James Lee Crummel
In early 1979, young James Trotter had plenty to look forward to in life even though his parents had just divorced and he was living in a hotel while his mother was in between apartments. Despite the social and economic stigma the popular good looking kid with braces must have been going through, he had discovered that his friends would stick by his side no matter what. Thirteen is a difficult age too but the Costa Mesa beach kid was street smart and knew how to navigate his way through his urban environment. On the morning of April 19, 1979 “Jamey” grabbed his backpack and skateboard, told his mother he loved her and would see her that night, and headed out the door of the hotel room towards his bus stop. On his way to school he was murdered.
In May of 1997 James Lee Crummel was roommates with elderly psychiatrist and friend Burnell Forgey in an Orange County condo in the Newport Beach community. The condo was owned by Forgey’s daughter-in-law, Madelyn Forgey. Crummel was being evicted by Madelyn and it was not because a group of investors were offering to buy the condo, which was true, it was because the group of investors were made up of Newport Beach neighbors and organizers camped outside the condo protesting after police had handed out flyers notifying the community that Crummel was a registered high risk sex offender.
Life sometimes can be so unfair. “I’ve been a model citizen.” Crummel would whine to the Orange County Register, “I have done nothing wrong”. Crummel would note he did not know where he could go and was open to donations. After all, Crummel was residing with a psychiatrist who worked with the troubled and counseled in youth homes. Why not give a man who was trying to positively work through his struggles an even break?
Later, in February of 1998, 80-years-old psychiatrist Burnell Forgey would confess that he had oral sex with a 16 year old patient while Crummel sodomized the kid. And that would be just scratching the surface. Forgey also admitted that he gave Crummel free access to his adolescent patients files, took Crummel with him on his rounds to group homes, and would leave Crummel alone with his young patients.
Bad enough right? How much worse could it possibly get? Obviously, this story is going to head into the direction that Crummel is responsible for the murder of Jamey Trotter, right? So, maybe you are wondering why I just don’t get on with it? Because it is going to get much worse.
Let go all the way back to 1967. In February, nine-year-old Frank Clawson was found strangled in the dessert near the baseball diamond where he liked to play. A belt was around his neck, his shirt was pulled up, pants partially pulled down. Who could do such a thing to a child? Little Frank was in Cub Scouts and Little League. Five days later one of his neighbors, James Lee Crummel, suddenly decided it was time to move out of state and talked his roommate into moving with him.
In Wisconsin, a trusting 14-year-old boy accepted a ride home with Crummel from football practice. The kid felt he could take care of himself and was independent and as a paperboy was used to associating with adults, so what could possibly go wrong? After Crummel repeatedly molested the kid in the woods he beat him bloody with a tree branch and left him in a ravine for dead. The beaten boy managed to crawl out of the woods the following morning.
Crummel was arrested and was facing thirty years in prison. This turned out to be a stroke of luck for the molester for the simple reason that Crummel’s roommate from Pima had snitched and told authorities that Crummel had admitted to him molesting and then strangling Frank Clawson with the belt. Wisconsin authorities assured the Pima County authorities that Crummel would get at least 30 years for the abduction, rape, and attempted murder of the 14-year-old, so Pima County did not pursue murder charges. For whatever reason, Wisconsin felt the case was weak and allowed Crummel to plead down to aggravated assault. Crummel was out in five years.
The five years in prison probably did not phase Crummel who, after having joined the Army in the early 60’s, had been convicted in Missouri of molesting two boys and a girl in 1962. The two boys, ages 13 and 11 had been taken into the woods, tied to a tree and raped by the 17 year old Crummel.
in April of 1967, two months after the Clawson murder and nine months before the Wisconsin ordeal with the 14 year old , Crummel had been charged and convicted in Los Angeles County of kidnapping and molesting a boy.
In 1976 Pima County learned of Crummel’s release from the Wisconsin prison years earlier and went looking for him with a vengeance and finally located him in Southern California living under the name Jimmy Savage with psychiatrist Forgey. In May of 1982 Crummel was arrested and charged with the murder of 9-year-old Frank Clawson. Unfortunately, Crummel’s old roommate recanted his statement that Crummel confessed to him and refused to co-operate. Crummel was released.
