Robert Maury

Robert Edward Maury (born February 24, 1958), known as the Tipster Killer, is an American serial killer who strangled three women to death in Shasta County, California, from 1985 to 1987. After each murder, Maury anonymously called into a tip line to tell detectives crucial information, including where the bodies were located, to confuse them and sometimes gain reward money. Suspected in two additional murders, Maury was sentenced to death for his known crimes and is currently awaiting execution.

Early life Maury was born in Crescent City, California, in 1958. His family moved to Anderson shortly after his birth, and it has been alleged that he had an abusive father growing up. Afterwards, he moved to Cottonwood and occasionally worked as a landscaper and a dried-flower arranger. On June 19, an anonymous man called the Secret Witness Program of Shasta County claiming to have information leading to Weeden's whereabouts, but inquired to know how much he would receive in compensation. An autopsy on August 23 revealed she retained several skull fractures and a bone was fractured in her throat, indicating she had been strangled. The man also claimed during a separate call that Weeden was picked up at dusk and killed with a six- to eight-inch rock on May 23. Maury was interviewed by investigators again on September 4, and he again denied involvement. There, the body of the woman was discovered, and although she was not immediately identified, it was later revealed to have been Stark, identified by the numerous tattoos on her body.

Dawn M. Berryhill On September 22, 1987, the body of 20-year-old Dawn Marie Berryhill was found in a remote bushy area approximately 250 yards from where Stark was found. She had last been seen on June 22 when she left her 6-month-old son with a friend. She had been strangled to death. She was a waitress at Jerry's Restaurant on Cypress Avenue in Redding. She too had been strangled to death. Fire Marshall Roy Del Carlo, who was wired, posed as the chairman of the Secret Witness board and met with Maury in a series of meetings. His voice was compared to the caller who had called to report the bodies, and they were found to have been eerily similar. Maury's fingerprints also matched a fingerprint left on an envelope that contained Secret Witness reward money.

Maury was arrested at his home on November 7, 1987, under suspicion of committing the murders. Maury was held at $750,000 bail awaiting charges, which was later changed to no bail once he was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and was additionally charged with raping a woman in August. Maury pleaded innocent and said he merely witnessed one of the killings. He also said revealing his identity violated his rights.

In 2003, Maury attempted to appeal his sentence because multiple errors occurred during the trial, including the fact the jury had been told about his calls to the hotline, something that the Secret Witness Program, which had promised to keep his identity private, violated his 4th amendment rights. The court stated however that the program is allowed to pass on the information to law enforcement who are involved in an investigation, and so, the appeal was rejected, and he remained on death row.

Capital punishment in California remains in a state of limbo following multiple ballot initiatives and a moratorium imposed by Governor Gavin Newsom, and executions have not been fulfilled in California since 2006. As of 2023, Maury was still awaiting execution at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, California.