Doug and Rozina Anderson Murder Case: Where Is John William Kelley Today?

Doug and Rozina Anderson Murders Case

When Douglas (Doug) and Rozina Anderson were found killed while on a camping vacation near Crescent City, California, the police and family members were taken aback.

While the couple was discovered shot numerous times to death, the crime went unsolved for 27 years before detectives were led straight to the killer by a break into another unrelated cold case.

Dead Silent: Till Death Do Us Part,’ a documentary on Investigation Discovery, follows the horrible murder and demonstrates how a serendipitous arrest and confession helped close the case.

If you’re intrigued by this case and want to know where the killer is right now, we’ve got you covered.

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How Did Doug and Rozina Anderson Die

What Caused Doug and Rozina Anderson’s Death?

Doug and Rozina Anderson, who lived in Lake Oswego, Oregon, had just been married for two years when they were brutally murdered.

Doug managed a sign company in Lake Oswego while Rozina worked at a Sears store in Portland’s Washington Square Mall.

Furthermore, the couple, who were also expecting a child, liked travelling and were looking forward to their camping trip in Northern California. The two are still sorely missed as kind-hearted and vivacious persons who were always willing to jump to anyone’s aid.

Doug and Rozina were camping in Northern California in August of 1988. They even kept a logbook of their actions, with the most recent note being on August 15. Initially, neither Doug’s nor Rozina’s families were aware of the couple’s tragic fate.

When Rozina failed to show up for work when she was supposed to, her boss became concerned.

They phoned her family, who alerted the authorities, and on August 22, 1988, the police discovered their vehicle on Howland Hill Road in Crescent City, California, near Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park Campground.

Authorities discovered Doug and Rozina’s remains inside, and an examination later revealed that the couple had been shot many times, resulting in their deaths.

John William Kelley
John William Kelley

Who Was The Killer of ‘Doug and Rozina Anderson’?

The original inquiry into the murders of Doug and Rozina was lengthy and painstaking. The authorities were forced to go through hundreds of interviews with acquaintances, relatives, and family members because there were few leads at the murder scene.

The majority of them, on the other hand, appeared stunned, and none of them could fathom why somebody would want to harm the happy couple. Despite their best efforts, officials were unable to come up with a suspect list or a person of interest after conducting a thorough investigation.

On the other hand, no witnesses were present to direct officers in the right direction. As a result, the case stayed inert and unsolved for 27 years, with no progress.

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Annette Thur
Courtesy Patty Dombrowski — Pictured is Annette Thur, as she appeared in 1985, one year before she would die at the hands of a rapist. San Mateo County Sheriff’s investigators say DNA evidence led them to John William Kelley, serving time in Placer County for another sex attack. Investigators believe Kelley picked up Thur when she was hitchhiking home to Ben Lomond from a party in Boulder Creek on the evening of Dec. 6, 1986, taking her to his Ben Lomond home where he raped and sodomized her before suffocating her. Thur’s body was found dumped down an embankment along Skyline Boulvard north of Alpine Road in San Mateo County. Kelley’s arrest for Thur’s rape and murder solves a 25 year old cold case. Photo to accompany ssjm0825coldcase by Joshua Melvin.

In a separate but connected incident, 17-year-old Annette Thur was raped and murdered while going home from a party in Boulder Creek, California, on December 6, 1986.

Annette’s murder, like Doug and Rozina’s, had no obvious leads or suspects, resulting in a long investigation. The Sheriff’s Office, however, determined to revisit and close as many cold cases as possible 26 years after her murder.

They decided to test the DNA sample gathered from the scene against the database after discovering Annette’s murder and found a perfect match.

The sample matched John William Kelley, who had previously been convicted of rape in a separate occasion.

As he awaited his trial for the rape and murder of Annette Thur, John made the decision to tell the cops what he was up to.

As a result, he confessed to killing Doug and Rozina Anderson after convincing the district attorney’s office to drop the death sentence. Later, the authorities stated that he was aware of several precise facts of the murder, proving his complicity in the double homicide.

John William Kelley in Prison

What Has Happened to John William Kelley?

Prior to his trial for the murders of Doug and Rozina Anderson, John was convicted of the rape and murder of Annette Thur and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release.

In 2015, he pleaded guilty to the murders of Doug and Rozina and was sentenced to two consecutive life terms.

John Kelley is now detained at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility in Kings County, California, without the possibility of parole.

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