Crummel returned to Southern California. On Halloween he was invited to a party. He showed up wearing an alien costume and glitter on his face. The host decided to check on his 9-year-old son and caught Crummel in the boy’s bedroom molesting him. The father and other party goers beat the crap out of Crummel. As evidence, police collected the glitter found around the boy’s genital area.
Crummel was charged with the molestation and for failing to register as a sex offender. On the molestation charge, Crummel was found innocent in the third trial after having split juries on the first two. Crummel did 200 days for failing to register.
On July 2, 1981 6-year-old Jeffery Vargo was reported missing in Anaheim Hills, California. Jeffery’s body was found twenty miles away at a construction site. He Had been molested and strangled. James Crummel remains the prime suspect in the case.
In February of 1983, Pima county once again arrested and charged Crummel for the murder of Clawson. In November of 1983 he was found guilty of murder and he was sentenced to life. One year later, judge Michael Brown threw out the conviction on the grounds that Crummel‘s lawyer did not adequately defend Crummel. All the physical evidence related to the murder was either missing or tainted and Pima County had no choice accept to allow Crummel to plead down to simple kidnapping. Crummel was free again in 1987.
In 1995 Crummel was living in Big Bear City, California and 15 counts for molesting three boys were dropped because the statute of limitations had passed on the cases. The same year, nine-year-old Jack Phillips, disappeared from a parade in Big Bear, suspect James Crummel just happened to be on the same street at the time.
In 1990, a witness called police and told them he had been hiking and had discovered human bones in the wilderness west of Lake Elsinore, Riverside County. The witness led detectives to the site where police discovered scattered bones including a jaw bone with braces. The remains were sent to a forensic scientist who identified the bones as female.
In 1996 the remains were re-examined and this time were correctly determined to be male. The braces on the jaw bone were positively identified by Jamie Trotter’s orthodontist and a follow up DNA confirmed that the boy, missing since 1979 had finally been accounted for.
The name of the hiker who had led police to Jamie Trotter’s remains: James Lee Crummel. Police discovered that in 1979 Crummel lived on the same street as Jamie Trotter between the hotel and his bus stop.
In July of 2004, Crummel, who by now was already serving a life sentence due to Orange County molestations stemming from the 1998 Forgey confession, was sentenced to death for the murder of James Trotter.
Why James Lee Crummel led police to the remains of Jamie Trotter is anyone’s guess. Perhaps he had an attack of conscience. More likely, he thought he could rub his crimes into the face of police once again, and he had done so many times in the past.
Last August on another message board we had a discussion about James Trotter and I received a PM from a relative of James Trotter who told me something I had never heard before. Discovered with the remains of James Trotter were other human remains still unidentified.
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47 Comments »
Wow Lanturn what a amazing read. You did a great job writing this up and I am left stunned!
I am sickened and furious that this guy walked the streets for so long, so many bungled opportunity’s to keep him behind bars and 4 little children had to pay for it with their lives and scores of others scarred for a lifetime.
Our system failed them all, God how I hope the Earth will open up and swallow Mr. Crummel.
Frankie was my playmate. To this day, if you ask me about it I cry. To this day I fear it will happen again to someone I love. I hope that man suffers a slow burn in HELL.
I went to school in Hunt. Bch> with Jamie..He was a cute and funny boy..Every time I would see his “have you seen me” pic, I would think where are you? Can’t you get away? Did someone brain-wash you?..He was a tough kid..I always thought, he had to smarter then to go off with someone he didn’t know..You just weren’t taught what we teach our kids now..Thinking about Jamie brings tears to my eyes even after all of these years..To realize that this “person” was time after time allowed to get away with abuse, molesting and murder, sickens me..Jamie should still be with his family and friends..Not gone…We’re sorry, Jamie..Sorry..
I also went to school with Jamie in HB. I was actually one of the kids waiting to meet him at school that morning. Over the years this has always haunted me. Today I just randomly put in his name and came upon your site. I had learned alot about Crummel but I didn’t know this much. I just can’t understand why they just let it go. Jamies mom has gone on to help so many others through the Missing Children’s Foundation….I’m just sorry that Jamie had to die. He would have smiled his funny cute smile if he knew how his life had saved others. It made me what my kids call “overprotective” and thats ok. Did you go to Gisler or where did you go to school? April
Lantern…wow. Very good write up…right up to the end with the suspense.
