Nancy Owens Boehm, BHS 1957

Convicted killer is suspect in '97 double slaying in North Hollywood

L.A. police say DNA evidence ties a man serving time in state prison to the fatal stabbing of Nancy Boehm and her son, Shawn. Detectives allege that Nancy Boehm was involved in the sale of drugs.

Neighbors grew worried when they hadn't seen Nancy Boehm and her mentally impaired son, Shawn, walking around their North Hollywood neighborhood back in September 1997.

Their worst fears were realized when a friend discovered mother and son stabbed multiple times inside the home they had shared for more than 20 years.

The slayings went unsolved for 12 years.

On Thursday, Los Angeles Police Department detectives announced that a felon serving time in state prison was suspected of the crime. The suspect is serving time for the fatal stabbing of a woman in North Hollywood in 2001.

Boehm and her son were found stabbed and slashed to death in separate bedrooms of their Riverton Avenue home.

DNA was collected from the scene, but computer technology wasn't developed enough to quickly and effectively analyze the evidence.

Neighbors said Boehm was an assembly-line worker for General Motors until she was laid off several years before her death. Shawn Boehm, who had played basketball in the Special Olympics, was often seen riding his bike or walking along the street, neighbors said at the time.

Published in Los Angeles Times, November 06, 2009
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Convicted Killer Acquitted in 1997 Murder of North Hollywood Mother and Son

A jury acquitted a man, already serving time for another murder, of killing a woman and her son in their North Hollywood home.

A jury today acquitted a convicted killer of the 1997 stabbing deaths of a woman and her mentally impaired 23-year-old son in their North Hollywood home.

Prosecutors said the killings of Nancy Boehm and her son were drug- related, telling jurors that she was selling drugs out of her home in the 5700 block of Riverton Avenue.


According to the prosecution, Rafael Martinez came to buy drugs on the night of Sept. 21, 1997, and ended up slashing and stabbing the mother and son, and argued that DNA evidence linked him to the killings.

The jury, which began deliberations Friday, returned a verdict of not guilty on both counts late this afternoon, according to the court clerk.

Martinez, 42, was already serving time in state prison for a similar 2001 killing when he was charged in 2009 with murdering the Boehms.


Neither Deputy District Attorney Daniel Akemon, who prosecuted the case, nor Tom Burns of the Alternate Public Defender’s Office, who represented Martinez, could be immediately reached for comment.

Feb 24, 2015