The Murder of Jesse Valencia — Talk Murder With Me

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The early hours of June 5, 2004 saw college students at the University of Missouri stumbling back to their apartment buildings after a typical Friday night of partying. The university (also known as Mizzou), located in Columbia, Missouri, is currently attended by 30,000 students from across the United States and abroad. It is the largest university in Missouri, as well as the flagship campus of the University of Missouri System.

Aerial view of University of Missouri (Mizzou) Campus (source: pixabay.com)

It would still be a couple of hours before the sun would rise, but Columbia’s reputation as a relatively safe college town meant students felt secure enough walking home in the dark. Violent crime was rare; the majority of calls to the police were to report behavior typical of college campuses, for example, noise complaints and/or drunken and disorderly conduct. Later on in the morning in question, however, calls would be made to the Columbia Police Department regarding a far more sinister crime.

Once they had sufficiently recovered from their hangovers, students emerged from their apartments to start the day. A group of friends were walking past a row of apartment buildings when they spotted someone lying on the ground between two buildings. They didn’t need to get much closer to see that the person was not just passed out on the grass. It quickly became apparent, given the amount of blood, that this person was dead.

No Accident

The police were called and quickly arrived at the scene. At first, they considered that this may have been a tragic accident. Given the location of the body between the two buildings, it was possible that the person had been drunk and tried to jump from the roof of one building to the other.

Closer examination, however, led them to quickly rule out the accident theory. The body, which belonged to a young man in his 20’s, was naked apart from a pair of blue boxer shorts. The source of the blood on and around the body was a knife wound to the neck which was so deep, the blade had nicked the spine during the attack.

Jesse Valencia

The body was identified as that of 23-year-old Jesse Valencia, a junior at the university majoring in pre-law. College life had been going very well for Jesse; he had plenty of friends, was excelling in his classes and earning some extra money working as a clerk at a local motel. He was also embracing life as a gay man. Being charming with classic good looks, he had no trouble finding romantic partners.

Jesse was born in Danville, Kentucky on Feb. 22, 1981. His mother, Linda, began a relationship with Lupe Valencia when Jesse was very young. Lupe and Jesse bonded; Lupe would be the only father Jesse would ever know. Linda and Lupe had two daughters together, Rachel and Maria, whom Jesse adored. Lupe owned many horses, and passed his love of the animals onto Jesse. Jesse’s friends and family described him as a passionate, worldly person who loved life, was eager to learn and would always be there for a loved one in need.

Jesse and his mother Linda (source: NBC News)

The Night of the Murder

Jesse had been working at the motel on the evening of June 4. When his shift finished, he made his way to a campus party, where he became quite drunk. A review of Jesse’s cellphone records revealed that he had had several conversations that night, including one with a fellow student named Ed McDevitt, which took place at 3:13am, lasting 2 minutes and 40 seconds.

Detectives questioned Ed McDevitt, who confirmed that he and Jesse had been sleeping together. The last time they were together, he said, was two nights before Jesse was killed. On the night of Jesse’s murder, McDevitt told detectives that he was at home with his roommate, who confirmed his alibi.

The Investigation

The medical examiner estimated that Jesse had been killed sometime before dawn, in the spot where his body was found later that morning. The knife used to cut his throat had a serrated blade. There were no defensive wounds characteristic of a knife attack on Jesse’s hands, which initially came as a surprise to detectives. However, this finding made more sense when the medical examiner found marks on his neck consistent with strangulation. It was therefore determined that Jesse had been strangled and was unconscious before the perpetrator had cut his throat.

Jesse’s apartment was about a block from where his body was found. When detectives arrived, they found his door was open, but there was no sign of a disturbance or any foul play having taken place inside.

Under a pile of clothes, detectives found a used condom which was subsequently tested for DNA. The results of the test revealed the profiles of two individuals: Jesse and Ed McDevitt.

More questions arose when DNA tests were carried out on Jesse’s fingernails. As was discovered on the condom, there were traces of Jesse and McDevitt’s DNA. But there was also a profile of a third, unknown individual.

Detectives went about questioning Jesse’s friends, appealing for anyone with information from the night of the murder to come forward. One young man, Andy Schermerhorn, had some particularly interesting information to share.

A Bizarre Tale

Schermerhorn and Jesse were friends with benefits, Schermerhorn informed the detectives. They had met several months earlier and had had sex a few times. One of these times, something completely off the wall had occurred.

It was the middle of the night, and the two were in bed together when there was a knock at the door. Jesse got out of bed and opened it. A police officer, in uniform and shining a flashlight, entered the apartment. Schermerhorn, startled by the officer’s presence, sat up in bed and wrapped the sheet around himself.

The officer told Jesse and Schermerhorn to carry on. Jesse reassured Schermerhorn that he knew the mysterious officer. Jesse then proceeded to invite the officer into bed with them. The three engaged in sexual activity, and when they were finished, the officer got up and dressed. He told Schermerhorn that no one could know about what had happened. Then as fast as he had appeared, he was gone.

Jesse’s Secret Lover

Unsurprisingly, the detectives and other police officers were seriously alarmed by the story. There was a possibility that whoever was responsible for Jesse’s murder may be one of their own.

As it turns out, Jesse had spoken to his mother, Linda, about his relationship with the police officer, but never told her his name. In fact, Jesse may not have even known his real name. According to Linda, Jesse described the officer as “stalking” him, but he really did not know much about the officer at all. Jesse had expressed to Linda that he was becoming suspicious of the man, because he pretty much had no clue who he was.

Andy Schermerhorn was asked to come to the Columbia police station and help identify the officer who had been in Jesse’s apartment that night. Identifying the man turned out to be easy for Schermerhorn; as he was walking down the hall of the station, another officer walked by. Schermerhorn was spooked. Once he arrived at the room where he was meant to be looking at the Columbia PD yearbook photos, he informed the detective escorting him that the man who had walked by them just seconds ago in the hall was the same man he and Jesse had been in bed with that night.