I haven’t read a story of a man so deserving of Hell on this site for a very long time, this guy is a true monster. How anyone could believe he doesn’t deserve Hell is beyond me. This guy was given dozens of chances to go clean since he was what…15? Getting away with Murder after molestation and rape after murder and still couldn’t decide he had just had enough. Model citizen…he lived a life of “If you get away with it, it’s not illegal”. Burn in Hell and be haunted by all the lives you destroyed you sick monster.
… My eyes are burning with some unidentifiable emotion. Some bleeding heart please try to defend this living sewage without sounding like an idiot? It just seems that so many balls got dropped in this one…
More to come later if I can organize my thoughts coherently…
Pima County Superior Court Judge Michael Brown threw out the Clawson murder conviction. According to the Tuscon Times in 1998, he also barred all evidence from that trial from being used again. But a significant amount of the evidence was tainted or gone.
If Pima County had gone after Crummel in 1967 this could have been a different story- Jamie Trotter and other kids could be alive today. In the John Jubert case- Joubert is profiled on this site- Maine prosecuted him for Ricky Stetson’s murder even though Joubert received the death penalty for the deaths of Eberle and Walden. Maine sent the message that it would not ignore the murder of an eleven-year-old. Every prosecuter and homicide detective should have to read about Crummel and what can happen when you take your ball and go home.
The Trotter jury deserves a lot of credit- all the evidence was circumstantial and they found in favor of the special circumstance that sexual lewdness was involved in the murder even though there was not a thread of evidence.
The last time I looked at a sex offenders registry online for my local area, I wanted to move to the middle of a wilderness because you can’t get away from them. They’re everywhere, and it’s terrifying. I don’t have children, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to kill each pedophile I know about. Waste of skin, waste of air, waste of time.
If you’re convicted of causing any sort of intentional harm to a child, you should go to general pop in a prison and have to fend for yourself. At least that would justify the money we spend keeping the rest of those animals alive.
max, go check your email.
i heard about this asshole a few years ago, i think it was on cold case files?
anyhow, yes he deserves hell, the hotter the better. imagine how many others are out there not yet known about or linked to him, whose families are still left to wonder…
Everytime I read a story like this I am reminded of a quote that has always stuck in my mind,,”perhaps this world is another planet’s hell” How else to explain how this kind of evil person could exist? Pedophiles don’t change and I don’t understand how their rights always seem so important and the victims are forgotten.
I’m a bleeding heart liberal, but there is no attorney in this life or the next who could possibly convince me that this man deserves no less than death at the hands of an angry mob.
I’d be all about the death penalty if people who get it actually got put to death with in at least five years but no they get cell of their own away from the general population for 15 to 20 years while we foot the bill. not only are they away from prison justice but they have something to look forward to and think about other than they re crimes with loads of appeals. I’m all about the life sentence now because they get to share a cell with Bubba who loves his kids and has nothing to loose. Mr Crummel deserves that room mate.
Wow. What a read, Lantern. This is unreal- to think of how many times they SHOULD have had this guy. I want to know just what in the hell happened with the halloween molestation case- how the HELL the juries came to the conclusions that they did. I’ll be googling that one. This guy should have been put away a long time ago…
My only guess is that the judge in the case would not allow Crummel’s extensive ‘past’ admitted as evidnece, so it became the word of the father against Crummel.
How is it that this guy spent nearly his whole life getting away with crimes of this nature? This story had an offense listed on here that outs him at the age of 17…And that was a pretty substantial crime for a 17 year old to pull off…..doesn’t really strike me as a first incident. He could have been pulling shit like this since elementary school, and there is no evidence otherwise. I can think of several ways to make sure this prick doesn’t get any more chances to have children alone with him…The only thing is that someone will turn right around and take his place…..makes me sick…. and BRAVO to the father and the party guests for beating his ass….wish they would have killed the sack of shit.
This guy deserves hell and he should be accompanied by those who enabled him to continue his spree.
It scares me to think that a judge can overturn a conviction because he “feels” that the defense atty filed to do their job.
Sure there are incompetent defense attys, BUT there are reason why even the best case it lost – like the suspect IS guilty…..
This begs the question – if I killed my X and went to jail, could I be released because my defense atty failed to keep me out of jail???
