CA - Patty Benson, 14, Diane Notterman, 11, & Sarah Sellers, 29, Kern County, 1980

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soccermom2

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In 1980, two girls that I went to school with in Mojave, California disappeared & were later found murdered in the foothills near Mojave. Their names were Diane Notterman (13) & Patty Jo Benson (14). There were so many rumours that circulated at the time. Patty, from what I can remember, had run away a few times. People back then said that one of the times she had run away she had witnessed a murder & that is why her & Diane were kidnapped & killed. I graduated in the late 80's from there & moved away. The last couple of years this has really been on my mind, wondering if they ever found the killers or what really happened to the two girls. Does anyone know about this?
 
soccermom2 said:
In 1980, two girls that I went to school with in Mojave, California disappeared & were later found murdered in the foothills near Mojave. Their names were Diane Notterman (13) & Patty Jo Benson (14). There were so many rumours that circulated at the time. Patty, from what I can remember, had run away a few times. People back then said that one of the times she had run away she had witnessed a murder & that is why her & Diane were kidnapped & killed. I graduated in the late 80's from there & moved away. The last couple of years this has really been on my mind, wondering if they ever found the killers or what really happened to the two girls. Does anyone know about this?
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I am unable to find anything related to this case other than their final resting place...

http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ca/kern/cemeteries/mojave.txt

Mojave Cemetery
Located at 2040 Belshaw Avenue, Mojave, Kern County, CA

Benson, Patty Jo
1965-1980
inscription: In Loving Memory Our Daughter & Sister The Lord Is My Shepherd


Notterman, Diane Marta
1968-1980
inscription: Our Daughter & Sister The Lord Is My Shepherd
 
Hi There;
I'm actually Patty's cousin from NY. I met her when I was about 4 or 5...and am one of the few who actually DID meet her. It's very nice to see she touched someone's life to look her up. I decided to google her and this thread came up. I joined just to answer your question.

In answer to your question; they DID catch the killer. Ted Wilson Shivers was convicted of her murder in the mid 80's and was sentenced by the state to Life without the possibility of parole. I remember being a 10 year old and watching the tape my Uncle made of the trial. It was really chilling. I seem to remember them re-trying the penalty phase when California re-enacted the Death Penalty...but he was just kept at Life Without Parole. As far as I know he's still in the jail since there's nothing on Google I can find for this guy...so I don't know what's happened to him.

My Uncle and Aunt still live in Mojave and their kids all are pretty close by.

Hope this helped and thanks for thinking of my cousin who's been gone almost 30 years now.

Thanks
Will Benson
 
Thank you for the info wbenson! We see so many cases that go unsolved it is nice to hear from families who experience some resolution. I did several searches for Ted Wilson Shivers on various inmate locators and could not find anything. I found a Ted Douglas Wilson who was inprisoned in 1984 but has been released. Unfortunately California has done away with the inmate locator on the Dept of Corrections website. You can write or fax them to request info. If you're interested http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Visitors/Inmate_Locator.html.

I can't believe the lack of information regarding Patty, Diane and their killer. I couldn't find anything by doing a search except for the websleuths thread.
 
I was looking for information on the death of my mother (she was the third woman killed by Ted Shivers. Her name was Sarah Jane Sellers). I was 10 years old when it happened. I stumbled on this thread by accident and was stunned to see that there are other people actively seeking information about this case. I would very much like to talk to wbenson if he is still on this website. Mr. Benson... Please contact me via email if you can.... whitec@cox.net. Since I was so young when it happened I know next to nothing and the fact that I live in Virginia makes it very difficult to locate information. I have contacted cemeteries in the area around the Mojave Desert trying to locate my mothers grave.... Does anyone have any suggestions?.... HELP!!!
 
Will, not sure why but ever so often the girls pop in my head so did a Google again tonight & just now saw that you had answered my post several years ago. I am very glad to see that there was justice for Patty & Diane. I've asked some of our other classmates over the years & no one ever knew that a suspect had been caught let alone tried & convicted. I hope that your aunt & uncle found a little peace in this man being put away for life. Thank you for your post!
 
