Polly Hannah Klaas (January 3, 1981 - October-November 1993) was a kidnap and murder victim whose case gained national attention in the United States. At the age of twelve, she was kidnapped at knifepoint from her mother's home in Petaluma, California on October 1, 1993. She was later strangled. Richard Allen Davis was convicted of the crimes in 1996 and sentenced to death.

Because she loved music and performing in plays, the Polly Hannah Klaas Performing Arts Center was created in her honor in Petaluma.

Background

Polly had invited two of her friends over for a sleepover. Around 10:30 p.m. Klaas opened her bedroom door to fetch sleeping bags, when she saw a man with a knife. He tied the girls up, told Klaas' friends to count to one thousand, and then kidnapped her. Over the next two months, about 4,000 people helped search for her. Television shows such as 20/20 and America's Most Wanted covered the kidnapping.

In the course of the search, police officers encountered Davis in a nearby rural area, where his Ford Pinto was stuck in the mud. At the time, missing person's bulletins were broadcast on only one police channel, to which the officers were not tuned; this practice was changed after the case, so such bulletins were broadcast on all police channels. It was later discovered that Klaas was buried alive at this time, and the meeting with the police may have prompted Davis to kill her.

On November 30, police arrested Davis, as his palm print had been found in Klaas' bedroom. Four days later, he led police to Polly's dead body, with her miniskirt pulled up and her legs spread apart. Davis said that he strangled her from behind with a piece of cloth. Although there was no way to check exactly how she died, as the body had decayed for two months, the statement was consistent with the evidence.

Winona Ryder

Winona Ryder, who had been raised in Petaluma, offered a $200,000 reward for Polly's safe return during the search. After Klaas' death, Ryder starred in a film version of Little Women and dedicated it to Klaas' memory, the Louisa May Alcott novel having been Polly's favorite book. The producers at first wanted to remove the dedication. Ryder then said she would not do any publicity for the film if it was removed, so it remained in the film.

In December 2002, Polly's name was brought up during Ryder's sentencing for shoplifting when defense attorney Mark Geragos brought up all the work Ryder did when Polly was kidnapped. The DA of the case accused Ryder and Geragos of bringing up the "body of a dead child." Ryder was visibly upset by the charge.

Marc Klaas

Her father Marc Klaas is now a child advocate and has made himself available to parents of kidnapped children. He has also made appearances on Larry King Live. He also makes appearances on the CNN Headline News show, Nancy Grace.

 See also

• Polly Klaas Foundation

External links

• Crime Library Article on Polly Klaas

Richard Allen Davis (born June 2, 1954) is a convicted murderer, whose criminal record fueled support for passage of California's "Three strikes law" for repeat offenders. He is currently on death row in San Quentin State Prison, California.

He was convicted in 1996 of first-degree murder and four special circumstances (robbery, burglary, kidnapping and a lewd act on a child) of 12-year-old Polly Klaas. Klaas was abducted October 1, 1993, from her Petaluma, California, home.

A San Jose, California, Superior Court jury recommended the death sentence for Davis on August 5, 1996. After the verdict was read, Davis stood and made an obscene gesture at the courtroom with both hands. Later, at his formal sentencing, Davis read a statement claiming that Klaas had said to Davis "Just don’t do me like my Dad" just before Davis killed her, implying that Klaas' father was a child molester. Klaas' father reacted angrily and left the courtroom to avoid causing further commotion, and the judge proceeded with the formality of the death sentence, saying that it should never be easy to sentence a human to death, but that "your (Davis') behavior today made it very easy."

 

Arrest record

1960s

• March 6, 1967: At age 12, Davis has his first contact with law enforcement when he was arrested for burglary in Chowchilla, where he lived with his grandmother.

• May 24, 1967: Arrested again for forging a $10 money order. He was briefly in Juvenile Hall before his father moved him and his siblings to La Honda.

• November 15, 1969: Arrested for the burglary of a La Honda home.

• November 16, 1969: The first of several occasions when Davis' father turns Davis and his older brother over to juvenile authorities for incorrigibility.

1970s

• September 15, 1970: Arrested for participating in a motorcycle theft. A probation officer and judge accept his father's suggestion that he enlist in the Army to avoid being sent to the California Youth Authority.

• July 1971: Entered the Army. His military record reflects several infractions for AWOL, fighting, failure to report, and morphine use.

• August 1972: General discharge from the military.

• February 12, 1973: Arrested in Redwood City for public drunkenness and resisting arrest. Placed on one-year summary probation.

• April 21, 1973: Arrested in Redwood City for being a minor in possession of liquor, burglary and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Charged with trespassing, later dismissed.

• August 13, 1973: Arrested in Redwood City leaning against hedges extremely intoxicated. Released upon sobriety.

