Murder at Carolands Chateau // 498

In February of 1985, two teenage girls headed out for an unofficial tour of a historic abandoned mansion outside of San Francisco. But once they arrived, the security officer outside - who had a bad reputation in the area - took the opportunity to prey on the girls, and what followed was a night of horror that only one of the girls would survive. This is the murder at the Carolands Chateau.

Sources:

1. “Carolands Foundation.” Carolands Foundation, https://carolands.org/history/. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
2. “David Allen Raley Claims Autism Exempts Him from Death Sentence - UPI.Com.” UPI, UPI, 9 Sept. 2013, https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/09/09/Calif-death-row-inmate-claims-autism-exempts-him-from-execution/18281378760170/.
3. “Harriett Pullman Schermerhorn (1869-1956) - Find a Grave Memorial.” Find a Grave - Millions of Cemetery Records, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15732070/harriett-schermerhorn. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
4. “Living Terror : Stabbing Victim Survives on Sheer Willpower, Small Victories - Los Angeles Times.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 1988, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-05-22-mn-4762-story.html.
5. “Trial Set to Start in Torture-Murder Case - UPI Archives.” UPI, UPI, 23 Mar. 1987, https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/03/23/Trial-set-to-start-in-torture-murder-case/9763543474000/.
6. SF Gate, 18 Sept. 2022, https://www.sfgate.com/sfhistory/article/california-gilded-age-mansion-carolands-17441886.php.
7. The Peninsula Times Tribune, 5 Feb. 1985.
8. SF Gate, 15 Apr. 2006, https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/san-mateo-county-death-penalty-upheld-in-teen-s-2499469.php.
9. The San Francisco Examiner, 5 Feb. 1985.
10. The Peninsula Times Tribune, 9 Feb. 1985.
11. News-Press, 6 Oct. 2006.
12. The Peninsula Times Tribune, 2 Apr. 1987.