Detective Gary Deckard and his team find themselves trapped in a real-life Nightmare on Elm Street.
Shortly after midnight on May 21, 1990, police entered a home at 5223 Elm Street in Salida, a small agricultural town in California. Inside were the bodies of Denise Colwell, Darlene “Emmie” Paris, Franklin Raper, and Richard Ritchie. All of the victims had suffered blunt force trauma and multiple stab wounds. Paris had been nearly decapitated.
“When I got to the crime scene, we had two deputies that responded to the first 911 call,” lead investigator Deckard told Fox News Digital. “All of these deputies were terrified by what they saw. And these are very big deputies … When I got to the crime scene, I understood why.”
Members of “The Cause,” led by Gerald Cruz, murdered four people. The case is being investigated in the true-crime series, “The Real Murders on Elm Street.” (investigation Discovery)
“When they went to kill these people, they turned off the power,” Deckard said. “So it was completely dark… It was a horrible crime scene. A female deputy told me it looked like Freddy Krueger was about to come out of the closet. There were bodies after bodies in this little house.”
This quadruple homicide is being investigated on Investigation Discovery’s true crime series, “The Real Murders on Elm Street.” Horrific cases across the country It all happened on “Elm Street.” It includes interviews with loved ones and investigators, among others.
“People have always wanted to know why someone would go into a house and brutally murder people,” Deckard said. “Was this the act of an individual or the leader of a group?”
Detective Gary Deckard was the lead investigator on the case. (investigation Discovery)
The police will get the answer soon.
A woman named Donna, who survived the attack, managed to escape and described how the murders were carried out by several people who were dressed in disguises and masks.
“I tried to get as much information from her as possible,” Deckard said. “I learned that Donna had come to the house. She had no place to go that night. She had come with another man who was one of the victims. She was in a bedroom when the murders began. One of the suspects had taken off his mask. This allowed Donna to see his face.”
“When everyone was being murdered, Donna ran to the garage,” Deckard continued. “There was no light inside, but she found a pile of clothes. She hid under the clothes and the suspects didn’t see her… When she got a chance, she ran to Elm Street and knocked on people’s doors, hoping someone would hear her screams. Eventually someone did. That’s how the call to 911 came in.”
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Police later learned that Gerald Cruz had given the order to kill everyone in the house. (investigation Discovery)
Several people from the town gathered outside the scene. After getting a description of the suspect from Donna – a Caucasian male with afro hair – one of the locals said, “It sounds like a guy named Jason. He lives near ‘the camp.'”
The police were familiar with the residential area, known to locals as “the camp.” The people living there kept to themselves.
When police arrived, they found camouflage clothing hanging on a clothesline. Investigators then headed to a nearby trailer that belonged to Gerald Cruz. He denied knowing anything about the murders but provided names of some members of his community.
Authorities soon identified Jason LaMarsh from “Camp.” He matched the description of the suspect Donna had seen that night. As the investigation progressed, police learned that Cruz was The leader of “The Cause” was According to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital, this was a group that “purported to advance the advancement of mankind.” LaMarsh was associated with this group.
Richard Vieira (pictured) claimed Gerald Cruz ordered him to murder Darlene Paris. (investigation Discovery)
“Gerald Cruz was a dynamic personality,” Deckard said. “He would pick people up off the street, who were maybe unemployed, who didn’t have any money. Then he would become like a father to them, promising that he would provide for their needs. They became so brave … that they were willing to do almost anything for him.”
Investigators obtained a search warrant for Cruz’s home. Inside they found masks, bomb-making materials, knife receipts, and Satanic literature. Court documents showed that Cruz’s journals contained the signatures and fingerprints of people who were identified as his followers.
There was also the “Circle of Punishment.” Deckard said this device was used to torture Cruise’s followers if they ever disobeyed. Some of the punishments included eating on the floor, beatings, and homosexuality in front of the group.
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On May 20, 1990, Gerald Cruz assembled James Beck (pictured here), Richard Vieira, and Jason LaMarsh. He assigned them tasks and dressed them in disguises. (investigation Discovery)
“When we found it on the property, we didn’t know what the wheel was about,” Deckard said. “I interviewed other people who were part of the group that Gerald Cruz supervised. They told me that the ‘Punishment Wheel’ was used when you got in trouble for anything. And Gerald ruled with an iron fist. If you got in trouble, you had to jump the wheel. Wherever your thumb landed on the wheel, that was the punishment you got.”
“There were a variety of punishments for that. But the weirdest punishment was having sex with someone of the same sex. But it could also be beatings, and a variety of other things,” Deckard said.
According to court documents, Cruz was arrested on charges of possessing explosives. Other followers were also taken into custody.
Ronald Wiley (pictured) was among those ordered to storm the Franklin rapper’s home. (investigation Discovery)
“We found out they had a meeting at the ‘camp’ where they all mostly lived,” Deckard said. “During that meeting, they were getting ready to kill the Franklin rapper. That was their motive. They didn’t know if anyone else would be at the house. But Gerald Cruz’s instructions were to make sure there were no witnesses.”
Court documents revealed that in January 1990, the rapper, who was about 50 years old, moved his trailer “camp.” He then had “an acrimonious relationship” with Cruz.
Cruz later told an acquaintance before the murders that he wanted to “take over the rapper.” After an altercation, the rapper’s car was set on fire.
The episode revealed that the rapper was never afraid of Cruz and didn’t think twice about standing up to him.
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According to court documents, Michelle Evans entered into a plea agreement. She was sentenced to one year in prison in exchange for her testimony. (investigation Discovery)
The series also revealed that the rapper was known for bringing in people who had no place to go.
Deckard said the rapper Targeted by Cruz and his group. Other victims were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
According to the episode, Cruz and his followers ambushed the rapper in his home. There, they gathered all the victims in the living room. Court documents state that the rapper was beaten so badly with a bat that his head and face were “disfigured.” He was also stabbed and suffered a broken arm.
From left to right, James David Beck, Ronald Wayne Wiley, Gerald Dean Cruz, Mitchell Lee Evans and Richard John Vieira are seen here in the Stanislaus County courtroom. (investigation Discovery)
Deckard said that as Paris was screaming and begging for her life, Cruz told Vieira to “shut her up.”
“Gerald Cruz had a huge influence on him,” Deckard said.
The episode explained that LaMarsh and Ronald Wiley were convicted of four counts of second-degree murder. Both were sentenced to 62 years in prison. Vieira is on death row at San Quentin, along with Cruz and James Beck. Michelle Evans pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder. She was sentenced to one year in prison in exchange for testifying at the trial. She spent six months in prison.
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Detective Gary Deckard admitted the case still haunts him decades later. (investigation Discovery)
Even today, Deckard has questions in his mind.
“Why would someone sacrifice their life to please one person, a master manipulator?” he said. “How could someone have so much power and rule over an entire camp to be a father and provide for everyone? Why would people sacrifice their entire lives and kill people they don’t even know? People who never did anything to them? It was horrifying. I have no answers.”
“The Real Murders on Elm Street” will air on ID on September 23 at 9pm. It will be available to stream on Max.
