Palm Springs murder sites – IAMNOTASTALKER

A couple of months ago, my favorite desert radio personalities “Bulldog” Bill Feingold and Kevin Holmes interviewed Tyson Wrensch, co-author of Until Someone Gets Hurt. The book, which chronicles the disappearance and murder of 74-year-old Palm Springs retiree Clifford Lambert at the hands of five San Francisco-based grifters (27-year-old playboy Daniel Garcia, 26-year-old Nepalese expat Kaushal Niroula, 26-year-old bartender Miguel Bustamante, 69-year-old attorney David Replogle, and 30-year-old former Marine Craig McCarthy), sounded absolutely intriguing and I ordered it immediately. Sadly, it turned out to be a bit of a disappointing and rather difficult-to-follow read. The story did fascinate – and sicken – me, though, and as soon as I finished reading it, I ran right out to stalk Lambert’s former house. And while I do realize that this article would fit in best with my Haunted Hollywood postings, I wanted to write it while the details were still fresh in my mind. So here goes.

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The convoluted story of Lambert’s disappearance began in April 2008 when the former art dealer, who had just recently broken up with his much-younger partner of 14 years, met Daniel Garcia online. The two began a digital flirtation and it was not long before Cliff flew his new friend out to Palm Springs for the weekend. While there, Daniel pilfered some of Lambert’s credit cards and bank statements and, in a rather brazen maneuver, used one of those credit cards to upgrade his seat to First Class on his flight home to San Francisco. Cliff caught wind of it immediately and severed all ties to the con man. Or so he thought. A couple of weeks later, Garcia showed up on Lambert’s doorstep, flowers in hand, to apologize. The atonement was a ruse, though, because during the visit, Daniel stole several of Cliff’s paintings, jewelry, and silver pieces.

A few months later, Garcia, his good friend Kaushal Niroula, who was a seasoned con artist, and Niroula’s boyfriend, David Replogle, began making plans to kidnap Cliff, whereupon they would force him to sign over his estate. (Lambert’s flashy lifestyle and expensive toys had led Daniel to believe he was a multi-millionaire. He wasn’t. While well off, Cliff did not have anything close to the amount of money that Garcia suspected.) In early December 2008, Niroula, posing as a New York estate lawyer named Samuel Orin, called Lambert and told him that he was poised to receive a large inheritance. The two made arrangements to discuss the matter in person and Niroula headed out to the desert. He was accompanied by his good friend Miguel Bustamante and Bustamante’s roommate, Craig McCarthy, both of whom were being paid to execute the kidnapping. At some point during their stay, and for reasons not made entirely clear in the book, plans changed, though, and Kaushal decided that Lambert would have to be killed.

On December 4th, Kaushal and Cliff met for the first time at Dink’s Restaurant to “discuss the inheritance.” While the two were dining, McCarthy and Bustamante snuck into Lambert’s garage and hid. For whatever reason, though, when Cliff arrived home, they chickened out and fled. The following night, Kaushal and Lambert met once again, this time at Lambert’s house to “finalize paperwork.” At one point, Niroula excused himself and went to let Miguel and Craig into the home through a side door. The two then killed Cliff by stabbing him to death with kitchen knives while Kaushal watched. After cleaning up the mess, they put him into the back of his own Mercedes and drove to a remote area where they buried him in a shallow grave. His body has never been found.

Shortly thereafter, Replogle forged documents that gave one of Niroula’s acquaintances, a 67-year-old Palm Springs art dealer named Russell Manning, power of attorney over Clifford’s estate. (It is likely that Manning did not know about the murder. Replogle had told him that Lambert was in jail for raping Niroula and infecting him with HIV and was signing over his estate as reparation.) Once the group had their hands on Lambert’s bank accounts, they began to blow through his money. In less than a month, Niroula and Garcia spent over $215,000. They also attempted to put his house on the market. Thankfully, the real estate agent they contacted about the sale had an instinct that something was fishy and did some online digging. When he learned that Lambert had been reported missing, he called the police. Around that same time, Bustamante showed up at Cliff’s house with a moving van and five day laborers and began to clear the place out. One of the neighbors saw the group, immediately contacted the authorities and Bustamante was arrested. While in custody, he folded and confessed the whole sordid tale. Warrants were soon issued for his five accomplices and all were arrested shortly thereafter.

While McCarthy pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 25 years in prison and Manning pled guilty to fraud and was sentenced to 5 years, Replogle, Garcia, Bustamante, and Niroula all stood trial. They were each eventually found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Lambert’s former 4,301-square-foot house, which was originally built in 1954, was put on the market as a probate sale in May 2011 for $879,000. From what I can glean from property records, it sold fairly quickly for $737,000. It was then put on the market again the following year and sold in June 2012 for $1,030,000. According to the 2011 real estate listing, the Mid-century abode boasts four bedrooms, five baths, a 0.34-acre corner plot of land, a pool, a formal dining room, a large living room with an architectural fireplace and wood-beamed peaked ceilings, an office, a wet bar/ice cream bar, a guest wing, a large master bedroom with a double-sided fireplace, and, as you can see below, soaring views of the San Jacinto Mountains. You can check out some current interior photographs of the residence here, as well as some pictures from the time that Cliff owned it here.

According to a sign posted on the dwelling, the place is named Villa dei Leoni (which is the Italian translation of “House of Lions”). I am unsure if Lambert gave the pad its nickname or if it was done by a previous or subsequent owner.

I am also unsure if the gold L’s posted on the home’s front and side gate stand for Lambert or Leoni.