A Dangerous Affair Begins

Steven Rios was a 27-year-old patrolman who had served in the Columbia PD for three years. He was married and had a new baby at home. According to his colleagues, he was a well-liked and respected member of the police force. His superiors were confident in his abilities and were sure he was headed for great success. Rios was described as ambitious, but a strict rule-follower. His colleagues at the Columbia PD were shocked to learn that Rios had been involved with Jesse and desperately did not want to believe that he had played any part in the murder.

Jesse and Rios first met about two months before the murder at a party Jesse had attended. The police had been called to shut the party down. Jesse, who was known for being argumentative, ended up being arrested by Rios and given a municipal court summons for “obstructing a government operation” when he asked for probable cause.

This was the beginning of the strange relationship between student and police officer; Rios drove Jesse to the station, asking him a number of personal questions on the drive. The day after the party, he came to Jesse’s apartment uninvited, saying he had more questions. But what he really wanted was sex.

Over the next few months, Rios continued to come over unannounced and the two would sleep together. According to Jesse’s friend, Joan Sheridan, Jesse was upset that the charge from the night of the party had not been dismissed, given his relationship with Rios.

“The next time the police officer comes over, I’m going to tell him that I have a little secret the chief of police might want to know,” he reportedly said to Sheridan.

Rios in Denial

After the revelation from Schermerhorn, Rios was questioned. Initially, he denied having sexual relations with Jesse, but when confronted with the eyewitness testimony from Schermerhorn, he conceded that he and Jesse had been having sex.

As for the murder, however, he vehemently denied any involvement, telling detectives he was at home in bed with his wife that night. Rios agreed to provide a DNA sample, which was compared with the DNA found under Jesse’s fingernails. It was a match, formally identifying the previously unknown third individual’s identity. However, the finding did not prove involvement in the murder on Rios’ part. Nor was the relationship between Rios and Jesse illegal. Following questioning by detectives, Rios was released.

An Incriminating Discovery

When examining Jesse’s body again, the medical examiner noticed distinctive bruising across his chest, as well as between his shoulder blades. The bruising indicated that Jesse had been restrained using a chokehold technique called a “unilateral vascular neck restraint ”, the intention of which is to cause the person being restrained to fall unconscious in a matter of seconds. A law enforcement trainer viewed Jesse’s bruises and agreed that they may well have been the result of this type of restraint, but it was possible that the technique had not been administered properly and Jesse had fought whoever was trying to restrain him, causing more bruising.

The bruising on Jesse’s back resulting from the chokehold he was placed in (source: youtube.com)

Detectives looked into Rios’ police file, finding that he had failed the defensive tactics course during his training, further adding to the evidence against him.

As well as the bruising on Jesse’s chest, there were a number of small, dark hairs that were not Jesse’s. They turned out to be limb hairs, likely from the arm of the perpetrator who attempted the chokehold. Several of the hairs still had the root attached, meaning they could be tested for DNA. They came back as a match to Steven Rios.

Rios is Charged

Rios continued to deny any involvement in Jesse’s murder. However, it would be revealed that he was not, in fact, at home the whole night Jesse was killed. There was a 45 minute period in which he had gone out and no one could account for his whereabouts.

Charged with first-degree murder, Rios entered a plea of not guilty.

Rios at the beginning of his trial in May 2005 (source: Murderpedia)

During the trial, a law enforcement trainer demonstrated on prosecutor Morley Swingle the type of chokehold used on Jesse by Steven Rios (source: Murderpedia)

Special Prosecutor Morley Swingle, who had been working on the case from the beginning, told the jury that on the night Jesse was killed, Rios had shown up at Jesse’s apartment unannounced as he often did.

According to Jesse’s mother Linda, Jesse had found out that Rios was married with a child. Jesse had been apprehensive about the relationship from the start, but this new revelation helped make up his mind - he wanted to end the affair. Swingle argued that Jesse threatened to tell Rios’ superiors about their affair if he did not leave him alone. This enraged Rios, who did not want the affair to end, and definitely did not want his family or colleagues finding out about it.

Rios quickly became aggressive with Jesse, causing Jesse to run outside to get away from him. But Rios came after him, grabbing him from behind and using the chokehold on him. The two struggled, but Jesse eventually fell unconscious. In a rage, Rios cut Jesse’s throat and ran away.

Valerie Leftwich, Rios’ lawyer, attempted to smear Jesse’s character in defence of her client.

She painted him as “promiscuous and loud-mouthed with a volatile personality”. She argued that he had many lovers who made better suspects than her client.

"There will be evidence that Jesse Valencia had sexual contact with a lot of men he picked up over the Internet or that he picked up in a bar, including Steven Rios,” she said.

The jury were not convinced by Leftwich’s flimsy arguments and sided with the forensic science. In May 2005, the jury in Rios’ trial found him guilty of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Jesse’s mother Linda cried and hugged Andrew Schermerhorn after Rios was found guilty of her son’s murder (source: Murderpedia)

His first conviction was overturned by the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District because of “hearsay statements that were ruled inadmissible in court.” A new trial took place in 2008, in which he was found guilty of second-degree murder and “armed criminal action”. He was sentenced to life in prison plus an additional 23 years.

Swingle remarked during the trial that Rios "used his badge for sex and then used his knife to forever close the mouth of his secret lover."

Jesse James Wade Valencia (Feb 22 1981 - June 5 2004)

If you liked this article, check out the the case of Dorothy Jane Scott, who was murdered by her stalker. You might also find the The Murder Of Breck Bednar interesting.