The Suzy Mellen Story

Surviving the System
The Suzy Mellen Story

This is the story of Suzy Mellen and how she ended up with a life sentence for a murder she did not commit. It’s not just a case of factual innocence, but “actual” innocence. Suzy has been in prison for nine years now, and if it weren’t for her belief in God these surroundings would have swallowed her up and engulfed her in a sea of despair by now. The reason it has taken nine years for someone to tackle such a grievous err or is simply the same reason Suzy got convicted in the first place: the system is not set up to protect people who cannot fight it. Who trusts in the judicial system? Suzy is not stupid by any stretch of the imagination. She is a survivor and a hard working 50 year old lady who simply does not have the skills needed to tackle such a corrupt system. I have chosen to write Suzy’s story and a well respected, proven jailhouse lawyer has agreed to take on Suzy’s case. Therefore, any opinions expressed herein are my own and are based on two years of asking probing questions of Suzy, the answers to which aren’t always easy to obtain. I know my friendship with Suzy will never end, and I have decided if I do nothing else with the rest of my life it will be to see that Suzy walks out of here a free woman.

It’s difficult, as I said, to question Suzy about the events of nine years past. Ask her a simple question and she will answer with a rambling, tangential stream of thoughts dancing all around the question, serpentining the answer. Suzy is a pleaser. A nurturer. She was that way with her children and with her friends and everyone who knew her.

Suzy was also a methamphetamine user and sold these drugs as well. She was no angel as far as the law was concerned, but she could never hurt anyone. Quite the opposite. Suzy is all about helping people. She has faith and a pure heart that is unfaltering in spite of this tornado of events which brought her to VSPW (Valley State Prison for Women) for the rest of her life. Life without the possibility of parole.

I want to tell you the story of the injustice done to Suzy, and the story is really much bigger than her plight. It is the story of our criminal justice system’s prevailing need to find fault - to place blame somewhere... anywhere.

It is unreal and chilling even to write these words, knowing lives are so easily expendable in this system. But it’s true. Suzy’s life was indeed expendable. She just didn’t matter.

I have spent countless hours talking to Suzy, reading her trial lawyer’s file, her transcripts and all of her appellate work in order to piece together what may have happened. Always with lingering doubt, I tried to find inconsistencies which would lead me to conclude my own belief in this system. But that never happened. Suzy, with her simplistic logic and inability to tell a lie, did not disappoint me. She is telling the truth and all of the paperwork proves it. Of course there are still many unanswered questions which could easily be tackled by a competent investigator. This was, of course, not provided to Suzy during her trial. Her lawyer, Lou Notrica, also a family friend, was hired by Suzy’s mother and paid approximately $25,000. His incredible incompetence plays a significant role in Suzy’s a conviction.

We have attempted to seek investigative help, but it costs much more money than Suzy or her family has. Therefore my hope is that once we get back into court an investigator will be appointed and many of the unanswered questions can be brought to the light to aid in Suzy’s release. Of course all this should have been done nine years ago, then this tragedy would not have to be written about today.

On July 21, 1997, a homeless man named Rick Daly was murdered in Lawndale, CA, his body then transported to San Pedro, dumped in an alley and set on fire. Mr. Daly had at one time been Suzy’s boyfriend, and the abandoned house where he was killed was Suzy’s mother’s home. These facts, plus the testimony of one “make-or-break” witness, are all that tie Suzy to the crime. There was no motive, no evidence and no witnesses.

Mr. Daly was beaten and kicked to death and a rag was shoved down his throat to suffocate him. There were two other people arrested — Chad Landrum (“Ghost”) and Lester Molliker (“Wicked”). Only Ghost and Suzy were convicted, while Wicked walked free after being acquitted by a jury. Ghost and Wicked were part of the “Lawndale Gang,” a notorious group of thugs who were well known to the police department. The Mellen family was also well known, especially Suzy’s brothers Mike and Bob. Mike has been in and out of prison his whole life, and at one time successfully sued the police department. Of all the Mellen children, Suzy was the good one. Her daddy’s favorite. Her mother’s baby. She was spoiled and favored.

