Darrell Keith Rich

Darrell Keith Rich (February 14, 1955 – March 15, 2000), known as The Hilltop Rapist, was an American serial killer and serial rapist who murdered three women and an 11-year-old girl in Redding, California between June and August 1978. He raped five more women and injured another during the same timeframe.

Early life Rich was born on February 14, 1955, in California. Through his biological father, Rich was 1/4 Cherokee. Early in his childhood, Rich was adopted by a Mormon family in Cottonwood, California. His mother was described as domineering and looked after other children as a job, which caused Rich to resent her. He performed poorly in grammar school and was held back a grade. As such, he was referred to the school psychologist, who was concerned that Rich could become violent in the future; however, he received no treatment. Following the divorce of his adoptive parents, Rich began drinking alcohol. At age 15, he showed suicidal behavior after his parents divorced. Rich then began living with his mother in Southern California but later returned to Northern California to live with his father. He was suspended from school for fighting.

At age 17, Rich went hunting after a fight with his girlfriend and shot himself in the chest in an attempted suicide. He also shot over a police car in an attempt at suicide by cop. He was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and sent to the California Youth Authority, where a psychiatric evaluation determined Rich was suicidal and needed immediate treatment; however, he rejected offers for therapy. After his release from juvenile detention in late 1975, Rich married his girlfriend and had a child with her. In April 1976, Rich was injured in a single-car collision, after which he began physically and verbally abusing his wife. The couple separated several times over the two years, during which time was arrested for DUI and road rage. He also attacked another person with a tire iron.

On July 4, Rich attacked two women on the same day in separate incidents. The first was a 19-year-old woman whom he raped and then let go. The second was 19-year-old Anette Fay Edwards, who was walking home from a firework display celebrating Independence Day when Rich abducted her. He raped and then killed her by crushing her skull. Her body was found down an embankment three days later, approximately two miles from her apartment. An autopsy revealed severe injuries to her head. The cause of death was determined as skull fractures inflicted by blunt force. On August 6, Rich abducted Slavik from a bar and took her to the same dump where he had left Moore's body. After showing Slavik the body, he raped her and then killed her by shooting her with a .22-caliber pistol as she begged for her life. Rich later boasted to his friends that her last words were, "Don't do it, don't do it." Slavik's nude body was found at the same dump, approximately 20 feet from Moore's body. She had been shot twice, with one bullet hitting her in the neck and the second hitting her in the mouth, which had severed the spinal column, causing instant death. He raped her, forced her to perform oral sex, and then drove her to a bridge which he threw her off. Her body was found underneath the bridge in Shasta County. An autopsy revealed that she was still alive when thrown from the bridge.

Rich was convicted of three counts of first degree murder with special circumstances and one count of second degree murder, as well as numerous other non-capital charges.

Rich was briefly married to a woman named Loretta Summers. The two married in January 1981, but their marriage was annulled in August of the same year after Rich was found guilty of the murders.

9th U.S. District Court of Appeals Judge Michael Daly Hawkins, who reviewed Rich's appeal against his death sentence, summarized his crimes:

"The investigation of the crimes leading to Rich's arrest and trial produced substantial public notice in the community where those crimes occurred and understandably so. To even the most hardened eye, the crimes were almost unimaginably brutal—savage attacks on defenseless young women, all sexually ravaged. Five were also murdered: two bludgeoned to death, a third shot in the face and a fourth—an 11-year-old girl—thrown off a 100-foot bridge to her death. Five other women, ranging in age from 14 to 25, managed to survive; four unhesitatingly identified Rich as their attacker."

Execution The victims' families were adamantly opposed to any recommendation for clemency for Rich. Selix's aunt said her sister had been haunted by the fact that in her daughter's last moment, her final instinct was to curl in a fetal position, and that she constantly relived the moment in her head.

Annette's stepfather, David Tidwell, said, "We're wasting time—just kill him. He better pray there's not a life after death—if there is, he better hide."

On March 15, 2000, at 12:06 a.m., Rich was executed via lethal injection in the execution chamber at San Quentin State Prison. He was pronounced dead at 12:13 a.m. He was one of three people executed in the United States on that specific day. The others were Patrick Poland in Arizona and Timothy Gribble in Texas.

Rich declined a last meal and instead only drank beef broth, papaya juice and Gatorade. His final hours were spent with his spiritual advisors and his attorneys. His final statement was the word, "Peace."

Before his execution, Rich, who said he had reformed after discovering his Native American heritage on death row and adopted the name "Young Elk", asked to be allowed to participate in a sweat lodge ceremony, saying it was necessary to purify his spirit. Because the ceremony was supposed to require several hours and involved the use of a rake, hot rocks, and a shovel, the request was denied on the grounds of it being a security risk. Prison authorities additionally stated that sweat lodge ceremonies were not a widespread practice for the Cherokee.