, seven years to the day after the killings.
Surveying the rubble, and remembering what happened seven years ago, he says the property doesn’t look as pretty as it once did.
“I haven’t been back here since in seven years,” Ron Friedli said. “Some people probably might have thought I didn’t care, but I just, I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t come back.”
The body of 18-year-old Becky Friedli was found burned, in a posed position, inside a wheelbarrow in front of the home. The bodies of her mother, Vicky Friedli, and her boyfriend Jon Hayward were found inside the burning home.
“This was a horrible way for a life to end. Anyone’s life,” said Linda Sparkuhl, Vickie’s sister and Becky’s aunt. “They didn’t deserve it. The killer or killers are still out there amongst you, living amongst you as a free person. Yet they were able to commit such a heinous crime.”
Private investigators have been working for the family pro bono for the past year to try to solve this cold case. P.I. Luis Bolanos believes the killers were known to the family and lived locally. He says they’ve received 250 calls to their tip line, many pointing towards the same individuals.
“They’re probably pretty paranoid about the next knock at the door,” Bolanos said. “I think one of them is probably going to chat soon.”
Ron Friedli investigated crimes working for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department for 26 years. He says he’s not seeking closure for his loss, but comfort in knowing the killers are off the streets.
“I believe in my heart based on my career and what I’ve seen in law enforcement, that these people will kill again,” Friedli said. “There’s no doubt in my mind. It could be 10, 15 years. Who knows? They’re young. They’re going to get married. I truly believe in my heart if somebody wrongs them, they’ll kill again. Somebody else is going to lose their daughter. That is my motivation. To see them brought to justice.”
A call to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department seeking comment about the case was not immediately returned.
There is a $50,000 reward for information that leads to the capture of the killer or killers. The hot line number is 855- 44-BECKY (2329).
