The Murder of Katherine Cunningham and Feather River John Doe

April 16, 2019

The Murder of Katherine Cunningham and Feather River John Doe

Since I've started this blog, I realized that even a small blog can do powerful things to better their community and the area surrounding it. Cold cases have become a big part of this page. In talking about these cases, I've noticed bigger media sources tend to grab onto them, because, YOU GUYS are talking about them. Media tends to go where the most popular topics go...

Keep speaking for victims! Your voice is powerful.

This brings me to a murder that did not occur anywhere near the Yuba-Sutter area but it is tied in, in the most unusual way.

First I'll start with this heinous murder that has intrigued me since last year. By the end of this, you'll know why this case has weighed so heavily on me ever since ...

Katherine Elizabeth Cunningham

Affectionately called "Kay" by her friends, 26-year-old Katherine Cunningham was a vivacious young woman, who had big aspirations. She ran cross country at high school. In 2009, she graduated from Buhach Colony High School.

A family member has shared a pamphlet with me from her funeral that says she and her friends once created a Duct Tape Prom Dress in a challenge and completed on time. She loved to draw clothing designs.

Her dream was to open a cupcake shop. She even made cakes for weddings, birthdays and other events.

She loved to be silly.

She enrolled at Merced Community College where she graduated with a double major in Small Business Management and Business Administration.

Katherine met Jacob Gonzales, a Los Banos resident, online. He was 7 years her senior. The two dated for many years, off and on, even talking about marriage at one point. He was in the Air Force Reserves and Katherine decided to join too.

So, in 2012, Katherine joined the United States Air Force Reserves. She graduated Basic Training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio Texas. 349 Air Force Support, Flight 320/496. She flourished and was promoted quickly. She became her dorm leader. She continued her technical training Mississippi and was in Biloxi when Hurricane Isaac hit in August 2012.

Eventually, Katherine returned to California, where she worked at Travis Air Force Base as a personnel specialist.

While working at Travis AFB, her grandfather suffered a stroke which required 24-hour care, and she would help out. She had already worked home health jobs while going to college. This must have sparked something in Katherine because she then pursued her interest in Nursing, and became a Certified Nurses Assistant. She worked at Josephine Sunset home in Stanwood, Washington where she worked with senior citizens. She loved her job.

Katherine was everything her little sister Emma needed to look up to in a role model. She was described by her family as a kind person who loved to care for the elderly. According to her obituary, she was outgoing and by all accounts, someone who loved life. Emma described Katherine as a lover of the outdoors, including fishing and camping. She adored her three dalmatians, Dottie, Maci, and Purdie.

Life with Jacob -

Things were looking bright for Katherine and then suddenly, things seemed to slowly spiral in another direction.

Unbeknownst to Katherine's family, Gonzales had a track record including things such as auto theft, and other charges that prevented him from owning firearms. He had his records expunged prior to entering the Air Force Reserves.

It perplexes me that this was even possible.

In May 2014 he was discharged from the military after receiving a 13-day sentence for gross negligent discharge of a firearm at his home in Los Banos. In that incident, SWAT was deployed to get involved because they thought he had fired a gun at them.

Seemingly following Jacob's lead, in February 2015, Katherine left the military with an honorable discharge. By the 24th of the same month, the pair signed a lease to store property on a parcel on Tamarack Lane, in Camano Island, Washington State. The property was "off the grid" with no running water or electricity. The lease did not indicate that they would live on the property, but rather to store property.

At one point, they stayed with a friend in Stanwood and eventually moved into a 15-foot travel trailer on the property they leased.

Jacob was said to have been working in the fishing industry in the area.

This sudden change in lifestyle alarmed Katherine's family who felt she was throwing away an abundance of talent and aspirations. As any family would, they wanted Katherine to live life to her fullest potential.

The trailer where Katherine and Gonzales lived the last 3 years, Source King5

This feeling of uneasiness about Gonzales was mutually felt throughout Katherine's family. This is expressed through my discussions with family members as well as many articles where Emma, her sister, and her father Paul are interviewed.

