A man who fatally shot his ex-girlfriend and her friend at a UC Davis apartment complex 37 years ago was denied parole for the 11th time last week, Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig announced.
Daniel James Wehner, 64, is serving a 27-years-to-life sentence for the March 4, 1980, murders of UCD students Robin Ann Ehlman, 20, and John Kevin Manville, 25, at the Castilian Apartments on Wake Forest Drive. Authorities said Wehner, formerly of San Jose, had stalked and abused Ehlman prior to the killings.
His potential release was opposed by the victims’ families and Yolo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Raven of the DA’s Lifer Parole Unit, who represented his office at Thursday’s parole hearing at California State Prison Solano in Vacaville.
Those making statements at the hearing included Manville’s older sister and Ehlman’s father and younger sister, who was 14 when the murders occurred. Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel and retired District Attorney Investigators Kay Lipelt and Jon Updegraff, both former Davis police officers who responded to the crime scene, wrote letters in opposition of Wehner’s release.
At Thursday’s parole hearing, Board of Parole Hearings Commissioner Arthur Anderson and Deputy Commissioner Neil Chambers both agreed that Wehner still posed a continued risk to public safety should he be released from prison.
Anderson said “that what we have here is extreme domestic violence that ultimately resulted in the execution of two young people” and noted that Wehner still lacks credibility. “You don’t have to remember the truth. If it’s the truth, you will always remember it.”
Chambers, meanwhile, recommended that Wehner spend additional time exploring the domestic violence issue.
Reisig praised the efforts of the Lifer Parole Unit, which he said will continue to oppose Wehner’s release at his next parole hearing scheduled three years from now.
“I can’t imagine the pain these families continue to endure. It’s immeasurable,” Reisig said in a news release. “We will continue to do everything we can to support the Ehlman and Manville families. We will continue to remember and honor Robin and John.
“That is the very least we can do for these families and all families who have survived similar tragedies. We will also continue to object to the early release of any prisoner we believe poses a threat to the public,” Reisig added.