Friday, 03 June 2011
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A man who killed his girlfriend and told authorities that she had been hit by a truck was denied parole in a hearing last week.
On May 26, the Board of Parole Hearings denied parole for convicted murderer Timothy John Connors, 64.
Lake County Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff, who prosecuted Connors in the case, attended the lifer hearing at the Mule Creek State Prison in Ione to argue against Connors’ release.
Connors, who was represented by defense attorney Judy Conard, was convicted of the second-degree murder of his girlfriend, Nina Estagin Rolih. He was sentenced by Lake County Superior Court Judge David Herrick to 16 years to life on Dec. 28, 1998.
His minimum eligible parole date was July 12, 2012, Hinchcliff reported.
On April 10, 1997, Clearlake Police Department received a 911 call that Rolih, who was living with Connors, had been hit and killed by a truck. When officers arrived at 3527 Monroe St. they found Rolih’s body under some debris and a blanket next to the roadway, according to case records.
Upon further investigation by Clearlake Police Investigator Ron Larsen, who is now retired, it was determined that Connors had cut Rolih’s throat with a butcher knife inside the residence, loaded her body in a garbage can, wheeled her down the driveway, dumped her at the end of the driveway, and partially covered the body.
Investigators also determined the murder took place a day and a half before Rolih's death was reported.
Connors gave investigators a detailed story about how some guys in a big black truck were racing up and down the street at night and hit Rolih, killing her.
After officers told Connors they did not believe the story, he claimed he acted in self defense and had to kill her when she attacked him in a drunken rage.
At trial, which lasted six weeks, Connors claimed self defense and further claimed that because of extreme intoxication at the time he could not have formed the intent to kill her.
The prosecution pointed out that he went to great lengths to hide the crime and set up a defense for someone who claimed not to know what they were doing.
At trial Hinchcliff also put on evidence of prior domestic violence, including evidence that Connors had previously threatened to kill Rolih and that he had stabbed her several times with a knife while intoxicated in 1996.
At the two-hour hearing May 26, Hinchcliff asked the Board of Prison Hearings to deny Connors parole on the ground that he still presented an unreasonable risk of danger to the public, especially females, if released, and failed to exhibit any remorse or accept responsibility for his conduct.
Connors has also had disciplinary problems while in prison and failed to address his chronic alcoholism or domestic violence problems, Hinchcliff said.
Hinchcliff also asked the commissioners for a lengthy parole denial for the reason that it would be unrealistic to expect Connors to be ready for parole at any time in the near future.
The Board of Parole Hearings agreed with that assessment and denied parole for the maximum allowable time of 15 years.
Connors’ next scheduled parole hearing will be in 2026.
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