When Suzy was about 28 years old, she was introduced to meth and was a casual to moderate user for years, although functional in every sense of the word. She had only one entry on her rap sheet when she was arrested for Daly’s murder, a credit card fraud for which she received probation. Suzy didn’t come to the attention of law enforcement the way her brothers did. Nonetheless, it was common knowledge the police were overjoyed to have captured a Mellen.

In February 1997 Suzy and her two youngest children were living with her mother at the Firmona address, Suzy acting as caregiver. She was no longer seeing Daly, as he was what Suzy would call “an unemployed homeless loser who didn’t even have a car.” They remained friends nonetheless and saw each other on occasion, usually in the context of the drug world they were both still a part of.

Suzy’s mother, Alleene, was fighting the after affects of lung cancer, and was attached to an oxygen machine. With two children and a mother to care for, life was not terribly easy for Suzy. But she loved her family and did the best anyone could under the circumstances. Alleene’s sister Nancy and her husband Roger Barnes were concerned about Alleene’s health and welfare and, I suspect, her assets which they must have suspected were being mingled with those of the drug users and other activities the Mellen boys were involved with.

That same month they came with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Office (Lennox station) to visit Suzy and her mother. The deputies brought with them a printout of Suzy’s short rap sheet, and along with Nancy and Roger, threatened to take away the homes due to suspected drug dealings. Nancy and Roger also talked Alleene into living with them, leaving Suzy and her children to occupy the house on their own. There was an apartment attached to the house where a lady named Maryann lived.

In March, both Suzy and Maryann moved out; Suzy with her then boyfriend Tom Schenkelberg. At that time, Judy Mellen (Mike’s wife - he was in prison) started living there. There then continued to be drug activity in the front house. Judy stayed until June and then moved on herself. Suzy would then drive by the house periodically to check on the house and to see that the windows were still boarded up. The house next door was occupied by Bob and Wende Mellen, although owned by Alleene. There was, of course, drug trafficking at that residence and soon Wende was served with an eviction notice by Alleene via Aunt Nancy & Uncle Roger. (They were later forcefully evicted.)

Perhaps only peripherally and maybe not, there was a classic case of elder abuse weaving around the Daly drama which was unfolding. Using classic social isolation tactics, Nancy & Roger did not allow Alleene to talk privately with Suzy or others. They had her create a new will, in effect naming themselves to inherit, disallowing Alleene’s previous will, which left her estate equally divided between her three children. This document was created by Attorney Jensen of Huntington Beach. Suzy saw this document which was signed by “Alleene Melleen”, the misspelling of her last name causing Suzy to wonder who “really” signed this will.

While checking on the Firmona house, Suzy would pick up the mail. She saw bank statements and other documents indicating thousands of dollars every month going out, showing clearly Alleene was supporting Nancy and Roger in a very extravagant manner by Alleene’s standards. Suzy was still not able to privately talk to her mother, so her concerns could never be addressed. To this day there is suspicion and mistrust surrounding the radical change in housing and estate planning by Suzy’s mother and in Roger and Nancy’s involvement in same.

Suzy’s intention is not to blame her aunt and uncle for setting her up, but to attempt to sort out, in her own mind, exactly what role they played in conversations with law enforcement and others regarding their suspicions. As the timeline below will indicate, there are other incidents which cast doubt and suspicion on Roger and Nancy.

In terms of a timeline for this sequence of events, July 21st, 1997, marks the beginning. This was the day Mr. Daly was murdered. Earlier that same day, Suzy was moving with Tom into a duplex in Gardena from their apartment in Redondo Beach. It was a busy day spent packing and cleaning. Suzy had her daughter Jessica (then 9) with her and her son Donny (8) was spending the day with his father. She was expecting Tom’s dad, Jim Schenkelberg, to come and help her move after work. At 3:00 she went to check on her mother’s house. The windows were still boarded up and she got out of the car to check the mail when she saw Rick Daly going into the house through an opening in the back where people had been breaking in. He told Suzy he was coming to see Wende and that he had dope to sell her. He was sitting on the bed at this time, going through his backpack. He looked so thin ... they hadn’t been together in nine months or so. It was obvious to Suzy he was using quite heavily. She said to Rick, “You need to get out and stay out of this house!” They both left at approximately the same time - Rick on his bicycle and Suzy in her vehicle with her daughter Jessica. Suzy saw him riding toward Cory’s house on 164th Street, his backpack on his back. The last thing he said to her was that he would come back around 6:00 p.m. to see Wende. Suzy headed toward Redondo Beach to continue her packing.

