An investigation led to the arrest of 31-year-old convicted sex offender John Gardner. He eventually pleaded guilty on April 16, 2010, of killing and raping Chelsea and 14-year-old Escondido resident Amber Dubois. Amber had been reported missing a year earlier, and Gardner led authorities to her remains.
On May 14, 2010, Gardner, who previously had been convicted and served prison time for molesting a 13-year-old neighbor girl, was sentenced to two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole for the murders of Amber and Chelsea...
He also was ordered to serve another 24 years due to prior convictions and received an additional 25 years to life for attacking a 22-year-old jogger in late December 2009, in the same park where Chelsea's murder would take place two months later. The woman managed to escape by elbowing Gardner in the face, breaking his nose.