Does anyone remember this case from the early to mid 90's about this kid who was 16-17 yrs. old who was found dead in the trunk of his car out in the desert? I think it was in Arizona. Anyways there was a guy who claimed to have met his killers. He said that they had been washing their car, and he thinks the kid had been in the trunk at that time and that's why they were acting nervous and figitey and stuff. The witness said the guy's name was "Jason" and gave a vivid detail to the police sketch artist. Does anyone know if this case has been solved and if anyone has found "Jason"?

I believe the victim was actually from New Mexico. Maybe Albuquerque! I believe he was abducted while sitting outside a restaurant. He was found out in the Arizona desert. The area lies in the jurisdiction of the Coconino County sheriffs department.

I don't know if "Jason" was ever found. The other man involved was taken into custody where he confessed, then hung himself a day or two later. Don't know whatever became of this mans girlfriend/wife. If she knew anything or not. "Jason" was said to be a drifter.

I believe the victim was actually from New Mexico. Maybe Albuquerque! I believe he was abducted while sitting outside a restaurant. He was found out in the Arizona desert. The area lies in the jurisdiction of the Coconino County sheriffs department.

I don't know if "Jason" was ever found. The other man involved was taken into custody where he confessed, then hung himself a day or two later. Don't know whatever became of this mans girlfriend/wife. If she knew anything or not. "Jason" was said to be a drifter.
Crystal was this story ever on any of your DVDs. If not can you consider it for vol 12.

Crystal was this story ever on any of your DVDs. If not can you consider it for vol 12.

I don't believe so. It was the segment where they profile Jeannie Boylen and her amazing work on composite sketches. Yes it would be a good one for volume 12.

I believe this "Jason" is rumored to be a serial killer. Supposedly he has been sighted rather frequently in both the Las Vegas area and the Phoenix, Arizona area.

I believe this "Jason" is rumored to be a serial killer. Supposedly he has been sighted rather frequently in both the Las Vegas area and the Phoenix, Arizona area.


Did you get this info from the show, or did you see it somewhere else?

It came from the show, at the end of the segment if I remember right. It was when they had the composite drawing of "Jason" that Stack mentioned the stuff about "Jason" having been seen elsewhere since the Francia murder.

Just watched this one on Volume 12, as with some of the segments it raises a lot of questions- Why was his female friends husband Paul involved with a killing with what seems a remote drifter? she must have known about the killing if she went with them when they had the body in the boot you would think but was she ever questioned? what was the motive? I am guessing a kid that age probably did not have that much money, they burnt his car out so only got a few days use of it- was it just a thrill killing as I assume there was nothing sexual about it- certainly strange as usually these people would target a female rather than a male who may put up a much stronger fight.

Maybe it was all "Jason" and the other guy just helped him out. Maybe they just wanted to "rough up" Jonathan and went a little too far. Either way, Paul was looking at hard time. Both for helping "Jason" kill Jonathan and for disposing of his body.

Hard time. It wasn't like Paul and Jason realized he was dead and immediately got rid of him on the side of the road or something. They shoved him in the trunk. Waited. Took time to come up with, in their minds, a "fool proof" plan to get rid of the victim. Paul and his wife took the time to get "Jason" out of the area.

With regards to Pauls wife, while there is no mention of what became of her, we can't rule out the possibility that she was questioned and maybe even charged with something. However, she may have made an agreement with the police. Maybe she spilled her guts about what her husband and "Jason" did in exchange for freedom.

Or maybe not. Maybe she was arrested. With the disappearance of "Jason", and the death of her husband, there was no longer any witnesses to the actual crime, or the disposing of the body. No one was around to implicate her in anything. If she said "I don't know anything", maybe they had to let her go?

All in all, I think the producers of UM realize they must leave out certain details to make sure that everything relevant makes it on to the segment.

I called the Albuquerque police department and asked if I could possibly get any details on this case. Yes, I know that the victim was found in Arizona, but being that he was kidnapped in Albuquerque, and I'm not too far away from the place, I just figured I'd ask here first.

Anyway the receptionist kept asking me why I would want information. Whether or not I had any details that would help law enforcement on this case. I told her it was just a case that I remembered and was wondering if it had ever been solved. She advised me that she didn't believe that any details of the case could be shared with me just because I was interested in it. She also told me that if I was allowed to get the information, I would have to pay 50 cents per page, and most homicide cases have five hundred pages or so.

