Do you know who murdered David Stevens? In the predawn hours of December 23, 1998, the upscale neighborhood of La Jolla, California, was disturbed by the sound of an explosion and the sight of a burning car. Firefighters who responded to the scene discovered a gruesome scene inside the vehicle: the body of 38-year-old David Allen Stevens. An autopsy would later reveal that Stevens had been shot twice in the head before the fire, with one of the shots fired at extremely close range. Each gunshot wound was determined to be fatal.
The case would remain unsolved for three years, leaving investigators initially stumped with no clear motive or suspects.
The break in the case came when a young woman named Ny Nourn, an employee at the dating service where Stevens was her supervisor, came forward to the police. Her confession unraveled a story of a deadly love triangle. Nourn, who was 18 at the time of the murder, had been involved in a turbulent and abusive relationship with a married man named Ronald Barker. On the night of the murder, Nourn had gone on a date with Stevens, which culminated in a consensual sexual encounter at his apartment. When she returned home, she was confronted by a jealous and enraged Barker.
What followed was a chilling plot orchestrated by Barker to murder Stevens. Nourn, allegedly fearing for her own life and under duress from Barker, lured Stevens out of his apartment under the pretense of having car trouble. Once Stevens was in his vehicle with Nourn, Barker, pretending to be Nourn's brother, got into the back seat. He directed Stevens to a deserted area where he shot him. Following the murder, Barker pushed Stevens's body into the passenger seat, and with Nourn following in Barker's car, they drove to a gas station to purchase gasoline. They then drove to another location where Barker set Stevens's car on fire with his body inside.
Both Ny Nourn and Ronald Barker were eventually arrested and faced separate trials. Nourn was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Barker was also convicted of murder and received a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. The tragic death of David Stevens, a man described as not having an enemy in the world, was a stark and brutal consequence of jealousy and manipulation.