Multiple news reports describe the pair as a couple in the most recent of events, but this is a theory that is refuted by the Cunningham family. The family believes that Katherine may have been trying to leave Jacob, to come back home.

Jacob's image began to change.

The property itself seemed to reflect the "survivalist type" that neighbors had described Jacob as. According to the Herald Net, a local paper in Everett Washington, a neighbor described Gonzales as a "bunker nut", who wanted to live "off the grid". On the property was a 1999 Honda that had a power inverter attached to it. It appeared that this may have been the only source of electricity they had.

The last anyone heard from Katherine was in December of 2017, when she spoke to her youngest sister, Emma. Katherine said she had been working as a CNA and wanted to go back to school.

Emma tried to call her sister in February but got no response.

Through a series of Facebook posts on his personal page, people began to notice that Jacob's appearance was changing pretty drastically.

The Brutal Murder of Katherine
A Timeline

Feb. 16, 2018, Yreka, California-

A silver 1998 Honda Civic was discovered abandoned just north of Yreka on a crest of 3,067-foot on I-5 at Anderson Grade Summit. Initially, the car was tagged with a parking violation warning.

February 19th-

A second officer, noticing the vehicle was still there after being tagged, called for a tow truck to collect and impound the vehicle.

In the trunk, a sheathed samurai sword in a blanket was discovered. The sword was briefly examined and returned to the trunk. The car was then taken to a local impound yard.

Inside the car were Katherine's clothes and personal belongings. To the family, this solidifies their theory that Katherine was ready to leave.

March 3rd. Camano Island, Washington-

Neighbors to a wooded 10-acre parcel on East Tamarack Lane were walking about the property with intentions of buying the land. In a ravine at the end of a 70-foot trail of a dozen empty nylon sandbags, they came upon a Red-Flyer wagon with a sleeping bag on top of it, covered by a tarp. The arrangement of items, according to court documentation, seemed out of place to those witnesses.

One of the witnesses nudged the sleeping bag with their foot. The group quickly realized that there was clearly a heavy mass inside; but of what, they did not know. The same witness used his foot to open the top of the tarp and sleeping bag. It wasn't until they peeked inside, that they realized that they were looking at the remains of a human being.

They called 911.

The terrain at E. Tamarack Lane is a very wooded area as seen on Google Maps.

After further investigation, the sheriff's department was able to ascertain that the person inside was Katherine Cunningham. She had been cruelly decapitated.

She was dressed in what police described as "pajamas". Perhaps she was ready to go to bed, or just awakening.

Her final cause of death was due to the decapitation. We can only hope that she was unconscious and unaware of what was happening to her.

Little to no blood was found where her body was located, but bloody rags were found scattered throughout the property.

The nylon bags also led to a military-style bunker with a cache of survival supplies including fully loaded guns, and over a thousand rounds of ammunition. The bunker was only accessible by ladder.

The Bunker, Source - King5

Court records described the bunker-

"The hole, which is approximately feet deep and 4 feet around is obviously man made and reinforced with wood to keep it from collapsing. There is a ladder going down and the hole that continues under the hillside dee(p) enough that we could not see its entirety from the surface. Based on the totality of what I wa(s) seeing I believed it to be a manmade bunker, the type used by survivalists. For officer safety w(e) wanted to clear the bunker but could not without actually entering it. We returned to th(e) perimeter and guarded the area until we could get a video camera to examine the interior from the surface."

A lack of blood at the crime scene suggested that Katherine was killed at another location and brought back to this trail.

Missing was Jacob Gonzales, as was Katherine's silver Honda Civic.

By the time Katherine was discovered, he had a 16-day advantage over authorities on his trail. Considering her car was found in Yreka, chances are, Jacob was heading home to Los Banos.

March 12th-

Detective C.E. Wallace Jr, who has been assigned to Katherine's case, receives notification that the reported stolen Honda has been recovered by the California Highway Patrol, outside of Yreka, CA. After hearing about the sword that was located inside, it is requested that the officer returns to the vehicle to properly secure it with evidence tape.

