The dark blue line represents all homicide cases investigated by the Humboldt County Coroner’s Office. The light blue line represents cases within the jurisdiction of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. Data sourced from HCSO. 

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Humboldt County’s homicide tally hit a 20-year low this year, with three such killings recorded since the start of 2025. A fourth case remains under investigation and has not yet been ruled a homicide.

In a recent interview with the Outpost, Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal said the county’s homicide rate has been on a downward trend for several years — despite upticks in 2020 and 2023 — averaging four to five cases per year. While three homicides were officially recorded in 2025, only one case is a “bona fide homicide,” he said.

“We technically only have one criminal homicide this year, and that was the sheriff’s office homicide investigation near Blue Lake,” Honsal said. “[The other] two cases are officer-involved shootings, which are classified as homicide, but not criminal homicide. … There’s another case that we’re assisting the Arcata Police Department on, but that has not been determined to be a criminal homicide as of yet. Really, only one bona fide homicide this year, and that is bucking the trend.”

The four homicide investigations include the following cases:

• June 5: Nicholas Anderson, 29, of Simi Valley was killed in an officer-involved shooting near the Bear River Recreation Center in Loleta. Anderson, who was in apparent medical distress leading up to the incident, was shot and killed after he allegedly rushed a deputy with a knife. In a critical incident video released after the investigation, Honsal said Anderson “held [the knife] above his head in a threatening manner,” prompting the deputy to shoot “in defense of his own life.” The District Attorney’s investigation is ongoing.

• July 8: Joshua McCollister, 37, of Fort Bragg was fatally shot at his home near Glendale. Following a three-day investigation, HCSO’s Major Crimes Division arrested two suspects: Arcata residents Danielle Durand, 41, and Deunn Willis, 38, both of whom were charged with murder, conspiracy and robbery. While questions remain about what led up to the fatal shooting, an HCSO press release says “preliminary findings suggest the shooting stemmed from a dispute over a civil matter involving two individuals.” The investigation is ongoing.
• July 26: Jared Nelson, 35, of Eureka was killed in an officer-involved shooting in Glendale. Deputies were in the Glendale area to serve Nelson with an arrest warrant for illegal possession of a firearm when they allegedly saw him “walk into the roadway in front of them.” Nelson fled, allegedly shooting at deputies as he ran into some bushes nearby. He was fatally shot following a brief standoff. The District Attorney’s investigation is ongoing.

• Oct. 16: An unnamed woman was found dead in a homeless encampment in Arcata’s Valley West neighborhood. A 23-year-old man was arrested in connection with the woman’s death, and released a few days later due to insufficient evidence, according to the Times-Standard. The Arcata Police Department’s investigation is ongoing. APD did not return the Outpost’s request for additional information before publication. 

In addition, there are still several missing person investigations underway that could turn out to be homicide cases.

“We have a body that was found on the Eel River early this year, and that case is still under investigation,” Honsal said. “We also have some missing persons investigations out of McKinleyville and the greater Eureka area, where we suspect the people may be deceased, but we don’t have evidence to point to [whether] they are a victim of homicide or not. We’re still investigating, and if we get evidence to prove that they were murdered, then we will pursue and request the [District Attorney’s] office to charge those cases.”

The decline in local homicides aligns with national and state statistics. In 2024, California reported its second-lowest homicide rate since 1966, according to the California Attorney General’s office. Preliminary numbers from AH Datalytics, a Louisiana-based analytics company, show a 19 percent decrease in murders in California between 2024 and 2025, which closely aligns with national stats.

While homicides are often linked with substance abuse and mental health issues, no one thing causes violence to rise or fall. Honsal thinks the reason for the drop in local cases is tied to cannabis legalization.

“I’ve always equated a lot of our violent crime to illegal marijuana, and I think legalization had a big impact on us. It was legalized in 2016, and you see this trend going down to 2019,” he said in reference to the graph up top. “Robberies are down, assaults are down and homicides are down. Organized crime is not what it once was within the county. Several of our murders over the years have been directly related to marijuana rip-offs or some kind of crime related to marijuana.”

But what about the spike of 14 homicides in 2020? And another dozen in 2023? Honsal couldn’t say.

“Did it have to do with the pandemic anxiety? I don’t know,” he said. “Last year, the sheriff’s office had two [criminal homicide cases], and this year we have one.”

Attempted homicides within the sheriff’s office jurisdiction fell from 12 cases in 2024 to just two in 2025. However, assaults and rapes are up by five percent. 

“I think drugs have a lot to do with it,” Honsal said. “We have a credible methamphetamine and fentanyl problem here … and the drug problem does have a direct effect on our violent crime as well.”

Turning back to the topic of missing people and cold cases, Honsal emphasized the crucial role the community plays in working with law enforcement to help move investigations forward. He pointed to the case of Emmilee Risling, a 32-year-old Hupa woman who went missing while suffering through a mental health crisis in October 2021.

“We don’t know what happened to her, but there’s a lot of speculation about what may have happened to her,” he said. “We believe people do know, but they don’t want to talk about it, and there’s other cases just like that within the county. People may have a piece of information that they can provide to us that can help break open these cases. We want to encourage people to trust law enforcement and call us if they see something.”

Those with information about any of the cases mentioned in this story or other ongoing investigations in Humboldt County can leave an anonymous message on HCSO’s Crime Tip Hotline at (707) 268-2539.

“We can’t be everywhere, and we rely on the community’s help when it comes to protecting everyone,” Honsal said. “Whatever information we can possibly get, even if it’s minimal. Whatever you know, it’s good to call us.”