Nearly five years after two Colusa women were found bludgeoned to death in Arbuckle, trial has finally been set for their accused killer.
Colusa County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey A. Thompson last week set Aug. 16-19 and Aug. 23-25 for the trial of Martin Christian Ehrke, 53, who is charged with the first degree murder of Jessica Lynn Mazak, 25, and Kimberly Lynn Taylor, 39, on Jan. 25, 2018.
The trial is expected to take at least six days, including jury selection, officials said.
After years of delays, largely due to questions about Ehrke’s mental competency to stand trial, court proceedings are expected to move forward.
According to testimony at a preliminary hearing in November, Ehrke admitted to law enforcement the day of the killing that he struck and killed Mazak in a fit of anger and rage, as she walked her dog on the isolated Hillgate Road ranch belonging to the Ehrke family.
Ehrke allegedly confessed to similarly killing Kimberly Lynn Taylor, 39, as she slept.
Mazak, whose body was found in a pond on the property, and Taylor, whose body was found in a freezer, died of blunt force trauma to the head, according to the coroner.
Ehrke has pleaded not guilty to two first degree murder charges and a special allegation of committing multiple murders, which could have sent him to death row if Gov. Gavin Newsom had not suspended capital punishment in California.
By executive order, Newsom, in March 2019, imposed a moratorium on executions in California, shut down the state’s execution chamber, and ended efforts to create a legally-defensible execution protocol.
“I think premeditated murder is wrong, in all its forms and manifestations, including government-sponsored premeditated murder,” Newsom said. “I don’t support the death penalty, never have.”
Newsom announced his decision to dismantle death row more than a year after the Arbuckle killings, although the Colusa County District Attorney’s Office had not formally announced if they would seek the death penalty in the Ehrke case.
District Attorney Brendan Farrell will oversee Ehrke’s prosecution. Ehrke is represented by Public Defender Brandon Williams. ■