March 15th-

The vehicle is then returned to Island County for further investigation and is placed into evidence storage.

March 16th-

A warrant is executed on searching the vehicle. The sword was removed and taken to Island County Sherriff's Department where it was examined closer. it was discovered that blood was present on the weapon. Several DNA samples were taken from the weapon, as well as the steering wheel and other locations within the vehicle.

The sword recovered was consistent with the type of weapon that may have been used to cause the injuries that Katherine had sustained.

June 22nd, 2018 -

DNA had a hit. The blood on the blade of the sword was a positive match for Katherine. A second profile, which was male, was also found at the hilt of the weapon. The second subject was submitted to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database and that too was a hit. The second profile matched Jacob Gonzales.

The swabs of the steering wheel also came back as a positive match for Gonzales and Cunningham.

June 29, 2018 -

A one million dollar warrant is issued for the arrest of Jacob Gonzales for Second Degree Murder.

Island County Prosecuting Attorney, Gregory M. Banks Public Release Statement, along with an affidavit detailing the investigation -

"Yesterday, I amended the charges against 33-year-old Jacob Gonzales, charging him with Domestic Violence Murder in the Second Degree, while armed with a deadly weapon, in the death of Katherine Cunningham. Mr. Gonzales had originally been charged with firearms and vehicle theft offenses, pending additional investigation and the results of forensic testing by the Washington State Crime Lab.

A samurai sword had been recovered from the trunk of Ms. Cunningham’s stolen car, which had been abandoned near Yreka, California. On Wednesday, June 27, we received results of DNA and biological testing on the sword. Those lab results indicate that Ms. Cunningham’s blood was on the blade of the sword, and Mr. Gonzales’ DNA was on the hilt. Based on those results, we amended the charges.

A 1 million dollar nationwide warrant remains in effect for Mr. Gonzales, whose whereabouts are still unknown. If Mr. Gonzales is convicted as charged, he faces a standard sentence of 240 – 340 months (20 years – 28 years and 4 months) in prison.

Attached to this release are the amended charging document, and the probable cause affidavit filed in Island County Superior Court on June 28, 2108.

For further information about the charging, contact Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks. gregb@co.island.wa.us 360.240.5506

For further information about the progress of the investigation, contact Detective Ed Wallace."

Rewind...

February 14-16th, 2018-

According to all accounts, these were average days for everyone near the property on Tamarack Lane, in Camano Island. Anyone would have been none-the-wiser to the atrocities that were occurring on these days.

According to court documentation, two cellphones, as well as a laptop computer was seized and examined. It was determined that the computer and cellphones showed activity by both Cunningham and Gonzales. All activity on all three devices stops on or about February 15th.

It is believed that Katherine was murdered on or about February 15th, 2018.

According to the same press release as above -

"COMES NOW, Detective C.E. Wallace Jr., who being first duly sworn on oath deposes and says:

That on or about February 15, 2018, in Island County, Washington, a crime, to wit, Murder i the second degree was committed against the person of Katherine E. CUNNINGHAM 07/14/1991, by Jacob GONZALES 12/17/1984."

Gonzales was described as 5'9, about 150 pounds, with black hair.

A memorial left for Katherine at the Tamarack Ln. Property, via the Justice for Katherine Page

John Doe

April 7th, 2018, Feather River, Sutter County, California-

Sutter County Sheriff's Department receives a call from local boaters, reporting a body floating in the Feather River Under the 10th St Bridge between Yuba City and Marysville, CA.

Originally the man was reported as a female because of the clothes he was wearing at the time, including female underwear. His genitalia was tucked back between his legs making him appear female on first glance.

The Sheriff's Department issued a press release, asking for the Public's help in identifying the decedent by tattoos that were found on the man's body.

An autopsy was performed shortly thereafter. Investigators attempted to attain fingerprints, but it has been suggested that decomposition was far too advanced to obtain them.