At 5:00 p.m., Jim showed up and Suzy and Jessica went with him to take a load of furniture to Gardena. They made at least two trips, Tom joining them between 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. They finished up at 11:00 p.m. when Jim left and Suzy and Tom went to bed. Jessica had been asleep since 9:00 p.m. and Donny was spending the night with his dad, Douglas Besch.

The next day, July 22nd, Suzy went back to check on the house in Lawndale, and she saw Wicked’s mother inside the house doing a load of laundry and cleaning the floor. Her most pressing concern was this woman in her mother’s house. Suzy said, “What are you doing here?” Mrs. Molliker replied, “Cleaning up and doing a load of laundry.” Suzy said, “You’re not even supposed to be here!” and left. She thought it odd that Wicked’s mother would be in the house at all, but was in a hurry so she did not stick around.

On Thursday, July 31st, Suzy went to Cory Vasquez’s house in Lawndale to visit her and her new baby, fathered by Suzy’s nephew David. Cory was currently seeing Rick Daly, and it was Cory’s house Rick was headed to when Suzy last saw him. Cory told Suzy, “Ginger (Ginger Welborn, another bald—headed member of the Lawndale gang) is coming over in awhile to tell us about Rick.” When Ginger arrived, she told Suzy end Cory that Ghost murdered Rick and that Rick “deserved what he got.” Ginger hated Rick Daly, calling him a snitch. She said it was “crucial” and he deserved what he got. She told Suzy she had to “step out of the house because it was bad.” She also told Suzy it happened at the Firmona house. T his led Suzy to believe Ginger had been there.

Suzy went straight to Wende’s house and there she was Cindy Chavez, a friend of Rick’s and also of Ghost and Wicked. “Cindy,” said Suzy, “please tell me, is it really true about Rick?” Cindy confirmed it. That night Suzy called her mom, aunt and uncle telling them Rick Daly had been murdered on Firmona Street.

The next day, Friday, August 1st, a fire was started at the abandoned Firmona Street home. Shortly thereafter, when Suzy drove by once again to check on the status of the house, she saw her aunt and uncle who were meeting with a large built African-American insurance agent (“George?”) who was there to assess the damage. Suzy joined the meeting, and when she started to say something, was prodded by her uncle not to talk to the agent. It was at this time Suzy noticed the boards had all been removed from the residence windows. Suzy believes the aunt and uncle wanted to leave the impression the house had been occupied so that a valid insurance claim could be made. Indeed, a check was issued to Suzy’s uncle in payment of claim made on her mother’s behalf.

At this point in time, there still was no correlation made between the John Doe the police had found burned in that San Pedro alleyway and the house on Firmona by the police department.

On August 13th June Patti telephoned Suzy in the middle of the night in their condo in Redondo Beach. Suzy remembers asking June how she got her phone number as she had not spoken to her in a long time and in fact Suzy did not like June Patti. She was a known “rat” and had a bad reputation. She called to see if she could buy meth from Suzy, and Suzy told her no, that she didn’t have any and told her not to call again. This was the essence of the conversation and Suzy never spoke with her again.

The following Monday Suzy had gone to visit her mother and found her to be alone. Within five minutes, her aunt and uncle joined them, having just come home from the police department. Roger said, “What the hell are you doing here? Why didn’t you call first?” They told Suzy they had just spoken with the police and that they were looking for Suzy with regard to the murder of Rick Daly.

They also said someone had seen her coming from the Firmona property on the day of the murder. There continues to be a bad taste in Suzy’s mouth about her aunt and uncle’s involvement with the police - almost feeling as if they were the informant and that they were anxious to get her out of the way.

