All charges dropped against triple murder suspects

The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office dismissed all charges against two men who had been charged with the 2006 murders of three people found dead at their Pinyon Pines home.

The DA’s office made the motion to dismiss charges against Robert Lars Pape and Cristin Conrad Smith at the Larson Justice Center in Indio Friday morning and the judge granted the motion.

Pape, 26, and Smith, 25, were arrested and charged with the killings of Vicki Friedli, 53, her boyfriend Jon Hayward, 55, and her 18-year- old daughter Becky Friedli at their Alpine Drive home.

News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 were in the courtroom Friday morning. Neither of the defendants were in court but both of their attorneys were present.

After court, Pape’s mother Kathleen said, “I’m so ecstatic, beyond words. But that’s all I can say.”

Pape’s sister also said she couldn’t speak about the case, but added she was obviously thrilled with its outcome.

Pape’s attorney Richard Blumenfeld toldNews Channel 3 and CBS Local 2the case against his client and Smith should have never been brought.

Blumenfeld said Paul Zellerbach prosecuted his client in a cynical and political way as he tried to win reelection.

“I believe that the District Attorney did this to shore up his support in the desert in the face of a bitter reelection campaign,” said Blumenfeld.

Blumenfeld said the District Attorney subverted the Grand Jury process and boxed up the case from its filing to it’s ultimate dismissal.

“They essentially subverted the Grand Jury process by giving the Grand Jury a misleading and deceptive account of the evidence they had,” said Blumenfeld.

We received this written statement from Smith’s attorney John Dolan:

“We are pleased, gratified, and relieved, that Sgt. Smith will be reunited with his family, and he eagerly awaits the opportunity to be introduced to his newborn daughter, Zoey. We have always been confident that this day would come. However, we believed it would follow a jury acquittal. We were dug in for the long haul. Sgt. Smith is anxious to resume his decorated military career with his unit, the 2nd Ranger Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment. Out of respect for all parties involved we will be making no further comments at this time.”

-John Patrick Dolan

Both Pape and Smith were released from Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside, where both have been held without bail since being arrested in March. Both of their families were in court and were obviously overjoyed with the decision.

Earlier this year, Pape was indicted by the grand jury and a judge ordered Smith to stand trial after a preliminary hearing.

Upon closer review of the grand jury proceedings, the District Attorney’s Office determined that legal issues arose during the proceedings against Pape that make it appropriate to dismiss the case at this time, according to the District Attorney’s release.

Although Smith was held to answer after a preliminary hearing, the District Attorney’s Office concluded that it wouldn’t be appropriate to continue to criminal proceedings solely against Smith so the charges against both men have been dismissed.

On the evening of September 17, 2006, a fire was reported at the Friedli home on Alpine Drive in Pinyon Pines where the three victims lived. Firefighters found Becky Friedli’s body burning outside in a wheelbarrow about 70 feet from the home, which was also in flames. After putting out the fire, they found the bodies of Jon and Vicki inside the home. They had both been shot.

The DA’s Office said it will continue the investigation into the murders and believes and expects that murder charges will be refiled in the future.

Because the investigation into the murders is ongoing, the DA’s Office isn’t providing any additional information at this time.

News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 will continue to keep you updated as any new developments arise.