In an Appeal-Democrat article, it says, the man's cause of death is pending toxicology results. As of today 4/3/19, no toxicology reports have been released by the Sheriff's Department. Their only feedback on findings is that there was no evidence of foul play.

John Doe was described as being 5'6 and weighing approximately 125 pounds, with dark hair and multiple tattoos.

Two of the tattoos on the deceased man's body were shared by the Sheriff's Department.

1. A sheepdog tattoo, that had a banner that read "Sheep Dog" with US and AF at the edges of the banner.

2. An ambigram that read "Hope" and "Faith".

I ran the story and got an outpouring of concerned readers, hoping to identify the John Doe.

I received photo after photo of similar tattoos, but they were never quite right in their line quality, shading or composition. None of the Sheepdog tattoos shared with me had the "US-AF" on the banner. (I assumed this stood for "United States Air Force")

November 2018 -

The John Doe case, even to this day is probably one of the biggest stories I've run, in regards to traffic it has generated. I can see why. People have an inherent desire to solve the unknown. It's natural to wanna help out in these cases. It's what invoked me to run the story in the first place.

Outside of my post on Facebook, there was little news coverage of the John Doe case.

It's almost as if people had forgotten.

My page would occasionally get some traffic when someone would share my post. This would cause sporadic bouts of interest on the subject of identifying the man.

In November of 2018, I had a woman message me to find out if I had any new info on John Doe. I, of course, did not. The woman was a relative of Katherine Cunningham, writing to me to find out if I had any new information regarding the toxicology of our John Doe.

She did not allude to the situation (a homicide), Katherine's name, nor who the person of interest may have been. She only told me that her family was looking for someone and that John Doe's tattoos matched that person.

She let me know that a family member had seen my post regarding the man found in the Feather River, and was able to make the connection.

I was excited and partially skeptical at the same time. People talk a lot on social media, and we cannot always gauge what is truth and what is not. I wanted to know exactly who she was talking about. After months of web sleuths using my post to pick apart the investigation, as well as attempt to identify Doe, I had my fill of false hopes.

I respected her hesitation in sharing identifying information with me. After all, media and similar platforms these days have a reputation of being less than trustworthy. I let her know that if I heard any more info, that I would be happy to share with her and her family.

She assured me that once the information was confirmed, she would give me an update.

I let her know my goals were always aligned with the best interest of the victims and their family in mind.

She lowered her guard and opened up to me. She explained to me that this case involved homicide and that John Doe could possibly be the suspect.

This jolted me.

This woman was a family member of Katherine's, and there was a manhunt for the man police believed brutally murdered her.

My John Doe, a murderer? I was shocked.

The tattoo can be seen on Jacob's forearm.

To keep from jeopardizing the case, she withheld names and details to play it safe. I didn't blame her. It's hard to trust anyone with a platform like mine.

She told me DNA would take up to 30 days so I kept the information to myself.

For days on end, this ate at me. I found myself up at night searching Northern California homicides and warrants for homicide. That's when I ran across a photo of Jacob Gonzales. There was an intuitive feeling in my gut that said, "THAT'S HIM".

I began to research the case further, and I ran across the "Justice for Katherine Cunningham" Facebook page. I scoured through multiple photos of Katherine and Jacob when a sickly photo revealed itself. It was a photo of the exact same Sheepdog tattoo as John Doe.

I physically felt ill.

I recognized the tattoo down to the US -AF on its banner, the lines, the shading....complete match across the board. I had looked at many similar tattoos since April and not a single one gave me the sinking feeling this one did when I looked at it.

I grabbed both photos and put them side by side. An exact match.

Jacob's tattoo on the left. John Doe on the right.

As for the tattoo, concentrate on any spot within it, and compare with the other. Across the board it was identical. I know some good tattoo artists, but it's nearly impossible to replicate EVERY aspect identically. (Grant it there are some slight changes in hue, which I believe is due to the advanced stages of decomposition in John Doe. Living skin vs. not living skin, there will be slight tonal differences)

Knowing that these findings had been reported to SCSD by family, I let it rest.