Three days later, August 21st, Douglas Besch visited Suzy and told her the police really were looking for her. On August 25th Suzy called Investigator Winn and agreed to meet her at McDonald’s to tell her what she knew about the murder. Once there, she was handcuffed and taken into custody.

Throughout Suzy’s questioning, preliminary hearing and jury trial Suzy’s story never changed. It is essentially what is briefly written about here. She was convicted of first degree murder with special circumstances (torture) and sentenced to life without.

It seems Miss June Patti, a known informant, fabricated a story for the police that Suzy had gone to her for legal advice because she was a paralegal. Suzy was supposedly nervous, as Miss Patti would tell it, as she was either there or knew what happened when Rick Daly was murdered. Miss Patti’s story changed several times throughout this ordeal, but that didn’t seem to matter to the jury.

No attempt was made by Attorney Lou Notrica to discredit Miss Patti. There exists a letter (we have it) which June Patti wrote to the District Attorney wherein she asks for clemency for two pending criminal cases in exchange for her testimony about Suzy’s involvement. This was never even mentioned during the trial. The three defendants’ trials were separated and “Ghost” was also given a life without sentence while Wicked walked. The first time Suzy ever saw Ghost was in a jail transportation van, when he spoke briefly with her.

Suzy’s trial took 10 days and on June 5th, 1998, Suzy was sentenced after spending ten months in county jail.

Suzy’s lawyer was incredibly incompetent. He even fell asleep during certain phases of the trial. There was very little cross examination. Suzy didn’t stand a chance. She never had an investigator and Mr. Notrica paid little attention to her few concerns. It was truly a slam dunk as far as the D. A. was concerned. There was no fight left in Suzy.

Suzy lives in a small cell with seven other women originally built to hold four. There is constant stress, crowding, noise and regimentation. She struggles with periods of depression, usually based on how long it’s been since she has heard from her children. This is becoming more infrequent as they are young adults now, caught up in their own world without their mother. Suzy works as a porter and lives in the honor dorm. She watches only spiritual television and spends all her time ministering to others, praying, writing letters and encouraging other women who are in pain.

Suzy is defined now by her spirituality, not by her surroundings. But it’s time she starts to fight, and that’s my job. I know it will be an uphill battle, but I also know in my heart she will eventually get out of here. The truth has got to come out and it will set her free. The statistics are discouraging, but God knows the truth.


Update
September 22, 2007
By Mari Gray

In last night’s legal mail news came that the Innocence Project in San Diego has officially picked up Suzy’s case. This is the news we have been waiting so patiently for. Of course, this is only the beginning of much hard work by many caring and devoted people.

None of this would have been possible had so many things not occurred. They include, but are not limited to:

1. Suzy never gave up trying to be heard. Anyone she could write, she would. She always proclaimed her innocence.
2. I never gave up listening. I made it my “job” to make sure Suzy’s story was heard by anyone who could helm her.
3. Jan Ogilvie got us started in the right direction listening, believing in Suzy’s innocence, and helping us obtain documents and transcripts. She was the greatest cheerleader (although she hated that word) and gave us the confidence to persevere. (Jan passed away 07/30/07 while serving a life sentence.)
4. Melody (my friend) placed an ad on Suzy’s behalf on Craig’s List, seeking legal assistance. If that one detail were omitted in this scenario, none of this would have happened.
5. Mark saw the ad, was moved by it and agreed to help in any way he could to prove her innocence. Obviously this is the cornerstone of Suzy’s success in getting back into court. None of this would have been possible had Mark not been a tenacious investigator, a caring human being, or if he did not have faith in Suzy. He never gave up, spent his own time and resources to prove Suzy’s innocence, and put up with more “drama” than anyone can imagine. He did it because it was the right thing to do. Neither Suzy nor I will ever forget that.
6. So many prayers were heard and answered. Suzy’s faith never waivered, and she will no doubt devote her time and energy, once freed, serving God.

The light at the end of the tunnel just got a little brighter! Now it’s just a matter of time before these gates will be opened up and Suzy will walk free. Stay tuned!

If you would like to write Suzy, she would love to hear from you! Please send all correspondence to:
: When writing please include a self-addressed stamped envelope. This helps Suzy a lot.