On October 1, 1993, Polly Klaas, then 12 years old, was kidnapped from her Petaluma, California, home when she and her two 12-year-old classmates were enjoying a sleepover. Her kidnapping became well-known and prompted a worldwide search involving thousands of volunteers.
Two months later, Polly’s strangled body was discovered in a wild region some fifty miles distant, tragically ending the hunt for her. Richard Allen Davis, an ex-convict with a history of drug and alcohol abuse who was on parole after a prior kidnapping, killed her, sparking anger and calls for tougher sentence guidelines.
Voters in California passed the “three strikes and you’re out” rule, which called for longer jail terms for habitual offenders like Davis, a year after Polly was killed. After being found guilty of her murder in 1996, Davis was transported to death row in San Quentin, where he is still detained today. But in the state of California, executions have stopped as of June of this year.
Here is everything you need to know about the murder case of Polly Klaas.
Polly Klaas was abducted from her Petaluma Home
On October 1, 1993, Polly and her two friends were having a sleepover in the family’s three-bedroom house, while her mother Eve and sister Annie slept in a different room.
Davis broke through a window and went into Polly’s bedroom sometime after 10:30 p.m. with a bag and a knife. Before making Polly and her two companions lie down in a row on the floor, he threatened to slit their throats. After that, he bound their hands and gagged them.
He informed Polly’s classmates that he would bring her back after bringing her to gather valuables. The girls managed to free themselves after he left with Polly, alerting Polly’s mother, who then dialed 911.
How Davis was Caught
Davis crashed his white Ford Pinto into a ditch on a private road between Santa Rosa and Sonoma, less than two hours after Polly was kidnapped. When the landowner phoned the police, they searched his car but released him without telling them that Polly had been abducted.
A sweater, a knotted piece of white silky cloth, and red children’s knit tights were discovered by the property owner a few weeks later on Nov. 27. The knotted piece of cloth was ultimately identified as the same cloth that was used to bind the girls. When Davis was apprehended on Nov. 30, two days later, he acknowledged killing Polly two hours after she was abducted.
He guided authorities to her decaying remains on December 5, which were covered by a piece of plywood. Later on, authorities connected the prisoner to a palm print they discovered in Polly’s bedroom. In Polly’s bedroom, there were also carpet fibers and two of his hair strands.
Davis was a career criminal
Raised in a trailer park in La Honda, a mountain town 45 miles south of San Francisco, by an alcoholic father, Davis began robbing individuals of their checks when he was 12 years old. He then advanced to burglary, grand theft, assault with a dangerous weapon, and kidnapping.
In 1976, Davis kidnapped a young woman at knifepoint from a commuter rail station near Oakland. Two years later, the Los Angeles Times said, Davis kidnapped another woman at gunpoint from her Redwood City apartment and forced her to take $6,000 out of a bank account. He was given a 16-year prison sentence for his actions, but only a few months before Polly was killed, he was granted release.
The aftermath of Polly’s Death
Foundations were established in Polly’s memory following her passing. On its website, the Polly Klaas Foundation states that it has assisted “more than 10,000 families find their missing children” since it was established in 1993 to increase awareness of child abductions. The KlaasKids Foundation, which “promotes prevention programs for at-risk youth, stronger sentencing for violent criminals, and governmental accountability and responsibility,” was established the next year by Polly’s father, Marc Klaas. Additionally, Klaas is a vocal supporter of stricter criminal laws for missing children.
The 1994 “three strikes and you’re out” statute in California, which called for longer jail terms for serial offenders like Davis, was also influenced by Polly’s murder. The rule was eventually changed because it unjustly singled out communities of color and those who were imprisoned for infractions that were not violent or significant.
Jess and Annie Nichol, Polly’s sisters, have recently expressed their strong opposition to the three-strikes statute. They started a podcast in 2021 called A New Legacy, which is centered on coming up with alternatives to harsh anti-crime policies and widespread imprisonment.
“We are looking for ways to prevent crime by seeking out restorative and community-based solutions that address violence at its source, rather than incarcerating people after the fact,” they stated in the podcast’s description. Speaking with the leaders of the community who have been paving the way, we will investigate jail alternatives that have been shown to be effective scientifically. These tactics include community-based violence intervention, trauma treatment, restorative justice, rehabilitation and reentry services, drug abuse assistance, and fighting economic inequality.
