Prosecution to rest in trial of Cabazon resident accused of killing man over fake rape

The prosecution is slated to rest Monday in the trial of a 59-year-old probationer accused of killing a Cabazon man in a rage over accusations -- later verified as lies -- that the victim had sexually assaulted the defendant's girlfriend.

Richard Eugene Seevers of Cabazon is charged with first-degree murder in the 2021 slaying of 31-year-old Dillon Entler.

Seevers' co-defendant, 49- year-old Frank Edward Mansfield, of Cabazon, is also charged with murder. However, Mansfield's case was severed from Seevers' after a judge ordered psychiatric evaluations for him.  

Testimony in Seevers' trial began last week at the Riverside Hall of Justice. Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jason Armand gave the jury Thursday and Friday off while the prosecution prepared to close its case. The defense may not call any witnesses after the government rests, paving the way for closing arguments on Tuesday.

Seevers is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail. Mansfield is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.

Entler vanished during the last week of August 2021 and was reported missing by his mother after she was unable to reach him via telephone for three days, according to a trial brief filed by the District Attorney's Office.   

That summer, the victim had carried on a brief dalliance with a Cabazon woman, Ashley Goodro, who was Seevers' steady girlfriend, the brief stated.

When the defendant uncovered the sexual escapades, he confronted Goodro, who feared his violent temper and immediately fabricated a story that she had not had consensual sex with Entler, but rather that he had forced himself on her several times, according to court papers.

Seevers became "enraged'' and contacted Mansfield, telling him that Entler was a rapist and they needed to deal with him, the brief said. Mansfield bought the story and agreed to help, taking Seevers to the house where the victim was staying with a friend in the 49800 block of Mountain View Avenue, prosecutors said.   

Mansfield asked Entler to speak with him in front of the property, and the victim agreed, not knowing Seevers was waiting there with a handgun, according to the brief.

"Seevers confronted Dillon regarding the `rape' of Ashley. Dillon began to argue with Seevers, who shot him in the head, chest and leg," the brief alleged.

Entler died at the location, after which the defendants allegedly loaded his remains into Mansfield's SUV and drove to an abandoned ranch in Poppet Flats, where they buried the body, according to the prosecution.   

However, within three months, a construction project began in the immediate vicinity, and the pair became concerned the body would be found, so they returned and unearthed it, taking it somewhere in the vicinity of a place known as "Dead Man's Corner," near the intersection of Esperanza and Orange streets, where they buried the remains again, the brief said.   

The body has yet to be recovered.   

During a drunken conversation in December 2021 with a then-friend, Jennifer West, Seevers allegedly confessed to the killing, detailing most of what transpired, according to prosecutors. West kept it to herself until she was contacted by sheriff's homicide detectives in 2023.

Her statements, as well as those of Goodro and others, led to arrest warrants and charges against Seevers and Mansfield last August.   

Court records show Seevers has a prior felony conviction for child abuse. Mansfield has no documented prior convictions in Riverside County.