Murder confession comes in TV interview
A Northern California man has confessed to a 1993 killing in an emotional interview with a television station, saying his faith in God led him to do the right thing.
Brian Hawkins told KRCR in Redding that he and two accomplices robbed and killed 19-year-old Frank Wesley McAlister, whose slaying was unsolved for nearly 25 years.
Hawkins, 44, refused to reveal any details about the killing in the interview but said living with the secret had been ‘‘absolutely horrible’’. He said he wanted people to know he was remorseful.
‘‘Every minute of every day has been a nightmare. It’s kind of weird – Frank never got to have a life, but we were teenagers and now I’m 44 and still haven’t even had a life and now most likely won’t anyway,’’ Hawkins said.
After the interview, Hawkins went to the Shasta County Sheriff’s office to meet with police investigators, the Redding Police Department said.
‘‘It was a cold case, unsolved murder. All the detectives that had worked it have long since retired,’’ Captain Eric Wallace said yesterday.
Hawkins told police that he, Curtis Culver, 45, and Culver’s sister, Shanna Culver, 41, murdered McAlister after luring him to Shingletown to steal money he had received in a settlement. Later, the trio decided to murder him instead, the department said.
Hawkins told officials that he and Curtis Culver stabbed McAllister to death and dumped his body in the woods in rural, mountainous Shasta County.
A hiker found McAllister’s remains a year later.
Hawkins was arrested after his confession, and police arrested the Culver siblings on Thursday, officials said.
Wallace told the TV station that one of the Culvers had also confessed, but he did not want to say which one.
All three are being held in the Shasta County Jail. The men are being held on US$1 million bail each, and Shanna Culver is being held without bail.
The men were arraigned yesterday, while Shanna Culver, who was a juvenile at the time of McAlister’s murder, was arraigned the previous day.
Before leaving the TV station, Hawkins said he was no longer running from his past.
‘‘I’m not running. I just need someone that cares. I just hope the community can also forgive me,’’ he said.