The relative contacted me again in December to see if I had heard any developments in the case, and of course, the answer was no. I let her know that I had investigated the matter and figured out who her family was looking for (Gonzales).

After 30 days, I contacted the relative and asked if they had made any headway. She told me that they had not heard anything. I could tell that she (and her family) were growing frustrated with the matter. I thanked her for her time and advised her that I felt it was proper for myself, having connected the dots as well, to also submit a tip to the SCSD.

January 12th, 2019 -

I felt I had no other choice but to report the findings myself. So I did. I followed the crime tip reporters link in the original post, submitted by the SCSD themselves.

Here is what I submitted-

"I run the blog Deviation Diaries. I ran the story about the tattooed John Doe that was found in the Feather River last April. A family member of a woman who was murdered last year, contacted me to find out if I had learned anything new on the identity of the John Doe and told her no. She told me that the tattoos matched the man wanted in connection to the murder of this girl named Katherine Cunningham. His name is Jacob Gonzales. She showed me some comparison tattoos and I have no doubt this is the man. It's a 100% match down to flaw and detail. This family member who messaged me lives in the UK, and she told me the family had contacted detectives in Sutter County, but, I feel like out of due diligence it would be a good idea to submit anyways. I just want to make sure the information has been properly shared with you all, just in case.
Not to worry I have not shared these facts with anyone, as to not hinder an investigation. I just want to make sure you all have been given the information.

This is Jacob's Facebook-
https://www.facebook.com/jacob.gonzales.507
Here is the Justice for Katherine page.
There are photos of him with the tattoo there. Has the exact same detail as the tattoo on John Doe, right down to the "US Af" on the banner.
https://www.facebook.com/justice4katherine/photos/a.429088807615113/438657116658282/?type=3&theater

And here is the crime in question-
https://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/local/crime/article214109159.html

Anna Hill
(530)xxx-xxxx"

I had hoped by now to have received a callback, but I have heard nothing.

Present -

4/10/19

I am personally growing frustrated with the stagnancy of the situation.

It has now been over a year since Katherine Cunningham was brutally murdered.

Jacob Gonzales has not been found alive, and we have a John Doe that is so eerily similar to Gonzales.

I cannot comprehend how anyone could possibly dispute the exact details of the tattoo.

I do not know what could contribute to the discrepancies regarding his height, but the changes in weighs can easily be attributed to things like incorrect guesses about his original weight, or even weight-loss due to stress.

Near the 1 year anniversary of Katherine's death, Detective Ed Wallace made a statement regarding the case to the Stanwood Camano News, “We hope to have something in the near future. Law enforcement officers are still following leads, but have no new information to make public at this time.”

4/14/19
Over the course of the past 5 months, Katherine's family and I have kept in contact. I have had the pleasure of talking to a few of her family members.

The Sheriff's Department in Sutter County has received several crime tips, including mine, about the connection.

Initially, a sample from the sword and DNA from John was compared.

According to a recent 4/14/19 Appeal-Democrat article, Sheriff Brandon Barnes of the Sutter County Sheriff's Department, "The DNA sample turned out not to be sufficient steps have been taken to obtain a second sample and we are pending notifications from DOJ."

We are still waiting on conclusive DNA results.

While it is hard not to speculate, the only way we will know for sure is when Sutter County Sheriff's Department releases information on this case.

Until then, we wait patiently for the results.

I have had to remind myself that the Cunningham's are not the only family in this case.

Jacob's family deserved closure as well.

4/16/19 - JOHN DOE IS JACOB CONZALES

PER ISLAND COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT PRESS RELEASE

"Homicide suspect from March 2018, Camano Island Homicide found deceased in California

Media Release April 16, 2019:

A “John Doe” located in the Feather River in Yuba City California has been positively identified via DNA as Jacob GONZALES, the suspect in the murder of 26-year-old Katherine Cunningham whose body was found March 3, 2018, on Camano Island Washington.

