The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: unsolved murder

  • SoCal Connected Produces Lawson Documentary

    SoCal Connected Produces Lawson Documentary

    ‘Who Killed Josiah’ examines the consequences of a divided community and the effect David Josiah Lawson’s death had on his family

    In Humboldt County there are some people that don’t know about David Josiah Lawson, but others will remember his name and story for the rest of their lives.

    When Karen Foshay, an executive producer for KCET – a television station in Southern California, heard about Lawson’s murder she felt she had to follow the story. Foshay produced the 29-minute episode “Who Killed Josiah?” for KCET’s news documentary series SOCAL Connected.

    After three months of working on the news documentary, “Who Killed Josiah” premiered on KCET’s website, kcet.org, and YouTube on Oct. 22 and will air on KCET-HD and KCETLINK on Nov. 12, 13, 14 and 16.

    Foshay’s husband attended Humboldt State University as an undergrad. In January, when she and her husband were passing through Humboldt, she found herself on the scene covering a national news story when two local girls went missing from their backyard.

    “Along the way I meet a photojournalist who told me about an LA student who was killed up here,” Foshay said. “I looked into it and I was really interested. Not the death itself, but what this death did for the area.”

    “We couldn’t paint the community as racist. We had to be fair and give their voices and experiences justice.”

    Karen Foshay

    The episode follows the murder of David Josiah Lawson, a 19-year-old Humboldt State University student, who was stabbed at an off-campus party on April 15, 2017. The show examines the consequences of a divided community and the effect Lawson’s death had on his family.

    Foshay said that part of the reason she pursued Lawson’s story is because he moved to Humboldt from Perris, a city in Riverside County. She added that she understands many students move to Humboldt from Southern California. When she and her crew were investigating, they had to consider HSU’s policies, recruiting methods and how the institution approached the death of a student.

    When the crew collected more information, they weren’t able to separate Lawson’s story from the area.

    “The scenery and landscape is the backdrop,” Foshay said. “Rugged, scary, and drop dead gorgeous which frames the mystery of the story.”

    The crew filmed at familiar places in Humboldt, such as HSU’s campus, Eureka and Moonstone Beach. The crew also interviewed recognizable local faces, such as Lawson’s mother Charmaine Lawson, photojournalist Mark McKenna and former KHSU Office Manager Lorna Byrant.

    Photo courtesy of Karen Foshay

    Toward the end of their investigation, Foshay said that she and her crew obtained four hours worth of dash cam footage that captured dramatic moments of the night of the murder, as well as a call a police officer made to Charmaine breaking the news of her son’s death.

    “You have to keep asking questions and digging,” Foshay said.

    “Who Killed Josiah?” depicts an emotional and complex story that provides a variety of perspectives from Lawson’s family and the community at large.

    Foshay said that she wanted to respect the strong feelings on both sides.

    “We couldn’t paint the community as racist,” Foshay said. “We had to be fair and give their voices and experiences justice.”

  • Community shows strong support for 21st vigil

    Community shows strong support for 21st vigil

    Justice for Josiah movement urges Humboldt County District Attorney to take action

    A dark and densely-clouded evening marked the 21 month anniversary of David Josiah Lawson’s murder. On Jan. 15 at 5:30 p.m over 50 supporters of Justice For Josiah gathered in front of the Humboldt County Courthouse, where justice has yet to be served to the Lawson family.

    “What brings us here tonight is love,” Renee Saucedo, a member of the steering committee for Centro Del Pueblo, said as the first speaker of the vigil. “Love for our people, love for our communities and resistance against racism, resistance against lies, resistance against a system that treats a family the way it has treated the Lawson family.”

    It has been over nine weeks since the Arcata Police Department submitted its investigation of the stabbing death of David Josiah Lawson over to Humboldt County District Attorney Maggie Fleming. Lawson was stabbed multiple times at an off-campus house party on April 15, 2017, and no one has been charged for the crime.

    “I remain hopeful,” Saucedo said. “But I am shocked that after all this time the investigation in the department of justice that has DNA conclusion and opinions with law enforcement officers that the Humboldt County DA hasn’t pressed charges and brought justice for this family.”

    When asked about new incoming students at Humboldt State, Saucedo said they will have to fight and organize for justice like anywhere else. She said things can’t change unless students demand change.

