Arraignment is scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday, June 30th) in Sutter County Superior Court. He is the stepson of the murder victim, Elmer McDonald. McDonald's wife, Lela Kathryn McDonald is charged only as an accessory to the crime at this time. Both are being held at this time today in Sutter County Jail on $250,000 bail each.
Investigators seem to believe that the murder happened at Lela and Elmer McDonald's mobile home in West Sacramento. Elmer's arms, head and a leg were found at or near Beer Can Beach in Sutter County, while his torso was found in the river in Sacramento County. Law enforcement first encountered Michael Gold near Beer Can Beach back in November, just days before the leg was found.
I still have a lot of questions about this case and I'm hoping that as time goes on some of them will be answered. One big question I have right now has to do with jurisdiction. If Elmer McDonald was murdered by Michael Gold in West Sacramento, wouldn't the murder case be "theirs"? There are three different counties involved in this case:
- Yolo County, which is where Elmer McDonald lived and allegedly was murdered.
- Sacramento County, where the torso was found.
- Sutter County, where a leg, two arms and a head was found.
I'll update again if more information becomes available.
Previous blog posts on the case:
Body Parts on a Beach? Mystery time!
Body Parts ~ Mystery Solved?
Body Parts ~ Mystery Update
News Sources:
Appeal Democrat ~ UPDATE: Body parts suspect booked on murder charge
CBS 13 ~ Sutter Co. Body Parts Suspect Facing Murder Charge
Posts
7 comments:
Hi Anakerie! I wonder what the heck this guy looks so happy about in his mugshot? Strange.
I'm not positive but I think the county with jurisdiction will be where they have to prove the murder occurred, so if it is believed to have happened in Yolo County they would have jurisdiction....
Are they charging him in Sutter County because he was spotted there shortly before the remains were found? Hmmmm.....interesting case.
Looking forward to your updates. :)
I've been wondering about the goofy smile on that guy ever since they first published the picture.. Strange one, isn't it?
Both Gold and his mother were arraigned here in Sutter County. The authorities believe the murder happened in the mobile home that was the residence for the victim, his wife and the stepson, Gold. The mobile home is in West Sacramento, Yolo County. The torso was found in Sacramento County and the rest of the "parts" were found in Sutter County. For now, it seems, the investigation is a multi-agency thing with Sutter County in the "lead" position. One of the articles I read said that both Sacramento County and Yolo County are agreeable to Sutter County prosecuting both Michael Gold and Lela McDonald. Gold is being held without bail and his mother, Lela is being held on $270,000 bail. The investigation is continuing, as far as I can tell.
They were arraigned last wednesday and there was a small article in the paper which I didn't bring over here. The creepy part is what I heard on the radio on my way home... The reporter talked about the charges and the bail that was set for Lela.. Then he said that Lela *winked* at Michael as they were being led out of the courtroom...
Here's a link to last week's article in the local paper:
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/gold-96590-mcdonald-county.html
First of all NOTICE the blue background? Its a DMV photo not a mug shot! And we know nothing of this familys background, who are we to judge???
His real mugshot is on the sutter county jail website
Hello whoknows???. Thanks for dropping by. I did notice the blue background and thought it might be a DMV photo, but since there was no verification at the time I wrote this blog entry (Nor was there a mug shot on the Sutter County Jail site at that time.) I simply used the photo that the local newspaper printed with the article.
As for your comment about his family's background, you've lost me. Are you referring to the comment from the radio announcer's comment about Lela winking at Michael? I still think it's creepy that she's winking at him while they're in a courtroom answering to charges that they murdered Mr. McDonald.
from who knows??? (forgot my password)
found this at another blog spot navywithmike wrote:
OMG you peeps are on the WRONG page here. Meth was involved 1st off. Old Elmer use to beat the crud out of Golds Mother 2nd of all, it has nothing to do with race. White, black or other. I have know Mike for over 19 yrs. and served w/him in the Navy in Hi. He was a Navy Diver and could "careless about race". He had a horrible childhood from this thing he calls "mother". She is nothing more than a drug addict and a whore. (Yes, a REAL one). She looks sooo sweet in this photo. She is evil all the way through. I truely believe that he TRIED to cover up what ever SHE did. Though she treated him very badly, he loved his mother very much because she is all he ever had. It is truely terrible to see this happen to a once GREAT man. The victim and his family...I am terribly sorry about this ordeal. My heart goes out to you ALL.
Hello again, Who Knows???
Do you realize that all you're doing is repeating a RUMOR? In my blog, I prefer to report facts or things reported on by the media. A comment on another message board/forum isn't a "fact" until it's been verified. By someone other than the original poster of the rumor. You can bring all the rumors you want here, but I have the moderation on for my blog so it's my prerogative to either publish it or "can" it.
This case is one that I watch for information on. I have ever since the first body parts showed up and I will until it's brought to trial, a verdict is given and a sentence has been levied on both Gold and his mother. There have been no news articles in the local paper since the one I reported on above so we can probably safely assume that Michael Gold and Lela McDonald are still sitting in the Sutter County Jail. Perhaps the new courthouse that has been proposed will be where these two are tried.
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