Great system we have…… for the criminals tha is.
After the first murder, one would think that they would have made damn sure this guy would never have seen the light of day again. I think everyone on down the line who allowed this creature to prey upon these children should be held responsible along with this defective piece of trash. Maybe we can get them one of those runs for dogs and just pile them all in there together. I know I’m probably going to get some push back here, but this guys “rights” were protected a little too well. If anyone disagrees, I challenge them to take their arguement to the families of the children he destroyed. What about their rights?
Dead children don’t vote, don’t get to influence politicians, don’t write letters of the cramped, dark & damp conditions of their coffin..
They do not complain about the lack of meals, health care, lack of TV stations, religious or cultural intolerance of the cemeteries, etc…
Lawyers don’t go to cemeteries, no one there is going write a check..
As grass grows over and around the stones the children are forgotten about by all but the ones who loved them and God…..
what a terrible thing(s). although i have to say, the story was very hard to follow.
how did this guy stay free so long?? i mean, we got pot dealers who are sitting in jail since 05… what the eff is going on?? ohh thats right, a sex offender isn’t infringing on the gov’ts money, but drug dealers are (lightbulb!)
if he would have done that here…he would have gotten jail the first time around, and not allowed out in society.
Im kinda new here well commenting wise any way, But my opinion is hell might just be too good for this scum bag
I have to wonder, how in the world two (at least when i read this) that’s two people could think that this scumbag doesn’t deserve hell? Unless as one poster put it “Hell just might be too good for this scum bag”
Great write up Lantern!! I knew story by the guy’s name. I actually have a show taped about this crime somewhere in my massive collection of tapes. This guy was the idiot who led police to the remains & the cop later figured out that this guy was the killer. This case was really disturbing because the legal system repeatedly failed over & over in this case. You write up did an amazing job of showing all the facts and how the system continued to let this guy out over & over on technicalities. If Pima County would have pursued the murder charges when they originally had the roommate willing to testify band had him extradited from Wisconson after serving his prison sentence there, then he would have been in prison for a long time and there would have been a lot less victims of this monster. I also think the shrink deserves hell right along with this guy because he is just as bad! I’ll never understand the point of keeping these scumbags like this alive in prison!!
Sorry about all of the typos in my comment above. I’ve got a new small laptop that is the notebook style, so I’m not used to typing on such a small keyboard. Also, my fingernails keep hitting other keys by mistake because their so long. Guess it’s time for me to slow down & make sure I proofread my comments before I submit them. Anyway, sorry for the mistakes in my post above.
File complaints on oppressive wardens with
Senator Gloria Romero
State Capitol,
Room 5051
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) xxx-xxxx
Fax (916) xxx-xxxx
Email: xxxxxxx
Thanks for your comments Corset. I am in the middle of writing a fourth story and the above was a humorous little snippet I found on line teaching inmates how to further punish us from behind bars by using the legal system.
I am glad that victims of Crummel will come here and find that the events were not forgotten, that this case is cause for concern and reflection.
After reading this story, I have come up with what I think is an appropriate punishment.
Step One: Strip the bastard naked
Step Two: Handcuff him ass-first to a tree with low branches
Step Three: Hose him down with JP5 (Jet fuel for the civilian types)
Step Four: Walk away, leaving a trail of JP5.
Step Five: Reaching a safe distance, light the jet fuel.
Step Six: Enjoy the fireworks.
Who are the three tards that think this tool doesn’t deserve hell? Are you kidding? Hell is too good for him!
Larry, Moe, Curly.
I grew up in Costa Mesa and went to a school on Victoria street around 1979, which was in the area where Jamey was kidnapped.
A day that still haunts me and gives me chills was when I was walking home from this school and van with two men pulled up and said something to a friend and I…. it was so strange and just did not feel right, not sure who yelled “run!” first, but we both took off running as fast as we could. My friend and I were 10 and both could have passed for Jameys little brothers. This story haunts me to this day, and I can remember the exact spot where I was when this van pulled up.
I hope this guy burns and is tortured forever in Hell.
RIP Jamey, you are not forgotten.
Freeway Killer William Bonin was the serial killer who drove a van throughout Southern California- sometimes with accomplices.
In fact, an associate of Bonin’s told police that Bonin admitted to him- he (Bonin) killed Trotter. Bonin, in fact Bonin discarded many of the bodies in the Lake Elsinore area where Trotter’s body was discovered.