    “We are calling on DA Fleming to file charges now,” Saucedo said. “ And if she doesn’t then we as a community have to consider our options including exposing the negligence and abuse of power by using every strategy possible with love and respect that we will also try to hold them accountable. This is Charmaine’s (Lawson) wish and so it is my wish too.”

    The new year marks the Humboldt County Courthouse as a new place for action for Lawson’s monthly vigils. Jill Larrabee, an organizer for Justice For Josiah who has been working side by side with Charmaine Lawson the last year, said the decision to switch to the courthouse was because the investigation is now with DA Fleming.

    “We were going to Arcata City Hall because their investigation was so stalled and we needed to put pressure on the city itself,” Larrabee said. “Now that the investigation is handed over to DA Fleming it’s time to pressure her and we will be there until there is an arrest.”

    Since the beginning of the case’s investigation there has been controversy involving how the APD handled the homicide. Tom Parker, a former FBI special investigator, was brought in to help but quickly resigned due to his frustrations with how the APD handled the case, with it being “clear they were holding back things and not telling me the truth.”

    Former Arcata Police Chief, Thomas Chapman, also resigned and is currently in a lawsuit filed under Charmaine Lawson. Police Lieutenant Tod Dockweiler, Police Detective Eric Losey, Officer Krystle Armino, and City Manager Karen Diemer are also defendants.

    Josiah’s criminal justice professor, Michihiro Clark Sugata, gave a speech that reflected the criminology major’s eagerness to learn and make a difference in the world.

    “I remember the first day I met Josiah, he was intelligent, excited to be there and he just had this ease about him,” Sugata said. “As the weeks progress I became more and more impressed with Josiah in terms of having a real gravity about him, drawing people in.”

    Sugata reminded the crowd that unfortunately, history shows us law and justice are not synonymous and one does not necessarily lead to the other. While reading a book about Baltimore and the death of Freddie Gray with his class, Sugata said he saw a clear engagement with Laswon taking in the material and asking himself ‘what’s it going to take to grow a better society?’ Sugata said he saw Lawson grow into that question throughout the 2016 fall semester.

    “We have to find a way to bring Josiah’s question to light,” Sugata said. “We have to ask ‘what is it going to take?’ we need to center that and we really need to call for justice in ways that go beyond just following procedure. I’m not saying that’s not important but if history has shown us anything it’s justice requires bravery of everyday ordinary people.”

  • Community still demands ‘Justice for Josiah’

    Community still demands ‘Justice for Josiah’

    Police are past their estimated time for solving the more than one-year-old crime

    He was smart. He had goals. He came to Humboldt to avoid the challenges of South L.A.

    These words were spoken outside of Arcata City Hall by Karim Muhammed, a friend of David Josiah Lawson. Lawson was murdered on April 15 2017 and his case still remains unsolved.

    Discussion on race and safety in the community were the main subjects amongst community members on Oct. 15. Tears streamed down faces as homemade posters of Lawson were hung on the walls in front of Arcata City Hall.

    Muhammed met Lawson their freshman year in the dorms at HSU. He said he misses Lawson and was at his dorm everyday.

    “He was one of the first people I met when I moved to Humboldt,” Muhammed said.

    Muhammed said he thought Arcata was safe compared to south L.A but that isn’t his experience. How to keep moving forward he said is to bring awareness and continue to inform incoming students about Lawson’s murder.

    “We need to get it solved, get new people in power, get people informed and vote,” Muhammed said.

    Muhammed said the goal is to make the community safer but many people in the community are still oblivious to the death of Lawson or they just don’t care. When he learned of the roster release of the HSU’s predominantly African American student clubs to the Arcata Police Department, Muhammed said that was a big red flag. He said this shows where they stand with the situation and further proves their indifference.

    “People choose what they want to believe or they just don’t want to believe,” Muhammed said.

    Meg Stofvsky, a retired school psychologist, said the vigil’s are held to continue remembering Lawson as well as inform people who are new in the area. Stofvsky was representing Charmaine, Lawson’s mother, and said Charmaine has caught the interest of the California State University system about her son’s murder. She said Charmaine has been travelling to other CSU’s to talk about safety on campus and will be in Sacramento later this week.

    “We need a firm insistence we are not going to continue to let this happen,” Stofvsky said.

    It has been 18 months since Lawson’s murder and Stofvsky said the county seems to be sliding backwards. She said we need to continue having resilience and hope and to keep the Arcata Police Department accountable. Stofvsky said the APD recently gave a six to eight week time limit to solve the case and that limit is up.

