Blues Guitarist's Daughter Killed

C O N C O R D, Calif., Aug. 10 , 2000 -- The search for three missing people endedwith the discovery of their bodies in a river, bringing the deathtoll to five in a mystery that stretches from the Sacramento Deltaacross the San Francisco Bay to posh Marin County.

Authorities confirmed the worst on Wednesday for family and friendsof the daughter of blues guitarist Elvin Bishop and a missingConcord couple when they identified the dismembered bodies fishedfrom a Sacramento County river as those of Selina Bishop, 22, ofWoodacre, and Ivan Stineman, 85, and his wife, Annette, 78.

The discovery follows the murder of Bishop’s mother JenniferVillarin, 45, and her friend Joseph Gamble, 54, who were found shot todeath in Bishop’s apartment on Aug. 3.

A Case of Greed?

The suspects in the deaths of Bishop and the Stinemans areSelina Bishop’s boyfriend, 30-year-old Glenn Helzer, his brother,Justin Helzer, 28, and friend Dawn Godman, 26, prosecutors saidWednesday.

And greed and extortion are believed to be among the motives forthe murders

The Helzers and Godman, who shared a house in Concord, were heldwithout bail Wednesday on other charges.

Although Marin County Sheriff’s investigators were working withConcord police officers Wednesday, authorities have not officiallylinked the three deaths with those of Gamble and Villarin.

The first bag containing body parts was found Monday when themanager of Willow Berm Marina near Isleton spotted a duffel bag inthe Mokelumne River. A marina employee found a second bag Tuesday,which contained a human head. A third bag containing human remainswas found on Tuesday and divers recovered another five Wednesday.

Rachel Linden, who manages the marina with her husband, watchedas at least one of the bags was recovered. “It was creepy whenthey lifted up the canvas bag,” she told the San FranciscoExaminer. “You could see blood mixed with the water. We knew rightaway this was trouble.”

Harold Jewett, a Contra Costa County deputy district attorney,said the Stinemans and Bishop all suffered blunt trauma beforebeing dismembered.

When asked about motive in the case of the Stinemans, Jewettsaid, “Money … extortion.”

He was less certain about Selina Bishop. “It’s a little bit ofa mystery why Selina met her end the way she did,” Jewett said.

Neighbors’ Suspicions

The gruesome tale began July 30, the last day anyone saw theStinemans, a retired couple from Chevron.Their daughter Nancy Hall reported them missing on Aug. 3 afterrepeated phone calls to their home went unanswered and she founduncollected newspapers at the front door.

A neighbor of the Stinemans, who asked not to be identified,told the San Francisco Chronicle he saw two men with ponytailswearing brown suits enter the Stineman home the evening of July 30.

The day Hall reported her parents missing is the same dayVillarin and Gamble were found dead. The couple had beenhousesitting the Woodacre studio for Bishop, who had reportedlygone to Yosemite National Park with Glenn Helzer.

After Bishop failed to report for her shift at the Two Bird Cafein San Geronimo on Friday, the Marin County Sheriff’s Departmentissued a missing persons report. Bishop was last seen with GlennHelzer at a restaurant in Berkeley.

Evidence began to link the cases.

Glenn Helzer was once a stockbroker for the Stinemans, Jewettsaid.

Detectives also found items in Helzer’s house that linked it tothe Stinemans’ home, Concord Police Lt. Paul Crain said. Inaddition, Jewett said, palm prints from at least one of the Helzerbrothers were found inside the couple’s van, which was recovered inOakland Sunday with the keys inside.

Glenn Helzer was arrested at his home Monday on suspicion ofrobbery, burglary and other charges unrelated to the murders.

Police said he ran from the house as police arrived and brokeinto a nearby home. He allegedly armed himself with two kitchenknives, threatened the residents and asked for a pair of scissors,which he used to cut off his ponytail.

Officers said the residents asked Helzer if he had killedsomebody and he replied, “Not yet.”

Arrested with him were his brother and Godman, who were chargedwith drug possession and unlawfully driving or taking theStinemans’ van, Jewett said.

Victim Becomes Suspect

The Sacramento Bee reported Wednesday that Selena Bishop may have beenpart of a plan to rob the Stinemans. Citing authorities andsources, the newspaper said that Ivan Stineman was forced to writeout two checks totaling $100,000 to Bishop during a robbery of theStineman’s house.

The Bee also reported that sources said Selena Bishop called a bankinquiring about how to cash the checks. The Bee sources said Bishop objected when the Stinemans were killed and that she later fled.

An after-hours phone call by The Associated Press to the ConcordPolice Department and the Marin County Sheriff’s department toconfirm the report were unsuccessful.

The Helzers and Godman did not enter a plea when they werearraigned at Contra Costa County Superior Court Wednesday. Citingthe “truly horrible nature of this crime,” Jewett urged the judgeto hold the three without bail, calling then a “danger to thecommunity.”

They are due back in court Friday.

Earlier in the case, Selina Bishop’s father, best known for his1976 pop hit “Fooled Around and Fell in Love,” did not want tocomment, according to Mike Grill, who works for Alligator Recordsin Chicago.

A call to Alligator Records Wednesday was not returned.