So I think I'll call the cold case department in Coconino County Arizona and see what they tell me.

Anyway the receptionist kept asking me why I would want information. Whether or not I had any details that would help law enforcement on this case. I told her it was just a case that I remembered and was wondering if it had ever been solved.

Funny you mention that...

Everytime I've had an inkling to e-mail a police department about a UM case, that thought goes through my mind. I wonder how much they would release to just the public, and it might be inviting more attention than it's worth.

It's a shame that it has to be that way. Anyone ever tried to get info under the Freedom of Information Act? And is that just federal or can you do that with the local cops? I seriously doubt it but I honestly don't know.

Thanks for trying anyway, Zero!

Well, you have to make the FOIA request. Assuming your request is granted you would be able to get most if not all the documents. However because this is an open investigation some stuff might be withheld. Also, if you wanted to get all the stuff from the case, if you included shipping costs it would probably cost 500, 600 dollars, that is about the average for a murder case. For just one case that is how much it would cost to get all the stuff!

There was a case I was investigating in Florida and I wanted to get access to all the stuff and I was told it would cost about 500 or so dollars to copy all the stuff plus another 100 dollars to ship it all to me. That was just the stuff from the case that didnt include trial transcripts and all that which would have cost another few hundred dollars to copy and ship to me so it is expensive.

Zero, maybe you should mention the board when inquiring about info. I've had some luck in trying to track down updates and I always tell them I moderate the internet's largest UM message board and am looking for info because this case aired on UM and I would like to post the info on the board. The ones that respond back are usually glad to help when they know why you want the info. Just a thought. :)

Well today I called the sheriffs dept. in Coconino County Az. Their standard procedure is to get a name and number, forward it to a "police officer" and return the call. Since I was weary about that, I said I'd call back.

I think I'll just email them about the case and mention the board and why I want the information.

Sigh....

this case was the cowboy murderer case I believe that the kid had a freind that the guy had a freind named jason and he had blood on himself so they kidnapped the kid and killed him

why did they kidnapp the kid and was he bound? was he dead when they discovered him?

I found an article online from 2008 that mentions that Jason had yet to be found.

http://azdailysun.com/articles/2008/11/09/news/20081109_front_184929.txt

1994

- Jan. 13, Jonathan Francia: Victim was carjacked in Albuquerque by Paul Richardson and another male named Jason. Victim's body found on the Navajo Nation about 2 miles north of Bird Springs. Richardson committed suicide. Jason has never been found. Homicide.

Here's a link to an article about Trena Richardson.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=5&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.google.com%2Fnewspapers%3Fnid%3D894%26dat%3D19940708%26id%3D2kcOAAAAIBAJ%26sjid%3DuX0DAAAAIBAJ%26pg%3D6787%2C896331&ei=pwHqSdO1F5-MtgeSi72bDQ&usg=AFQjCNGMZKmrloLbFz4-ELqHhMRM3Ae7yQ

So, she was charged, but there doesn't seem to be any follow up indicating whether her case ever went to trial or if she pled or if the case was dropped. Nothing. Weird. It sounds like she was somewhat mentally slow or had some mental issues.

:( I PERSONALLY KNEW THE FAMILY OF JONATHAN FRANCIA, HE WAS KIDNAPPED OUTSIDE WHAT WAS THEN AN IHOP RESTAURANT(IN ALBUQUERQUE). HE WAS THERE TRYING TO PICK UP HIS LAST PAY CHECK. THESE PEOPLE WHERE HANGING OUTBACK AND HAD ASKED HIM FOR A RIDE. HIS FAMILY(JONATHAN'S) SAID HE WAS A REAL FRIENDLY YOUNG MAN AND PROBABLY AGREED. THEY NEVER HEARD FROM HIM AGAIN. UNTILL THE POLICE FOUND HIS CAR WITH HIS BURNED BODY IN THE TRUNK. I REMEMBER WATCHING STATMENTS THE MURDERS MADE ON TV/NEWS, THEY SAID THEY KILLED HIM FOR HIS CAR/TRANSPORTATION THAT WAS ALL. SAD, ONE OF THEM EVEN CLAIMED HE AGREED TO GIVE THEM HIS CAR AND TO SPARE HIS LIFE. BUT THEY THOUGHT SINCE HE KNEW WHAT THEY LOOKED LIKE THEY SHOULD JUST KILL HIM. SICK PEOPLE.

