Everything to Know About the Polly Klaas Murder Case 30 Years After Her Remains Were Discovered

Polly Klaas was 12 years old when she was abducted from her home in Petaluma, California on October 1, 1993, where she was having a party with two 12-year-old classmates. Her abduction sparked a nationwide manhunt with thousands of volunteers and made her a household name.

The search for Polly sadly ended two months later when her strangled body was found in a wooded area about 50 miles away. Her murder by Richard Allen Davis – an ex-convict with a history of alcohol and drug abuse who was on parole after a previous kidnapping – sparked outrage and calls for tougher sentencing laws.

A year after Polly’s murder, voters in California passed a “three strikes and you’re out” law that called for increased prison sentences for repeat offenders like Davis. Davis was convicted of her murder in 1996 and sent to San Quentin’s death row, where he currently resides. However, since June of this year, executions have been halted in the state of California.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Polly Klaas murder case.

Polly Klaas was kidnapped from her home in Petaluma

On October 1, 1993, Polly was enjoying a night out with two friends while her mother Eve and sister Annie slept in another room of the family’s three-bedroom home.

Shortly after 10:30 p.m., Davis climbed through a window and entered Polly’s bedroom holding a knife and a bag. He threatened to slaughter Polly and her two friends before making them lie down in a row on the floor. Then he gagged them and tied their hands.

He told Polly’s classmates that he was taking her for valuables and would return them. After he left with Polly, the girls managed to drive away and alert Polly’s mother, who called the police.

Cover of People magazine in 1993.

How Davis was caught

Less than two hours after Polly was abducted, Davis drove his white Ford Pinto into a ditch on a private road between Santa Rosa and Sonoma. The owner of the property called the police and his car was searched, but the police, unaware of Polly’s abduction at the time, let him go.

A few weeks later, on November 27, the property owner called the police again after finding the children’s red knitted tights, a sweatshirt and a tied piece of white silk fabric, which was later matched to the fabric used to bind the girls. Davis was arrested two days later, on November 30, and confessed to killing Polly within two hours of her abduction.

On December 5, he led police to her decomposing remains, which were hidden under a piece of plywood. Authorities later linked a palm print found in Polly’s bedroom to the convict. Two strands of his hair as well as carpet fibers were also found in Polly’s bedroom.

Richard Allen Davis.

AP Photo/Paul Sakuma

Davis was a career criminal

Raised by an alcoholic father in a trailer park in La Honda, a mountain community 45 miles south of San Francisco, Davis began stealing checks from people’s mailboxes at the age of 12 and eventually progressed to burglary, aggravated theft, assault with a deadly weapon and kidnapping.

In 1976, Davis kidnapped a young woman at knifepoint from a train station near Oakland, and in 1984 he kidnapped another woman at gunpoint from her Redwood City apartment and forced her to withdraw $6,000 from a bank account. Los Angeles Times previously published. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison for his crimes, but was released on parole early – just months before Polly’s murder.

Polly Klaas.

AP photo/file

The aftermath of Polly’s death

After Polly’s death, foundations were established in her honor. The Polly Klaas Foundation was founded in 1993 to raise awareness of child abductions and has helped “more than 10,000 families find their missing children,” according to its website. The following year, Polly’s father, Marc Klaas founded the KlaasKids Foundation, which “promotes prevention programs for at-risk youth, tougher sentences for violent criminals, and government accountability and responsibility.” Klaas is also a visible advocate of missing children and tougher crime laws.

Drawing strength from grief: Coalition of surviving parents

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Polly’s murder also helped spur California voters in 1994 to pass the “three strikes and you’re out” law, which called for increased prison sentences for repeat offenders like Davis. The law was later amended because it unfairly targeted communities of color and imprisoned people for frivolous and non-violent crimes.

Polly’s sisters Jess and Annie Nichol have recently become vocal opponents of the three-strikes law. In 2021, they launched a podcast called A New Legacy, which focuses on finding alternatives to mass incarceration and crime-fighting initiatives.

“Instead of locking people up after the fact, we look for ways to prevent crime by seeking restorative, community-based solutions that address violence at the source,” they wrote in the podcast’s description. “In conversation with the community leaders who are blazing this path forward, we will explore scientifically proven alternatives to incarceration. These strategies include rehabilitation and reentry services, community violence interventions, restorative justice, trauma treatment, substance abuse support, and combating economic inequality.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education