Nine people have been arrested in connection with the 2012 killing of Korey Kauffman.
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Three current and former California Highway Patrol officers, a prominent criminal defense lawyer and five other people were arrested Friday in connection with the disappearance and killing of a Central Valley man.
Carson, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for Stanislaus County District Attorney in 2014, was arrested late Thursday morning.
Carson believed Kauffman and others were stealing valuable antiques from storage containers on his property and that he wanted to stop the thefts by sending a message, investigators said.
When Korey Kauffman disappeared in 2012 there was little attention devoted to the case of the missing 26-year-old Turlock man who made his living by stealing and scrapping metal.
According to the affidavit, investigators believe Kauffman was killed on Carson’s property in the 800 block of 9th Street in Turlock. Along with the murder charge, the defense attorney faces charges of criminal conspiracy, soliciting a crime and two counts of false imprisonment.
Authorities also arrested Carson’s stepdaughter Christina Anne DeFilippo, and CHP Officers Scott McFarlane and Eduardo Quintanar Jr. on allegations of conspiracy and being an accessory.
“All that was between us was hate”, Cooley said of his dealings with Carson. The murder charge includes an enhancement for the use of gun in the homicide and a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait.
In August of 2013, the body of Korey Kauffman was discovered by hunters in Stanislaus National Forest in Northern California after having gone missing the previous year.
The investigation was detailed in a 325-page affidavit released by the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department. Former CHP Officer Walter Wells is suspected in the killing.
Georgia Geanette Defilippo, Carson’s wife, who is accused of first degree murder, conspiracy to commit a crime and false imprisonment.
“To hear news like this is devastating to our organization”, said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow, in a Friday press conference.
Baljit “Bobby” Atwal and Daljit “Dee” Atwal, who own the Pop N Cork businesses in Turlock, were also arrested, officials said.
All nine suspects are expected to be arraigned on Tuesday.
Details are scarce on the officer’s involvement as of yet, but patrolman McFarlane lived next door to Kauffman, and Tony Kauffman, the victim’s father had gone to him for help with how to handle the missing person investigation. A criminal complaint filed against Woody lists three co-conspirators as B, C, and D.
Michael Cooley remembers the last image he has of his best friend Kauffman.
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Carson’s properties and that of his mother’s on W. Main Street were also searched by investigators, as was Wells’ home.
