TRIAL BEGINS TUESDAY IN RAINBOW SLAYINGS
Marlington WV Associated Press
A Pocahontis county man goes on trial for murder this week thirteen years
after two women were slain while hitch-hiking their way to a gathering of the
counter cultural rainbow family.
The trial of Jacob Beard 47 of Crescent City, Florida will begin Tuesday
in Greenbriar county circuit court. He is the first of four suspects to go on
trial.
Beard is charged with two counts of first degree murder and one count of
conspiracy to abduct with intend to defile a sex related crime in the deaths
of Nancy Santamaro 19 of Huntington, New York and Vicky Durian 26 of Wilmen
Iowa.
The two women were killed on June 25, 1980 while traveling to the Rainbow Family Gathering in the Monongahela National Forest. Their bodies were found near
Droop Mountain Battlefield in Hillsboro in the mountains about 80 miles east of Charleston.
Four other men were indicted on the same charges in January. Gerald L.
Brown 51 of Druic, William McCoy 37 of Hillsboro, Richard Fowler 41 of
Gordensville Virginia, and Arnold Cutlet 55 of Lobelia. Brown died in Febuary
when he chocked on food. His death was unrelated to the case police said. Brown
was indicted as the sole suspect in 1983 but charges were dropped after a
witness retracted a confession.
In April of 1992 Brown was indicted again with six other men including the
four named in the January indictment.
Two other defendants Winters C. Walton 43 of Hillsboro and Johnny Lewis 60
of Droop agreed to testify against the others in exchange for immunity. In a
preliminary hearing investigators testified Walton told them that he Fowler and McCoy picked the two women up and promised to take them to the annual gathering
of the Rainbow family a loosely organized back to nature group.
Instead Walton said that they took the women to Droop Mountain Battlefield
park where they met the other suspects police said.
This is the article from the Associated Press. Sometimes Justice is a long time
RAINBOW HOMEWORK: The most effective way of dealing with the Forest Service
Proposed Rules governing use of National Forest land is to acquire a copy by
calling (202) 205-1407. Go over it one paragraph at a time. Write down everything you think is wrong with it and why. Then send it to The Forest Service
Recreational Staff PO Box 96090 Wa., DC 20090 before August 4, 1993. Right now
there is time to do this. Lets not wait till the last minute. If we are effective then we may be able to avoid going to the courts. FREE THE RAINBOW!