In the spring of 1981, Paula "Patty" Geddling, a 23-year-old mother of two, was living in San Mateo County, California, separated from her husband. Her life, however, was violently cut short on April 24, 1981, ensnared in a plot of revenge over a trivial drug debt that had nothing to do with her. The events of that day would not only end her life but also lead to the murder of her close friend, 19-year-old Stacy Benjamin, the following day, leaving their families shattered for decades to
come.
The tragedy was set in motion by a dispute over a $185 drug deal. An acquaintance of a man named Donald Jay Beardslee claimed Geddling and Benjamin had taken money for methamphetamine but never delivered the drugs. A plan was devised by a group of individuals, including Beardslee, to lure the two young women to Beardslee's Redwood City apartment to forcibly get the money back. Beardslee, a 37-year-old Air Force veteran, was on parole at the time for a 1969 murder in Missouri.
On that fateful Friday, when Patty Geddling and Stacy Benjamin arrived at the apartment, the situation quickly escalated. One of the conspirators, Frank Rutherford, accidentally shot Geddling in the shoulder. Instead of taking her to a hospital as they claimed they would, Beardslee and two others, Ricarda "Rickie" Soria and Bill Forrester, drove the wounded young mother to a remote location on the San Mateo County coast. There, Beardslee shot her twice in the head with a sawed-off shotgun, ending her life.
The next day, the horror continued. Stacy Benjamin, who had been held at the apartment overnight, was driven more than 100 miles north to a secluded spot in Lake County. After a failed attempt by Beardslee and Rutherford to strangle her with a wire, Beardslee slit her throat with a knife. To mislead investigators, they pulled down her pants to suggest a sexual assault had occurred. The discovery of Paula Geddling's body on April 25th, however, quickly led police to the killer. A piece of paper with Beardslee's phone number was found in her pocket. When contacted, Beardslee confessed and led authorities to where he had left Stacy Benjamin's body.
Donald Jay Beardslee was charged with two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances. His accomplices faced different fates: Frank Rutherford was sentenced to life in prison and died there in 2003; Rickie Soria pleaded no contest to second-degree murder in exchange for her testimony and was sentenced to 15 years to life, eventually being paroled in 2015; Bill Forrester was acquitted. Beardslee, who had confessed to three murders in total over his lifetime, became the central figure in the prosecution.
In March 1984, a jury sentenced Beardslee to death for the murder of Paula Geddling and to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of Stacy Benjamin. For more than two decades, the families of the victims waited as Beardslee's case went through numerous appeals. His lawyers argued he suffered from brain damage and was manipulated by his accomplices, but these claims were repeatedly rejected.
On January 19, 2005, Donald Jay Beardslee, aged 61, was executed by lethal injection at San Quentin State Prison. Four members of Patty Geddling's family were present to witness the execution. Stacy Benjamin's stepbrother, Tom Amundson, also attended, fulfilling a promise to his late mother that he would see justice served. He had waited 24 years for that moment. For Paula Geddling's family, the pain remained raw. Her daughter, who was only four when her mother was killed, later expressed that growing up without her meant there could never be true closure, a permanent void left by a senseless and brutal crime.
