Murder Case

Two counts of murder have been filed against the driver of the runaway big rig that killed two people and injured a dozen others in La Canada Flintridge April 1. A Los Angeles County grand jury returned an indictment against big rig driver Marcos Costa on June 11; the decision was unsealed on Friday after Costa was arraigned in Los Angeles County Superior Court. He is being held on $2.09 million bail. According to reports, Costa pleaded not guilty to all charges including the two counts of murder, that had been added to the allegations of vehicle manslaughter and reckless driving that had been filed on April 3. Costa drove his big rig car carrier from Antelope Valley (14)

Upon first hearing that Alan Jackson would be speaking at Flintridge Preparatory School, the students were a bit skeptical. We have had our share of monotonous speakers that we feel waste two hours of our lives while the adults next to us are riveted by them. We were shocked when a charismatic, enthusiastic man took the stage and started talking about a murder case. We were glued to our seats for the full two hours, enthralled by the presentation. Not only did he manage to keep a room full of 400 teenagers engaged, he gave us a look into the world of forensic science.

More than a year after the deaths of a Simi Valley man and his two children in a fiery freeway crash, prosecutors and the defense attorney for the La Cañada Flintridge man suspected in their deaths are in a legal battle over special allegations and what is to be admitted in court. At a hearing Monday in San Fernando Superior Court, a judge denied defense attorney Carlo Spiga's motion to dismiss a special allegation that would enhance any sentence handed down to defendant Timothy Whelan, who is accused of driving under the influence on the Ronald Reagan (118)

The large Mediterranean-style house still stands, high above Foothill Boulevard. The original owners were Walter and Beulah Overell. In the 1930s and 1940s, Walter Overell was one of the wealthiest men in Flintridge. He made his first fortune in the furniture business. This was followed by other successful investments. Walter doted on his wife, Beulah Jungquist Overell. Walter loved Beulah so much that liked to name things after her. Given the opportunity, he christened Beulah Drive.

After an eight-year lull, San Bernardino County sheriff?s detectives are once again actively investigating the murder of a La Cañada Flintridge couple. It was on Feb. 9, 2000, that the bodies of La Cañada residents Harold ?Skip? Tillman, 55, and his wife Joni, 51, were found in two isolated desert graves in Yucaipa, about 75 miles east of La Cañada. The couple had last been seen on Feb. 6, 2000, after having dinner at J.J.?s Steakhouse in Pasadena. The investigation into their deaths had yielded little to no information and had stalled.

A San Fernando Valley judge postponed sentencing this week for a La Cañada Flintridge man who pleaded guilty to shooting into an uninhabited building. Timothy Whelan, who is awaiting trial on unrelated murder charges, was to be sentenced to two years and eight months in state prison, but a report from the Los Angeles County Probation Department had not been competed by Tuesday's hearing, Judge Charles Peven said. Sentencing for Whelan, 36, is scheduled for March 14 in North Valley Superior Court.

Sewer district work proceeding Ninety-five percent of work within sewer district No. 3 is expected to be completed by the end of this month, with the remaining work to be finished in February and contractors are working Saturdays to make up for weather delays, according to city staff. The City Council’s subcommittee on sewers met Jan. 3 to discuss alternatives for the proposed district No. 5, which could end up split again into districts 4 and 5. District No. 4 would be the area between Berkshire Avenue and Foothill Boulevard, and district No. 5 would be the area south of Berkshire Avenue.

A man and a woman have been reported dead today in what may be a murder-suicide case in La Cañada Flintridge. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies are on the scene, an apartment building at 4511 ½ Lasheart Drive, across the street from La Cañada Flintridge City Hall. Traffic barriers are in place in the neighborhood, slowing down the afternoon pick-up at La Cañada Elementary School. According to sheriff’s homicide investigator Steve Lankford, at about 11 a.m. today the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station received more than one call from neighbors who reported hearing gunshots.

Law enforcement officials announced yesterday they are seeking a “person of interest” in an eight-year double murder case involving a La Cañada couple. In August, the San Bernandino County Sheriff Department’s cold case division re-opened the investigation into the murder of Harold “Skip” and Joni Tillman. A witness has since come forward with information that may help investigators find the party responsible for murders. On Feb. 9, 2000, the Tillmans’ bodies were found in two isolated desert graves in Yucaipa, about 75 miles east of La Cañada.

Upon first hearing that Alan Jackson would be speaking at Flintridge Preparatory School, the students were a bit skeptical. We have had our share of monotonous speakers that we feel waste two hours of our lives while the adults next to us are riveted by them. We were shocked when a charismatic, enthusiastic man took the stage and started talking about a murder case. We were glued to our seats for the full two hours, enthralled by the presentation. Not only did he manage to keep a room full of 400 teenagers engaged, he gave us a look into the world of forensic science.

Two counts of murder have been filed against the driver of the runaway big rig that killed two people and injured a dozen others in La Canada Flintridge April 1. A Los Angeles County grand jury returned an indictment against big rig driver Marcos Costa on June 11; the decision was unsealed on Friday after Costa was arraigned in Los Angeles County Superior Court. He is being held on $2.09 million bail. According to reports, Costa pleaded not guilty to all charges including the two counts of murder, that had been added to the allegations of vehicle manslaughter and reckless driving that had been filed on April 3. Costa drove his big rig car carrier from Antelope Valley (14)

After an eight-year lull, San Bernardino County sheriff?s detectives are once again actively investigating the murder of a La Cañada Flintridge couple. It was on Feb. 9, 2000, that the bodies of La Cañada residents Harold ?Skip? Tillman, 55, and his wife Joni, 51, were found in two isolated desert graves in Yucaipa, about 75 miles east of La Cañada. The couple had last been seen on Feb. 6, 2000, after having dinner at J.J.?s Steakhouse in Pasadena. The investigation into their deaths had yielded little to no information and had stalled.

The large Mediterranean-style house still stands, high above Foothill Boulevard. The original owners were Walter and Beulah Overell. In the 1930s and 1940s, Walter Overell was one of the wealthiest men in Flintridge. He made his first fortune in the furniture business. This was followed by other successful investments. Walter doted on his wife, Beulah Jungquist Overell. Walter loved Beulah so much that liked to name things after her. Given the opportunity, he christened Beulah Drive.

More than a year after the deaths of a Simi Valley man and his two children in a fiery freeway crash, prosecutors and the defense attorney for the La Cañada Flintridge man suspected in their deaths are in a legal battle over special allegations and what is to be admitted in court. At a hearing Monday in San Fernando Superior Court, a judge denied defense attorney Carlo Spiga's motion to dismiss a special allegation that would enhance any sentence handed down to defendant Timothy Whelan, who is accused of driving under the influence on the Ronald Reagan (118)