Katherine was found on the property of the rural Camano Island home she shared with the suspect. The subsequent investigation revealed that Katherine had been murdered on February 14th or 15th. Katherine’s vehicle was found by the California Highway Patrol on February 16th disabled and abandoned on Interstate 5 near Yreka California. On February 19th the vehicle was towed as an abandoned vehicle by the California Highway patrol and placed in impound (the murder had not been discovered yet).

After Katherine was discovered, an attempt to locate was put out on her missing vehicle and the California Highway Patrol notified the Island County Sheriff’s Office that they had the vehicle. Deputies from the Island County Sheriff’s Office recovered the vehicle from California and towed it back to Washington where Detectives obtained a search warrant.

The search warrant located a “Samurai” sword wrapped in a blanket that appeared to match the type of weapon that was used to inflict the injuries on Katherine. Testing found Katherine’s DNA on the blade and GONZALES DNA on the handle.

On April 7th, 2018, the Sutter County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a body that had been located in the river in Yuba City California. With no identification the body was classified as a “John Doe” and Sutter County requested the public’s help with identification by posting photographs of “John Doe’s” tattoos.

In November of 2018 tips regarding the tattoos led detectives to believe that “John Doe” was Jacob GONZALES. Samples were sent to a DNA lab in California for positive identification, that identification was made on April 16, 2019.

The Island County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Snohomish County Violent Offender Task Force, the US Marshals Office, the California Highway Patrol, the Redding Police Department, the Los Baños Police Department, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office and all of the other agencies and citizens that provided information that helped in this investigation. We would also like to thank Katherine’s family for their patience and their tireless efforts to keep Katherine in the public’s thoughts.

Questions regarding the homicide investigation should be directed to the Island County Sheriff’s Office, questions regarding the recovery of GONZALES body should be directed to the Sutter County Sheriff’s Office."

UPDATE

Per Sutter County Sheriff's Department

"On 4/7/2018, an unidentified body was discovered floating in the Feather River, just north of the 10th Street Bridge in Yuba City. The unidentified remains were spotted by a local fisherman, who then contacted local law enforcement. The remains appeared to have been in the water for an extended period of time and displayed severe decomposition, beyond the point of recognition. The decedent was not in possession of any form of identification and was subsequently entered into the Missing and Unidentified Person's System (MUPS). An exhaustive search was initiated by the Sutter County Sheriff's Detective Division, in an attempt to identify the subject classified as "John Doe". Utilizing a number of identifiers and tattoos, the investigation stretched as far as Florida and New York.

In November of 2018, our office received information that there was a homicide suspect named Jacob Gonzales wanted in the state of Washington. Gonzales was suspected of beheading his girlfriend and possibly matched the description of our unidentified "John Doe." After numerous conversations with other law enforcement agencies, it was determined that the information they provided pertaining to their homicide suspect matched identifiers belonging to our unidentified "John Doe."

We then checked the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and were able to confirm the suspect in Washington State had his DNA on file. At that point, we obtained DNA from the decedent's remains and the Department of Justice DNA Missing Persons Unit performed an analysis against the DNA belonging to the homicide suspect.

On April 16, 2019, our office received confirmation from the Department of Justice DNA Missing Persons Unit that the subject we classified as "John Doe" was Jacob Gonzales, the homicide suspect wanted in Washington State."

Final cause of death - Drowning.

CASE CLOSED...

I have waited for confirmation to speak out.

We will probably never know what caused this violent situation to happen.

We probably will never know what Katherine's last moments were like, and we may never know how Jacob ended up in that river. All we have to go by is the final result, and it was a tragic one.

As for the Cunningham family, thank you for trusting me with this sensitive information concerning Katherine's case. I know this has been pure hell for you and any silver lining must be nearly impossible to find.

I hope knowing he can never hurt anyone else, brings you some solace.

As for you Katherine, they're finally LISTENING!