Kristin Constantino (one victim in the horrendous Kettenpom murders)

Press Release Trinity Co. Sheriff’s Office: For a review of what happened go here for the story and here for the lawsuit.

The murder investigation into the deaths of Christopher “Sky” Richardson of Corvallis, Oregon and Kristine Constantino of Kettenpom, California has been closed. Detectives have determined the person responsible for the killing of Richardson, Constantino and the stabbing of James and Norma Gund was Tomas Gouverneur. Richardson and Constantino were found to have died from results of strangulation. Tomas Gouverneur, of Corvallis, Oregon, died the day of the incident (03/13/2011) when the car he was driving struck a tree off of Highway 101, during a vehicle pursuit with deputies from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Department.

Through the investigation the Sheriff’s Department was able to link Tomas to the murders and assaults with witness statements (James Gund’s statement), evidence found at the scene and evidence found in Tomas’s possession. James Gund positively identified Tomas as being the person who assaulted both his wife and him. During the assaults on Christopher and Kristine it was found that a hand held taser was used to help subdue Christopher. It was found that during the attack of the Gunds, a hand held taser was used along with a knife. With information from the taser manufacture detectives were able to confirm that the taser was activated on line using Tomas Gouverneur’s personal information within days of the incident. During a search of Tomas at the time of his autopsy he was found to be in possession of an extra taser cartridge. Further investigation revealed that the taser cartridge found on Tomas’s person and the taser cartridges found at the scene all match as being sold in the package with the hand held taser unit found at the scene and found to be activated by Tomas.

Detectives also found older photos of Tomas on a Myspace account that show him in possession of a similar type of knife that was used in the assault on the Gunds. The knife in the pictures appears to have the same type of handle, size and shape as the knife used in this incident. This knife was recovered from the Gund’s house by a firefighter who turned that knife over to law enforcement the night of the incident. It was reported that during the assault on the Gunds, James Gund was able to take the knife away from Tomas. When James fled the scene on foot to get help, he carried the knife to his house where he dropped the knife on the floor before he grabbed his car keys and drove to the Kettenpom store to ask for help.  The bodies of Christopher and Kristine were found bound with handcuffs, rope and duct tape. Detectives found packaging and receipts for the purchase of the handcuffs in the trunk of the car Tomas was driving at the time of his death. The packaging for the handcuffs found in Tomas’s car match the type of handcuffs used to restrain Christopher and Kristine. Detectives were able to trace the handcuffs purchase back to a store in Corvallis, Oregon, where the surveillance footage showed Tomas making the purchase of those items the day before the incident. Packaging for the rope and duct tape used in this incident was also traced back to being purchased at a store in Corvallis, Oregon. Detectives also found a box of trash bags, a Gerber brand multi tool and quick link type chain links at the crime scene.

During the search of Tomas’s car, detectives found packaging and receipts for the purchase of these items. Again detectives checked surveillance footage from the stores these items were purchased at and found that Tomas was the person who purchased these items. During the search of Tomas’s car detectives also found packages of marijuana and $11,000 cash bundled in a way that is consistent with sales of marijuana. The items were found in a green duffle bag that was believed to have been taken from the scene. Detectives also found identical packages of marijuana (same packaging and weights) at the crime scene. Throughout the investigation it has shown that Tomas acted alone and there is no evidence to support a second person being involved in this incident. In review of the surveillance footage nobody else appeared to be with the Tomas and there was no indication that anybody was traveling with Tomas at the time of the incident. The motive for the crime is believed to be related to marijuana sales and money from the sales of marijuana. 

 

Hat tip KMUD news.