    “We hear a lot of talk about progress from the APD but we haven’t seen any,” Stofvsky said.

    When Charmaine Lawson comes into town for court hearings or monthly vigils she stays at Sharon and Michael Fennell’s house. Both are HSU alumni and have been proponents seeking justice for Lawson. Sharon Fennell, was a KHSU DJ under the name Sista Soul and said she met Charmaine at the second vigil held for Lawson.

    “We show up once a month. This is a beautiful thing and Charmaine knows,” Fennell said.

    Fennell offered ideas to start selling “Justice for Josiah” shirts at the HSU bookstore to continue to bring awareness of his murder. She said that way Lawson would be seen more on campus and students would be reminded of what happened. A conflict Fennell has is that students come to HSU but then leave after they graduate, which keeps Humboldt from changing.

    “People need to come, stay, build businesses and change the community,” Fennell said. “If not we stay 80 percent white. Boring.”

    A member of the “Justice for Josiah” movement, Jill Larrabee, said actions by CSU and California Faculty Association are starting to take hold regarding safety on campuses but society needs to change. Larrabee said we need to learn, educate, heal and grow and get more people in office.

    “Humboldt County has the good ol’ boys club in power,” Larrabee said.

    To move forward Larrabee said white people need to converse with other white people about racism. Larrabee said racism is still a big problem here in Arcata but more and more people are coming out and acknowledging their privilege.

    “When we hear white people say we can’t guarantee safety, then we are going to demand it,” Larrabee said.

  • Justice for Josiah rally

    Justice for Josiah rally

    On April 5 at 1:30 p.m., students at Humboldt State left class to attend a rally on the UC quad in remembrance of David Josiah Lawson, a student who was stabbed to death at a party in Arcata almost a year ago.

    “It’s been a year, and that is fucking ridiculous,” Barbara Singleton, president of the Black Student Union at HSU said.

    Singleton stands on the second floor of The Depot, surrounded by a crowd of students who all left class as a part of the student-led walkout for safety in honor of David Josiah Lawson. The rain pounds down relentlessly, seemingly undetturent to all in attendance. The walkout is a part of 12 days of events being hosted in honor of the anniversary of Lawson’s unsolved murder.

    Video by Surya Gopalan.

    A year ago at a party in Arcata, Lawson, a black HSU student, was stabbed to death. There are currently no persons in custody. Students walked out of class at 1:30 p.m. on April 5 to be present at the 2 p.m. rally to bring justice to Josiah and demonstrate for student safety.

    Kalyn Garcia, 18, social work major, left class to be present at the rally.

    “I think that it is way bigger than Josiah,” Garcia said. “Any black, Mexican or children of color should not be concerned to leave their house.”

    As the rally began, two students, Singleton, as well as Daniel Segura, 23, a critical race, gender and sexuality studies major, began leading the rally. They began by explaining there have been rumors about the Justice for Josiah movement being involved in illegal or destructive activities, and that they do not condone any violence or illegal actions.

    Angel Sylva then performed a poem she wrote for Lawson, which will be performed again on the vigil held for Lawson on April 15.

    “If it happened to one of us, it can happen again,” Sylva said.

    With no sound equipment available to students after 1:00 p.m., due to campus policy, Sylva projects her voice as her only tool to spread her message to students.

    Students then began calling out the members of administration in the crowd. Alex Enyedi, the provost of HSU, as well as Wayne Brunfield, the interim vice president of Student Affairs, were two of the members of administration in attendance.

    “They have been silent this whole 12 months,” Singleton said.

    Singleton directly addressed HSU administration, the Arcata city council and the police department.

    “They have blood on their hands,” Singleton said.

    The crowd screamed for administration to speak, one individual saying, “It’s fucked up for you to be here and not say anything.”

    Eventually, Enyedi took the stage after much student call-out. He thanked the crowd for the opportunity to speak, then began.

    “Students are told you need to be patient, but I get it. How long should you be patient for?” Enyedi said. “I share your frustration, I share your impatience. It shouldn’t take this long.”

    Enyedi is not the one the students want to hear from. The question on everybody’s mind is where is Lisa Rossbacher, president of HSU? Students call out to Enyedi, demanding answers.

    “I’ll tell her you’re unhappy she isn’t here,” Enyedi said.

    A voice from the crowd screams, “We aren’t unhappy, we’re angry!”

    President Rossbacher never showed up.