I found this information online, it mentions your mother by first name & last initial along with date of her death: http://www.lawlink.com/research/caselevel3/63236. Where did your family live before her death? Is Sellers her maiden or married name? What cemeteries have you tried? I grew up near Mojave & still have a ton of family in the area so would be happy to try & help you find your mothers grave.
 
SHIVERS, TED WILSON CDCR #C89802 Age 56 Admission Date 07/23/1984 Centinela Prison CA
 
Were the two cases related? Were the three victims kidnapped at the same time? I ask because he is a serial killer by definition. If they were two separate crimes this increases the chance of other victims.
 
Found this appeals doc. Some interesting info:

- Each count of the information alleged that defendant had served two prior prison terms for prior felony convictions, receiving stolen property (Kern County, Feb. 11, 1981), and escape (San Bernardino County, July 7, 1975).

- The events resulting in defendant's February 11, 1981, conviction of receiving stolen property occurred on April 29, 1980. The murders of Patricia B. and Diane N. were committed on March 9, 1980, and the murder of Sarah Jane S. on April 23, 1980.


Sounds like a bad dude who likely has other victims. I'd like to know what those who understand legal language pick up from this doc.

http://www.lawlink.com/research/caselevel3/63236
 
Claudette said:
Found this appeals doc. Some interesting info:

- Each count of the information alleged that defendant had served two prior prison terms for prior felony convictions, receiving stolen property (Kern County, Feb. 11, 1981), and escape (San Bernardino County, July 7, 1975).

- The events resulting in defendant's February 11, 1981, conviction of receiving stolen property occurred on April 29, 1980. The murders of Patricia B. and Diane N. were committed on March 9, 1980, and the murder of Sarah Jane S. on April 23, 1980.


Sounds like a bad dude who likely has other victims. I'd like to know what those who understand legal language pick up from this doc.

http://www.lawlink.com/research/caselevel3/63236
Click to expand...

I remember these cases. They aren't far from home for me.
 
Claudette said:
Found this appeals doc. Some interesting info:

- Each count of the information alleged that defendant had served two prior prison terms for prior felony convictions, receiving stolen property (Kern County, Feb. 11, 1981), and escape (San Bernardino County, July 7, 1975).

- The events resulting in defendant's February 11, 1981, conviction of receiving stolen property occurred on April 29, 1980. The murders of Patricia B. and Diane N. were committed on March 9, 1980, and the murder of Sarah Jane S. on April 23, 1980.


Sounds like a bad dude who likely has other victims. I'd like to know what those who understand legal language pick up from this doc.

PEOPLE v. SHIVERS 181 Cal.App.3d 847
Click to expand...
Claudette said:
Were the two cases related? Were the three victims kidnapped at the same time? I ask because he is a serial killer by definition. If they were two separate crimes this increases the chance of other victims.
Click to expand...
Does anyone know why there is little to no information on this case? I know the case of Patty Jo and Diane are probably more sensitive due to the nature and their age but as far as Sarah's case she was an adult. There is no information on where her death occurred, manner of death. Also do they know what he was doing or where he was prior to being in Mojave?
 
My mother went to school with Patty Jo and my grandmother worked with Diane's mother. She was telling me about this case and it seems as if this would not have been Ted's first time offending. I would really like to have some more information on these cases. With so many missing and murdered women in California during this time period he could be a potential serial killer. Most people don't kill three people within a few weeks as a "first time" especially with how brutal the murders were with the girls. He at least had assaulted women before this and its crazy to me that there is so little information.
 
Hi to everybody who has commented on the Ted Shivers case, and my condolences to everyone effected by him. So I'm going to do my best to not give out too much info because this case was very close to home for me and I know pretty much every detail, I was close to Ted's family but more importantly the two little girls Patty and Diane were also very close to my mother. I can't give out anymore info to protect their identity but I will give my email for whenever anybody feels the desire to have some closure and details, please don't hesitate to contact me. lovemygirls0509@gmail.com. I can also assure everyone Ted will stay imprisoned for the rest of his miserable life.
 
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