Kevin Bernard Haley: Los Angeles Murderer and Suspected Serial Killer
Background
Kevin Bernard Haley, born October 21, 1963, was a Los Angeles-area murderer, rapist, burglar, and suspected serial killer whose most serious known crimes occurred during a violent crime spree in 1984. Haley often operated in the same criminal environment as his older brother, Reginald Haley. Police ultimately investigated the brothers in connection with a much wider series of burglaries, sexual assaults, robberies, and homicides. Kevin Haley was convicted of murdering two women, Dolores Clement and Laverne Stolzy, although investigators also suspected him in additional killings.
Many of the crimes attributed to the Haley brothers involved women attacked inside their homes. Investigators described a pattern in which residences were entered for burglary or robbery and victims were assaulted when they encountered the intruder. Police believed the brothers committed large numbers of property crimes and sexual assaults during the period surrounding the murders. Contemporary investigators also suspected that money obtained through burglaries and robberies was being used to support heavy cocaine use.
The Murder of Laverne Stolzy
Laverne Stolzy was 56 years old when she was killed in Los Angeles on June 25, 1984. She was attacked inside her residence as she was preparing for bed. Evidence presented in the later prosecution showed that Stolzy suffered a violent assault that included being struck with a piece of lumber. Prosecutors also alleged that she was sexually assaulted during the attack.
Haley was originally prosecuted in connection with Stolzy's murder during his 1988 trial, but that jury could not reach a verdict on the charge. The unresolved case remained significant for decades. Advances in forensic testing eventually provided prosecutors with additional evidence connecting Haley to Stolzy. He was later tried again and convicted of her murder. The conviction made Stolzy one of the two homicide victims for whose deaths Haley was conclusively convicted.
The Murder of Dolores Clement
Dolores Clement, 55, lived in an apartment building on South Dunsmuir Avenue in Los Angeles. During the late-night or early-morning hours of September 26-27, 1984, a neighbor heard a scream. On the morning of September 27, another neighbor noticed that a screen was missing from Clement's bedroom window. Looking through the opening, the neighbor saw Clement's body inside.
Police found Clement dead on her bed. Investigators recovered a fingerprint and palm print from inside the residence that were later identified as Haley's. Forensic investigators also recovered hair evidence associated with the attack. After Haley was arrested in October 1984, detectives confronted him with the fingerprint evidence. He subsequently admitted entering Clement's apartment and gave police a detailed account of the crime.
According to Haley's confession, he entered the apartment intending to steal money and concealed himself in a closet when Clement entered the bedroom. He then approached her purse. When Clement began screaming, Haley attempted to silence her and struggled with her on the bed. Haley admitted taking money, sexually assaulting Clement, and placing his hands around her neck. Medical evidence established that Clement had suffered extensive injuries during the assault. Haley maintained that Clement was still breathing when he left, but she died from the attack.
A jury convicted Haley of Clement's first-degree murder as well as burglary, robbery, rape, and sodomy. The case resulted in a death sentence. In 2004, the California Supreme Court upheld Haley's murder and other felony convictions but overturned the special-circumstance findings supporting that particular death judgment because of an error in the jury instructions concerning intent to kill. Haley was subsequently subjected to further penalty proceedings.
Verified Victims and Dates
- Laverne Stolzy, 56 - Killed June 25, 1984, at her residence in Los Angeles, California. She was attacked inside her home and suffered severe injuries, including blows inflicted with a piece of lumber. Haley was ultimately convicted of her murder.
- Dolores Clement, 55 - Killed during the night of September 26-27, 1984, and discovered September 27, 1984, at her apartment on South Dunsmuir Avenue in Los Angeles, California. She was robbed, sexually assaulted, and strangled during the attack. Haley confessed to entering her apartment and attacking her and was convicted of her murder.
Other Killings Investigated by Police
The investigation extended far beyond the two murders for which Haley was convicted. In November 1984, Los Angeles police publicly described Kevin and Reginald Haley as suspects in a group of eight homicides involving seven older women and a teenage girl. Some later accounts have supplied names and dates for additional suspected victims, but surviving sources contain conflicting dates and other discrepancies in several of those cases. They therefore should not be presented as proven victims of Kevin Haley.
One especially significant additional case involved a teenage girl identified in contemporary reporting as Jodi or Jodie Samuels. Authorities suspected Haley in her fatal shooting during an attempted street robbery and at one point prepared a separate prosecution. Investigators reportedly connected ammunition evidence from that shooting with another shooting occurring in the same general period. Haley was nevertheless never convicted of Samuels' murder, and the case should be distinguished from his confirmed convictions for the deaths of Clement and Stolzy.
Arrest and Investigation
Haley came under increasingly intense police scrutiny in the fall of 1984. He was arrested on a burglary matter shortly after Clement's death and was questioned about the homicide. Investigators obtained his fingerprints, which were subsequently matched with prints recovered from Clement's apartment. Detectives arrested Haley again at his Los Angeles home on October 9, 1984.
During questioning, Haley admitted numerous crimes. Detectives reported that he acknowledged committing dozens of burglaries and several rapes, although he initially resisted responsibility for the broader series of murders being investigated. The scale of the investigation led police to examine additional unsolved homicides for possible connections to Kevin or Reginald Haley.
Trials and Death Sentences
Haley's first major murder trial took place in 1988. Jurors heard his recorded confession concerning Dolores Clement and evidence placing him inside her apartment. They convicted him of Clement's murder and associated felonies but were unable to reach a verdict concerning Laverne Stolzy. Haley received a death sentence for Clement's murder.
The California Supreme Court reviewed the case and, in 2004, left the Clement murder conviction intact while reversing the special circumstances and resulting death sentence because the jury had not been properly instructed on the intent-to-kill requirement applicable under the law governing the case. This ruling did not declare Haley innocent of Clement's murder; his conviction for killing her remained in place.
Decades after the original crimes, prosecutors again pursued the Stolzy case using additional forensic evidence. Haley was convicted of killing Stolzy, and a jury also reconsidered the circumstances surrounding Clement's murder. In 2014, a Los Angeles judge sentenced Haley to death for the two murders after jurors recommended capital punishment.
Legacy of the Case
Kevin Bernard Haley is sometimes described as a serial killer because investigators suspected him and his brother in a substantially larger series of homicides. Legally, however, the clearest description is that Haley is a convicted double murderer and suspected serial killer. His proven homicide victims are Laverne Stolzy and Dolores Clement. Assertions that every homicide investigated by Los Angeles police was committed by Haley go beyond what was established by his murder convictions.
The Haley investigation became notable for the extraordinary breadth of the underlying crime spree. Along with the murders, authorities associated Kevin Haley with repeated burglaries, robberies, and sexual assaults against women in the Los Angeles area. His conviction in the Clement case relied on a combination of physical evidence and his own detailed statements, while the Stolzy prosecution demonstrated how an unresolved homicide could be revived decades later through additional forensic evidence. The two confirmed murders, committed only three months apart in 1984, ultimately resulted in Haley receiving death sentences for both women.