    Brumfield was not getting away with silence either. Singleton and Segura called from the stage, “Wayne, where are you?”

    Brumfield did go up to the stage and approved students to use a megaphone, but never addressed the crowd. Many continued asking why he did not speak.

    When asked, Brumfield spoke of a racial equity plan he says he is currently working closely with students on. He said students deserve a voice in how equity and inclusion are happening in the community.

    “We’re working with the two chiefs of police, students and community members to look at policies of police reacting to students, both on and off campus,” Brumfield said. “I think we are moving in the right direction.”

    As the rally continued, a song written about Josiah was performed and then different chants were yelled throughout the crowd.

    The event coordinators then relayed the message of future events and concluded the event, inviting students to continue their activism and presence in the coming weeks.

    “The Justice for Josiah movement is very peaceful,” Singleton said.

    At one point in the rally, a group of people visiting for spring preview walked past the UC quad.

    “Anything they tell you will not justify his murder,” Segura said to the passersby.

    Segura, being in his 10th semester at HSU, he says he has seen how the administration deceives students. He said HSU goes down south and recruits students of color without disclosing the violence toward people of color that has happened in the area.

    “How are we supposed to welcome students of color when they trick you?” Segura asked.

    This article has been updated from its original version on Monday, April 9 at 5:58 p.m.

  • Power of protest in pursuit of peace

    Power of protest in pursuit of peace

    With the song, “JUSTICE FOR JOSIAH (RIP)” by Oboy Flocka playing in the background, sophomore criminology student Barbara Singleton stood near the front of Siemens Hall with pamphlets, spreading awareness on the events planned for the following 12 Days of Action.

    “The university needs to commemorate the death of Josiah so we can get a mural or a plaque with his face,” Singleton said. “We’re asking the university to put up a legal fund to help out his mom.”

    Humboldt State University students are organizing a 12-day plan of action to gain national attention and investigative help to assist the process of bringing justice for the murder of 19-year-old, David Josiah Lawson.

    As the one-year anniversary of Lawson’s death approaches, students, family and friends continue to grieve over the lack of acknowledgment and support from surrounding members of the community, and most importantly the university.

    Humboldt State students stand together to bring awareness to the case of David Josiah Lawson on April 4, 2018. 
Video by Garrett Goodnight.

    Do not confuse the university’s scripted statements with signs of actual progress.

    The lack of support and desirability to create change within the university’s setting reflects the mere comfort within the administration and presidential office. The lack of motivation to bring awareness to Lawson’s case demonstrates that the university may not actually support the students’ movement at all.

    Current race relations surrounding our campus environment is met with “optional” racial awareness training for students.

    By making this type of training optional, the campus is refusing to take responsibility for the perpetuation of racist behavior, and by refusing to mandate this training in every department.

    The ability to brush over racial tensions on and around our campus, staging it as an optional training, makes it easy for the university to trap new students of color in its institution, making them believe that our campus is a perfect, safe-haven for incoming freshmen and transfer students.

    Even though the campus may claim that the university is inclusive, they do not inform students about the murder of Lawson before recruiting them here.

    Freshman student, Marianna Baines, was frustrated with the university. She was not informed about the murder of Lawson before she transferred to HSU.

    “I wasn’t told the truth,” Baines said. “If I knew about this, it would have given me more clarity.”

    When it comes to voicing their opinions, students do not shy away from expressing their true feelings about the institution and what it is lacking.

    Student organizer, Vanessa Cota explained that protests are extremely powerful in the sense that they are inspirational movements.

    “It matters that people get their voice out there,” Cota said. “Protests can mobilize people, that’s where the power of protest is!”

  • “Unsolved Hate,” the case of David Josiah Lawson

    “Unsolved Hate,” the case of David Josiah Lawson

    The murder of David Josiah Lawson happened almost 11 months ago. On April 15, 2017, the 19-year-old HSU student Lawson was stabbed multiple times at a house party in Arcata and he died shortly after. The case remains unsolved and justice has yet to be served. Suspect Kyle Zoellner was arrested at the scene, but was later released due to lack of evidence. Lawson’s death is still felt deeply by students and community members.

    Close to 100 people gathered at the D Street Neighborhood Center for a showing of the documentary “Unsolved Hate” last Thursday, which was directed by Courtney Wagner. The film focuses on the Lawson case and how his murder affected our small college town. The NAACP Eureka Chapter hosted the event as a part of the three-part film series they are showing for Black History Month.