• October 24, 1973: Arrested in Redwood City on traffic warrants. Between April and October, he was implicated in more than 20 La Honda burglaries, leading a probation officer to report that residents were so angry at him, he might be in danger if he returned to La Honda. He pleaded guilty to burglary and was sentenced to six months in county jail and placed on three years' probation.

• May 13, 1974: Arrested for burglarizing South San Francisco High School. He was sent to the California Medical Facility, Vacaville, for a 90-diagnostic study. A county probation officer recommended prison, but proceedings were suspended when Davis enrolled in a Veterans Administration alcohol treatment program. He quit on the second day.

• September 16, 1974: Sentenced to one year in county jail for the school burglary. He was allowed to leave jail to attend a Native American drug and alcohol treatment program. He failed to return, leaving behind two angry fellow inmates who had given Davis money to buy drugs and bring the contraband back to jail.

• March 2, 1975: After being released, the two inmates tracked Davis down and shot him in the back. He was rearrested on a probation violation for failing to return to jail. Later, he testified against the inmates, earning him the epithet of "snitch" from fellow inmates. He was placed in protective custody.

• April 11, 1975: Arrested for parole violation.

• July 11, 1975: Arrested for auto theft and possession of marijuana. Received 10-day jail sentence.

• August 13, 1975: Probation revoked after arrest for San Francisco burglary and grand theft. He was sentenced to a term of from six months to 15 years in prison.

• August 2, 1976: Paroled from Vacaville.

• September 24, 1976: Abducted Frances Mays, a 26-year-old legal secretary, from the South Hayward BART station and attempted to sexually assault her. She escaped and hailed a passing car in which California Highway Patrol Officer Jim Wentz was riding. Wentz arrested Davis.

• December 8, 1976: Transferred to Napa State Hospital for psychiatric evaluation after he tried to hang himself in a cell at Alameda County Jail. He later admitted he faked the suicide attempt in order to be sent to a state hospital, where he could more easily escape. He was mistakenly admitted as a voluntary patient rather than a prisoner.

• December 16, 1976: Escaped from Napa State Hospital and went on a four-day crime spree in Napa. He broke into the home of Marjorie Mitchell, a nurse at the state hospital, and beat her on the head with a fire poker while she slept. He broke into a car to kidnap Hazel Frost, a bartender, as she climbed into her Cadillac outside a bar. When she saw he had bindings, she rolled out of the car, grabbed a gun from beneath the seat and fired six shots at the fleeing Davis.

• December 21, 1976: Broke into the home of Josephine Kreiger, a bank employee, in La Honda. He was arrested by a San Mateo County sheriff's deputy hiding in brush behind the home with a shotgun.

• June 1, 1977: Sentenced to a term of one to 25 years in prison for the Mays kidnapping. A sexual assault charged was dropped as part of a plea bargain. He was later sentenced to concurrent terms for the Napa crime spree and the La Honda break-in.

1980s

• March 4, 1982: Paroled from the Deuel Vocational Institute in Tracy.

• November 30, 1984: With new girlfriend-accomplice Sue Edwards, he pistol-whipped Selina Varich, a friend of Edwards' sister, in her Redwood City apartment and forced her to withdraw $6,000 from her bank account. Davis and Edwards make a successful escape.

• March 22, 1985: Arrested in Modesto when a police officer noticed a defective taillight. He and Edwards were charged with robbing a Yogurt Cup shop and the Delta National Bank in Modesto. Authorities in Kennewick, Washington, were unaware for several years that the pair had robbed a bank, a Value Giant store and the Red Steer restaurant during the winter of 1984–1985. Davis later confessed to the crimes in an attempt to implicate Edwards, whom he believed to have welshed on a promise to help him while he was in prison.

1990s

• June 27, 1993: Paroled from the California Men's Colony, San Luis Obispo, after serving half of a 16-year sentence for the Varich kidnapping.

• October 1, 1993: Davis kidnapped Polly Klaas during a slumber party at her Petaluma home and murdered her.

• October 19, 1993: Arrested in Ukiah for drunken driving during the search for Polly. He failed to appear in court.

• November 30, 1993: Arrested for parole violation on the Coyote Valley Indian Reservation north of Ukiah; he is identified as the prime suspect in the kidnapping.

• December 4, 1993: Davis provides investigators with information that leads them to Polly's body off U.S. Route 101 near Cloverdale.

• December 7, 1993: Charged with the kidnapping/murder of Polly.

• June 18, 1996: Convicted of kidnapping/murder of Polly.

• August 5, 1996: Superior Court jury in San Jose recommends death sentence.

Source: Sonoma County district attorney's office, court records, trial testimony.

External links

• All About Polly Klaas and Richard Allen Davis, by Denise Noe