Dispatch | Timeline
Anthony Rene Wimberly was born on October 26, 1962. He was first arrested for assault at the age of 14. It never got any better for Wimberly. He is in and out of jail for the next four years. By 1980, he is robbing homes while children are home.
Another four years later, and his killings have begun. Most of Wimberly’s murders are associated with robbery and burglary. In 3 months, he racks up 3 “special circumstances” murders and 2 attempted murders. There were 3 counts of residential burglary, 1 count of nonresidential burglary and 5 counts of robbery. He also faced 2 counts of rape, and 4 counts of being an ex-felon in possession of a gun.
The trial began in 1989, but the sentencing was finally handed down 5 years later. Life without parole.
The Anthony Rene Wimberly murders timeline
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1976-1980
In 1976, Wimberly was arrested for assault at the age of 14. He is sent to a group home for 9 months. in 1977, Wimberly is arrested for robbery. He spends 11 months in a Stockton California youth facility. In 1978, Wimberly is released on parole. Within 6 months, he violates his parole by committing robbery. He is taken back into custody. He is paroled again on January 23, 1980.
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November 4, 1980
Wimberly binds a 12-year-old boy to a chair and ransacks the boy’s home. He runs away with a shotgun when the boy’s mother comes home. He is arrested, but is bailed out.
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1981-1983
June 12, 1981, Wimberly steals a Lincoln Continental. Five days later he is caught using the car in a burglary. On September 2, 1981, Wimberly is sentenced to 3 years in jail. He is paroled on May 28, 1983. In September of the same year, Wimberly is arrested for grand theft auto. He is paroled a year later.
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November 8, 1984
Wimberly has been on parole since September 1984. He is considered a compliant parolee. On this date, he breaks into the home of a 12-year-old girl. He uses a gun to scare her. He ties her up, sexually assaults her and then covers her head with a pillow case. He fires twice and leaves her for dead. She survives. She unties herself and calls police.
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December 23, 1984
Anna Arevalo (note: this woman’s last name is spelled 4 different ways by the press) is sexually assaulted and robbed. She is found dead in the closet of her family home. She has been shot 3 times. Her twin babies are alive nearby. The bullets from this attack are matched to the November 8 sexual assault and attempted murder of the 12-year-old girl.
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January 24, 1985
Wimberly tries to rob Marilyn Moore and a coworker, Vicky J. Russo, at a beauty shop on the Bret Harte Boardwalk in Oakland, California. Moore is found in a closet at the rear of the store. She has been shot execution-style. Russo survives the assault. The killer took the survivor’s car. Police located the suspect, but lost him in a crowded apartment complex.
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January 31, 1985
Doris Wong Lee is shot in her Oakland Hills home. The killer leaves her body covered in a blanket, and steals her car.
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February 5, 1985
An informant tells police where Wimberly can be found. He is arrested at his home. He is identified by the surviving 12-year-old victim, and even the police officer who has earlier chased him. His fingerprints are matched to those found at the Anna A. crime scene. The informant who called the police wanted the $30,000 reward to be given to the daughter of one of the victims.
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June, 1989
Wimberley confessed early on. He is found guilty. He had claimed that police beat and choked a confession out of him. He later claimed it was out of concern for his mother. However, he is still found guilty.
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September 12, 1989
The first sentencing jury is deadlocked.
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January 25, 1994
The third sentencing jury is deadlocked
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April 1, 1994
Wimberly is finally sentenced. Three successive juries were deadlocked on the sentence (death VS life). The state gives the killer life in prison without parole. They did not want to go to a 4th sentencing trial. (read Wimberly’s appeal information here, which summarizes much of the case).
