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Executed Inmate Summary – Darrell Keith Rich

WARNING: The following crime summaries contain graphic descriptions of one or more murders and may not be suitable for all audiences.

darrell k rich mugshot

Name: Rich, Darrell Keith
CDC# C25800
Sex: M

  • Alias: None
  • Race: White
  • Date Received: 01/23/81
  • Education: High School
  • Location: San Quentin State Prison
  • Married: Yes

Sentence:

  • County of Trial: Yolo
  • Sentence Date: 01/23/81
  • County of Residence: Shasta
  • County of Offense: Shasta
  • Offense Date: NA
  • Court Action: Affirmed
  • Court Date: June 30, 1988
  • Case #: NA

Victims: Annette Fay Edwards (female, 19), Patricia Ann Moore (female, 17), Linda Diane Slovik (female, 26), Annette Lynn Selix (female, 11)

Co-Defendant: None

Summary:

Darrell Keith Rich was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder in the July-August 1978 deaths of Annette Fay Edwards, Patricia Ann Moore, Linda Diane Slavik, and Annette Lynn Selix. Three of these convictions were with special circumstances, and a Yolo County jury sentenced Rich to death on January 23, 1981.

Annette Fay Edwards, 19, of Redding was beaten with a rock after Rich attempted to have sex with her. She died of multiple head injuries.

Patricia Ann Moore,17, was driven to a remote area by Rich, where she was raped and then beaten to death with a rock.

Linda Diane Slavik,26, was driven from Chico, by Rich, to his house in Cottonwood.  She was raped there and then driven to a remote area where she was shot and killed.  Just before she was killed, she was shown the dead body of Patricia Ann Moore, who had been killed at the same remote location.

Annette Lynn Selix,11, was driven by Rich to his Cottonwood house where he committed acts of rape, sodomy and oral copulation.  He then drove here 30 miles to Johns Creek Bridge and threw her 105 feet to the rocks below.

On Aug. 20, 1978, three days before Darrell Rich’s arrest, he advised a friend that he had discovered a dead body. The friend informed police officers who in turn began to question Rich. He consented to a polygraph and failed. This led authorities to believe he knew more about the bodies than he was revealing. Several days later, Rich began telling acquaintances that he in fact received $7,000 for killing one of the women. When he was asked about the other body, he responded that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Authorities were informed of these revelations and this resulted in Rich’s arrest. He later confessed to the above listed crimes along with two others. He also gave police officers his gun and provided detailed information regarding the offenses.

Execution:

At  12:06 a.m., March 15, 2000, the execution by lethal injection of Darrell Keith Rich began in San Quentin State Prison’s execution chamber. Rich was pronounced dead at 12:13 a.m.

Rich declined a last meal and drank tea, broth and Gatorade until his execution. He spent his last hours with his spiritual advisors and his attorneys.

Darrell Keith Rich’s last word was “Peace.”

Prior:

First arrested age 17 for assault with a deadly weapon, and sent to the California Youth Authority at age 19. Since age 16, Rich has had a history of progressive violence. He was a heavy drinker from the time he was in his mid-teens up to his arrest in August 1978.

In addition to the four counts of first-degree murder, the Yolo County jury also found Rich guilty of 15 other counts, including rape, sodomy and kidnapping, in December of 1980.