    A discussion followed the film screening in which students and community members were able to discuss the case and the social issues surrounding Lawson’s death. The discussion was similar to the six forums the city council promised the students of HSU. The original meetings were meant to be a place to discuss the safety of minority students and provide community updates on the case. The six meetings that the city council promised were stopped after the fourth one with no notice. Community members are attempting to work with city officials to reinstate these forums without the updates on the case, because the case is ongoing and therefore cannot provide certain information.

    Footage by Patrick Maravelias. Edited by Kyra Skylark and Patrick Maravelias.

    Wagner is a recent graduate of Sacramento State University. She directed “Unsolved Hate” as her graduation project. Wagner got a panicked call from a friend at HSU the night Lawson was murdered in which she learned of the homicide and the potential mishandling of the case on behalf of the authorities.

    Footage by Patrick Maravelias. Edited by Kyra Skylark and Patrick Maravelias.

    “I want even the smallest amount of change, even if it’s just one local [who] watched it and thought, ‘Damn, I was raised with racist values and it affects all the people around me,’” Wagner said. “Even just one person becoming self-aware would be amazing, but I would really like to see some actual justice happen.”

    Community member Rachel Garcia attended the showing to get more information. She wanted to know what exactly happened the night Lawson died and if anyone filmed the cops to hold them accountable for how they handled the situation.

    “I think if people were cognizant that they have the right to [film the cops on the scene], it might help situations like this,” Garcia said.

    She learned at the showing that, no, the cops were not properly filmed by individuals on the scene.

    Footage by Patrick Maravelias. Edited by Kyra Skylark and Patrick Maravelias.

    HSU student Jamila Salih attended the screening to support the #JusticeforJosiah movement.

    “I’m here to bring consciousness to Humboldt,” Salih said. “There is no platform where black students are talking about black things, minority students or anyone talking about things that are uncomfortable. So I just wanted to create that platform for students. ”

    All Melanated Everything is a show on KRFH 105.1 that airs every Tuesday at 5 p.m. and Thursday at 3 p.m.

    Salih created All Melanated Everything as a platform to have “uncomfortable conversations about racism, classism, anything basically that the social construction is – you don’t talk about it.”

    Footage by Patrick Maravelias. Edited by Kyra Skylark and Patrick Maravelias.

    Deborah Sanchez, a board member on the Seventh Generation Funds Board and a Superior Court Judge in Los Angeles, attended the showing while in town.

    “There is enough information here to show that this is a possible hate crime and if the local authorities are not going to take this seriously, then perhaps we need to be looking into civil rights issues and putting pressure from the Federal authorities to take care of the situation,” Sanchez said during the discussion.

    Footage by Patrick Maravelias. Edited by Kyra Skylark and Patrick Maravelias.

    Whether it’s seeking justice for David Josiah Lawson in 2017 and HSU student Corey Clark in 2001 on a federal level, getting their story to a national publication or keeping their legacy alive here, the students and community members who attended the film showing will not stop searching for answers.

    “It’s gonna be a long road, but I also think that it’s definitely something the community can rally around, the community will eventually heal from and will also change the trajectory of everything that will happen in the future,” Sanchez said.

    To stay updated on the case and events related to the case, visit the Justice for Josiah Lawson site, the SLAWSON GIRL blog or the #JusticeforJosiah Facebook page. 

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    If you are wondering what you as a community member can do to help the Lawson case, you can contact the Arcata City Council members to reinstate “the promised monthly meetings where we will be discussing racism in the community,” and to inquire about the status of the investigation.

    City Council members:

    1. Mayor Sofia Pereira, 707-633-8015, SPereira@CityofArcata.org
    2. Vice-Mayor Brett Watson, 707-293-3585, BWatson@CityofArcata.org
    3. Paul Pitino, 707-822-2556, PPitino@CityofArcta.org
    4. Michael Winkler, 707-822-1857, MWinkler@CityofArcata.org
    5. Susan Ornelas, 707-826-2722, SOrnelas@CityofArcata.org

    Contacting Democracy Now and NPR to encourage them to cover David Josiah Lawson’s case and the mishandling of the case as a nation-wide story is another way to show your support that was brought up during the film discussion.

    UPDATE: The monthly community meetings for updates on the case and discussion regarding student safety have been reinstated. The next will be held on Thursday, March 22, 2018.

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