That Jason guy is a real bitch. We really need to find that mother ****er.

So, she was charged, but there doesn't seem to be any follow up indicating whether her case ever went to trial or if she pled or if the case was dropped. Nothing. Weird. It sounds like she was somewhat mentally slow or had some mental issues.

I found an article that states she was released after serving 14 months and was sentenced to 5 years probation upon release.

They dropped the death penalty because "Jason" was never found. The article is from June 1995.

Her full name at the time was Trena Richardson Yellowhair.

I was in Coconino County jail with Trena Richardson and she was most definitely off! I was there for 23 days in Oct 94. I am shocked they let her off on probation! She talked, quite openly, about the crime and I thought she would never see the light of day again!

This case really frustrates me. They had no reason to kill a 16-year-old kid sitting in his car. I think it was be very difficult to solve this one. Even if they think they've found Jason, they would need good evidence that he was involved in the crime. I'm not sure there was much by way of physical evidence in the burned out car that links him to the crime. I think we can only hope that he is already incarcerated for something else. :(

Is there any updates on Jonathan's case? I can't find anything much online?

Call me crazy here, but is it possible that this Jason guy never existed? This segment aired months after Trena Richardson was charged and considered a suspect in Jonathan's death. No mention of this was ever uttered in the segment. Her friend was the one who gave the description which resulted in the composite sketch shown at the end of the segment. What's interesting is that an article I found online said that one of the reasons why charges against Trena were dropped was because Jason could not be located. Is it possible that her friend Scott lied about this mystery man in an effort to help his friend beat the murder charges against her? This (https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=894&dat=19940708&id=2kcOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uX0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6787,896329&hl=en) article makes it seem like Trena was an active participant in Jonathan's murder, and not someone who helped keep quiet after the fact. I think it's possible that she and her husband murdered Jonathan, and then when they were caught concocted Jason as a means to place the majority of the blame on him? If they did, it worked for Trena since she only got 5 years probation.

I'm not saying this is at all likely, I just thought about the possibility after reading up on some articles about Jonathan's murder.

Call me crazy here, but is it possible that this Jason guy never existed? This segment aired months after Trena Richardson was charged and considered a suspect in Jonathan's death. No mention of this was ever uttered in the segment. Her friend was the one who gave the description which resulted in the composite sketch shown at the end of the segment. What's interesting is that an article I found online said that one of the reasons why charges against Trena were dropped was because Jason could not be located. Is it possible that her friend Scott lied about this mystery man in an effort to help his friend beat the murder charges against her? This (https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=894&dat=19940708&id=2kcOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uX0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6787,896329&hl=en) article makes it seem like Trena was an active participant in Jonathan's murder, and not someone who helped keep quiet after the fact. I think it's possible that she and her husband murdered Jonathan, and then when they were caught concocted Jason as a means to place the majority of the blame on him? If they did, it worked for Trena since she only got 5 years probation.

I'm not saying this is at all likely, I just thought about the possibility after reading up on some articles about Jonathan's murder.


Charges were dropped also because the other prime suspect her husband, killed himself. It isn't uncommon for people who help "cover up" a murder to receive light sentences.

Maybe Scott did lie. Don't know what he has to gain from it. Unless he was in love with Trena and wanted to marry or live together with her. I actually like to think that Scott didn't consider Trena much of a "friend" once he realized she was complicit in covering up a murder.

I forget, in the segment was Scott referred to as their friend or neighbor?

Charges were dropped also because the other prime suspect her husband, killed himself. It isn't uncommon for people who help "cover up" a murder to receive light sentences.

Maybe Scott did lie. Don't know what he has to gain from it. Unless he was in love with Trena and wanted to marry or live together with her. I actually like to think that Scott didn't consider Trena much of a "friend" once he realized she was complicit in covering up a murder.

I forget, in the segment was Scott referred to as their friend or neighbor?

He was referred to as a friend in the segment. An article I read said that a lot of evidence against Trena was ruled inadmissible (conversations she had with relatives, and her husband), and that was the big reason why the charges were dropped.

Wow. Really horrible case. JF was a kid minding his own business, when he was kidnapped & then killed by these scum-bags.

https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Jonathan_Francia

I do believe that Jason existed, and I don't think that he was killed by Paul (the other killer) after the crime, as Trena mentioned at one point. He may still be alive.