He was executed in 1996.
added- Bonin has over 22 known victims.
5 “no Hell” votes?? Sick f**ks.
Frankie as we called him, was my next door neighbor, a great boy who treated me like a kid sister. His death was such a tragidy, our little neighborhood banded together after that, although none of us kids were allowed out by ourselves for years to come. I never really knew the entire story until now, thank you for publishing this.
No problem.
theres a very special place in hell for this shit bag
hey Yall,
I am the best friend of JT James Wilfred trotter I am still alive and in contact w/ Jamey’s Mother ihad the pleasure of attending the trial and was reunited with JT’s mother after 25 years …
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/article_e81ca244-80df-51dd-8c07-b297637069da.html
thank you all for the kind words
RIP Jamey
Keith
http://s117.photobucket.com/albums/o70/kwall65/?action=view¤t=coldcasefilesJT.flv
full version of the Cold Case Files
Dear Keith,
Thank you for all your kind words of love and careing. I know Jamey is up in Heaven looking down and smiling at you, at us, that we never gave up looking and careing what happened/ You were Jameys best friend for so many years. You are just like another son to us. We love you and your family.
Love, Mom
Barb (Jamey’s Mom)
Dear Lantern:
Thanks for the write up, my thanks also goes to all the Riverside Sheriffs Dept, Tim Johnson, Asst. Dist. Att. Bill Mitchell, Det. Capp of Costa Mesa Polioce Dept. They worled above and beyond their jobs to make this case solid. Thanks to the Jury who gave James Lee Crummel the Death Sentence. the Judge was the best Judge we could have had. May he burn in Hell. It was a long emotiontal Trial, I would never wish it on any parent. It is a parents worst nightmare to lose a child under any condition. Thanks to My Husband Art Brogli who was their with me and our sons, I could never have made it without him. Thanks to our family and friends for all their support. Thanks again to everyone connected with this case that took 25 years to solve.
Mother of James Wilfrid Trotter (Jamey)
Barbara Trotter Brogli
This just validate what I have been saying,,,,The Criminal justice system is a JOKE…….in America..
I am the Cousin of JD Phillips. I was very close to my little cousin. One thing to the writer. He was taken from the park down the road from the hotel where he was living at that time. Nobody saw Crummel on the street at that time. It was like he vanished in thin air. What we do know is Crummel was in that area. Plus, Crummel has told things about my cousin that only somebody with first hand knowledge would know. This dirt bag is trying to use my cousin’s body site as a trade to get off of death row. He can’t because he will die for killing James Trotter.
For the piles of shit that don’t believe this what of flesh deverse to die. Well ask yourself this: If you have children, would you want this man in your home with your kids? I bet there answer would be no!
Justice to me would be let this waste be placed in gerenal prison population with a bunch of angery, very sick horny males. Let them do to him what he did these children. Only slower and for months on end. Let the take him to the brink of death and bring him back over and over. Let his asshole bleed and strangle him with there belts until he passes out. Beat the shit out of him with branches and tie him up. I could go all day on the things he did to these children. I just feel this would be best served out by other sick prisoners.
JD would of 23 years old now. He would be in College or the Military. We don’t know. I was a week away from getting him from my aunt when he was taken from us. He was a smart, bright boy and all of that was snatched away. We just want his remains so we can put him to rest properly.
Where not the only family going though this. Any family of missing children, or loved ones knows how this feels. It tears families apart, fingers get point and an unbearable weight of guilt comes crushing down. The feeling of what you could of done differently.
Sorry for your family’s loss of little JD and all the unanswered questions and the voids in your life.
And best wishes to the Trotter family and friends who visited here.
Wow. Another California death penalty case that won’t be carried out. How many people are on Californias death row anyways? What is Richard Ramirez still alive for? Just wondering.
I was a neighbor of Frankies and say him the day he was murdered, I was not abloe to attend his trial as I was scheduled to be a witness in it but was never called, trotter has gotten off easy in this world, it is my hope that he dies a slow agonizing death to escape this life and that the there is no next one for him
Okay I got the names wrong it was crummel who killed both Frnk and jamie and it is hiim I hope dies a sad painnful death, I appoligize for the mistake