While I typically love true crime stories, this one was so completely twisted and perverse that it was almost repulsing. Reading about such morally-devoid people was quite tough for me to stomach. For those who are interested in additional information on the case (and it’s not pretty, let me tell you), you can check out a more in-depth write-up here and you can watch Part I of a KMIR 6 news special by clicking below.

Part II of that same special is below.

For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Los Angeles magazine online. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Clifford Lambert’s former house is located at 317 Camino Norte in the Old Las Palmas area of Palm Springs. Liberace’s third desert residence, which I blogged about here, is located just around the corner at 1441 North Kaweah Road.

Earlier this year, while doing research on the various Coachella Valley-area houses formerly owned by pianist Liberace, I came across a blurb in fave book Palm Springs Confidential about the city’s first ever triple homicide, which took place in a Las Palmas Estates residence that once belonged to actor George Nader. After wiping the drool from my chin Winking smile , I added the site to my Haunted Hollywood To-Stalk list and finally managed to drag the Grim Cheaper out there a couple of weekends ago.

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The 3-bedroom, 3.25-bath, 3,608-square-foot home, which was originally built in 1961, has quite a distinguished Hollywood pedigree. Upon its completion, the dwelling was first inhabited by George Arnold, the longtime producer of Las Vegas’ popular Rhythm on Ice show. When he moved out in the mid-60s, the pad was purchased by The Merry Widow actress Gregg Sherwood, who continued to own the place until 1976, when she sold it to a race track executive named Ed Friendly and his wife, San Francisco socialite Sophia. The couple did not live there long. At around 7:30 p.m. on the evening of Thursday, October 12th, 1978, Sophia, who was then 71, and Ed, who was 74, were just preparing to eat a fish dinner that had been prepared by their housekeeper, 67-year-old Frances Williams, when the doorbell rang. The visitor was granted access to the home and proceeded to have a brief conversation with Sophia, during which he pulled out a .45-caliber handgun. Sophia tried to flee down a hallway, but was shot in the back of the head and died instantly. The killer then entered the kitchen and shot Frances, who had just placed the Friendlys’ dinner in a warming oven. Ed, who was hard of hearing and likely unaware of the carnage taking place just a few feet away, was shot last, in the bedroom where he was watching TV. Before leaving, the killer grabbed a fedora from the hallway and placed it over Sophia’s face. None of the neighbors saw or heard a thing.

At 7:30 the following morning, the pool man showed up at the property and spotted Frances’ corpse through the window. When police arrived later, they discovered the bodies of Ed and Sophia, as well as spent shell casings in the den, kitchen and hallway. The warming oven, with the Friendlys’ dinner inside, was still turned on. The house was in disarray, but nothing appeared to have been stolen. And while the case led investigators all over the globe, it was eventually dropped due to a shortage of funds, the death of two key witnesses, and a lack of evidence, and remains open and unsolved to this day. Police do have a theory, though, and, boy, is it tawdry!

Prior to meeting Ed, Sophia was married for 24 years to Curtis Wood Hutton, who just so happened to be the first cousin of Woolworth heir Barbara Hutton. Curtis and Sophia had two children, Edward and Sophia (yes, she apparently named her daughter after herself). At some point during the early years of the marriage, Barbara gifted Curtis, who was said to be one of her favorite relatives, a $1 million trust fund. When he joined the Navy during World War II, Sophia, nervous that her husband might be killed in the line of duty, leaving her penniless, had the trust amended so that it would be payable to her upon Curtis’ death. If she happened to precede her husband in death, the two Hutton children would inherit the money. The amendment turned out to be irrevocable, so even after Curtis and Sophia divorced in 1951, she still stood to inherit the $1 million if he passed away before her. Then, in 1977, the sh*t hit the proverbial fan. Not only did Sophia amend her will, disinheriting her son and daughter, but Curtis also became terminally ill. Edward, who was destitute at the time, realized he had to act fast if he ever wanted to see a dime of his father’s trust fund. Police speculate that he paid Andreas Christensen, a London-based friend of his who was no stranger to crime, to commit the murders. Things went according to plan, too, because Curtis died on October 28th, just two weeks after Ed and Sophia, and the Barbara Hutton trust, which then amounted to $1.3 million, was divided between Edward and his sister. As I said, tawdry stuff! You can read two fabulous, more in-depth articles about the murders on the DuJour magazine website and on the SFGate website.

Actor George Nader and his life partner, Mark Miller, purchased the property in 1991. They owned the place until George’s death in 2002. According to Palm Springs Confidential, at the time that they purchased it, the couple had no idea that a triple homicide had taken place on the premises. Miller said, “We were never told about the murders. We found out two years later.” Nice disclosure job from the real estate agent. Winking smile

Sadly, the residence was sold in August 2011 and the new owners have since completely remodeled the place. You can see what the home used to look like via Google Street View below and in these photographs from the 2011 real estate listing. I personally prefer the pre-remodel design. So Old Hollywood!

On a side-note – I would like to wish a big CONGRATULATIONS to my dear friend Miss Pinky Lovejoy, of the Thinking Pink blog, and her new husband, Keith Coogan. The two tied the knot this past Saturday in Malibu and a fabulously pink time was had by all. (Can you tell that I was just a little excited to be partnered up with none other than Jeremy Miller during the ceremony?? Smile ) You can read a great write-up on the festivities, which included the bride and groom driving off in a DeLorean, on the Mike the Fanboy website here.

For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: George Nader’s former house, where Ed and Sophia Friendly were murdered in 1978, is located at 893 Camino Sur in Palm Springs’ Las Palmas Estates neighborhood.

Tag: Palm Springs murder sites

Clifford Lambert’s Former House

George Nader’s Former Home