Man who hijacked school bus full of children, buried them in van is being released

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Associated Press, via the Richmond Times-Dispatch

SPOTLIGHT

Man who hijacked school bus full of children, buried them in van is being released

By DON THOMPSON, Associated Press 4 hrs ago

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The last of three men convicted of hijacking a school bus full of California children for an attempted $5 million ransom in 1976 — in what a prosecutor called "the largest mass kidnapping in U.S. history" — is being released by the state's parole board. ... Gov. Gavin Newsom asked the board to reconsider its decision to parole Frederick Woods, 70, on Tuesday. Two board members recommended his release in March when previous panels had denied him parole 17 times. But the board affirmed that decision.

Woods and his two accomplices, brothers Richard and James Schoenfeld, were from wealthy San Francisco Bay Area families when they kidnapped 26 children and their bus driver near Chowchilla. The town is about 125 miles (201 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco. ... The three buried the children, ages 5 to 14, along with their bus driver in an old moving van east of San Francisco with little ventilation, light, water, food or bathroom supplies. The victims were able to dig their way out more than a day later.

Newsom said Woods "continued to engage in financial related-misconduct in prison," using a contraband cellphone to offer advice on running a Christmas tree farm, a gold mining business and a car dealership. The governor couldn't block Woods' release because he's not convicted of murder, and could only urge the parole board to take a closer look.



FILE - In this July 20, 1976, photo, officials remove a moving van buried at a rock quarry in Livermore, Calif., in which 26 Chowchilla school children and their bus driver, Ed Ray were held captive.
AP Photo/James Palmer, File

{snip}

Woods wasn't eligible to attend in person on Tuesday. But he said during his parole hearing in March that he felt he needed money to have acceptance from his parents and "was selfish and immature at that time," while his more recent violations were to benefit the trust fund left him by his late parents.

{snip}



FILE - In this Friday, July 23, 1976, photo, the inside of the moving van in which 26 Chowchilla, Calif., school children and their bus driver were held captive is seen in a Livermore, Calif., quarry.
AP Photo/James Palmer, file

{snip}

Read more: https://richmond.com/news/national/man-who-hijacked-school-bus-full-of-children-buried-them-in-van-is-being-released/article_1464733b-c06c-5d16-ac9d-7c97341b9fb9.html

---

"Dirty Harry" came out in 1971.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_Harry

-- -- -- -- -- --

Three men buried the children, ages 5 to 14, along with their bus driver in an old moving van. The victims were able to dig their way out more than

richmond.com
Man who hijacked school bus full of children, buried them in van is being released
Three men buried the children, ages 5 to 14, along with their bus driver in an old moving van. The victims were able to dig their way out more than

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[Liberty Belle]

1. This monster should have been left to rot in prison.

I remember that crime - those children could all have died if not for finding a way to escape, in which case the charges would've been mass murder.

I hope they're putting an ankle bracelet on and closely monitoring him; CA's parole board shows no common sense at times.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

2. May his release be everything he deserves.

[Turbineguy]

9. He'll probably want to get back in.

[2naSalit]

3. I don't get why he's being released.

He should never get out.

[Rebl2]

5. No he

never be released!

[hlthe2b]

4. Did they hear from any of those victimized as children?

I'd like to think how this has affected their lives would have been taken into account.

It is a miracle they didn't all die.

[2naSalit]

7. Doesn't sound like it.

[OnlinePoker]

6. 46 years in and he gets a trust fund when released.

According to the following article, the trust could be worth as much as $100 million. Is it too late to sue?

https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/last-chowchilla-kidnapper-hopes-for-parole-with-millions-in-hand/article_47354fa4-e386-11ec-afac-a7a5f02ec7c8.html

[2naSalit]

8. That should be distributed among the victims!

[IcyPeas]

14. this article says he was sued by 19 of the victims already

In 2015, Woods and the Schoenfelds were sued by 19 of the kidnapped children, Banos confirmed with The Examiner. Several reports stated that after proceedings, all 25 of the surviving victims were paid out; no explicit details on how much money was offered or by which defendants were available.

[OnlinePoker]

16. Missed that. Thanks. n/t

[LudwigPastorius]

10. 27 life sentences...

They should have given him a chance of parole on only 26 of those.

[cstanleytech]

11. He clearly should never have been paroled in my opinion.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

12. From "Dirty Harry"

Dirty Harry (10/10) Movie CLIP - Do l Feel Lucky? (1971) HD
529,915 views Dec 31, 2014

Movieclips
57.6M subscribers

Dirty Harry movie clips: http://j.mp/1y4ROBD
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CLIP DESCRIPTION:
Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) catches up to Scorpio Killer (Andrew Robinson) in the final showdown.

{snip}

[Abolishinist]

13. Gavin Newsom's late father,

state Judge William Newsom, was on an appellate panel in 1980 that reduced the men’s life sentences to give them a chance at parole. Once retired, he advocated for their release in 2011, noting that no one was seriously physically injured during the kidnapping.

https://apnews.com/article/california-san-francisco-gavin-newsom-jerry-brown-hijacking-efac18d71281324fed3fe4bdcb10e7dc

I guess the judge considered inflicting a lifetime of emotional pain and suffering on those who at the time were children much ado about nothing.

[Polybius]

26. Good thing Gavin has more sense than his dad

Advocated for their release 11 years ago...

[ificandream]

15. I remember this case well.

It got a ton of coverage here in California, as you might expect. The idea they're releasing this guy does seem a bit strange, especially given his conduct in prison. Surely, the governor isn't the only one to know about this. Hopefully, the parole board will reconsider. They sure as hell should.

[live love laugh]

17. No question how he'll be voting.

[OneCrazyDiamond]

18. 1st sentenced to life without parole

Now a parolee.

[TexasBushwhacker]

19. Jerry Brown allowed his accomplises to be paroled in 2012 and 2015

So I guess it's only fair for this POS to get paroled too.

Wait, I don't give a shit about fairness. Just goes to show, being wealthy and White has its privileges.

[SunSeeker]

20. Sick fuck should stay in jail.

I'm sure the hyperventilating Republicans will blame this on Governor Newsom somehow, even though he opposed and is now appealing the release.

[elleng]

21. We remember Chowchilla.

[70sEraVet]

22. When he sees the gun laws in California, he'll move to another state.

[maxsolomon]

27. parolees have to stay where they're parolled, don't they?

odd comment. feels like you have another agenda.

[Dysfunctional]

23. If I remember correctly, they were given life sentences without parole

because one of the children cut their finger slightly when climbing out of the box. They never should have gotten out. I remember that some areas had armed men protecting school buses for a while.

[truthisfreedom]

24. You can't make this shit up.

What a bizarre and twisted story, with an even more bizarre and twisted end. We can only hope for a further plot twist that sends him straight back in to prison.

[JohnnyRingo]

25. He did 45 years of hard time and he's just now getting out?

Too soon. Make room somewhere.

[Farmer-Rick]

28. He had $100 million waiting for him

When he got older and he had to put 26 children's lives at risk for more money?

This man has no ability to feel sympathy or empathy.