Murder of Elyse Pahler

Elyse Marie Pahler (April 24, 1980 – July 22, 1995[1]) was an American murder victim whose parents attempted to sue the thrash metal band Slayer, claiming that the band's music contributed to their daughter's death. Pahler was murdered in the summer of 1995.

Elyse Pahler at age 15

Murder

15-year-old Elyse Pahler's body was discovered near her home in Arroyo Grande, California, in March 1996. She had been raped and murdered there eight months earlier by acquaintances Jacob Delashmutt, Joseph Fiorella, and Royce Casey. The perpetrators apparently returned to the corpse and had sex with it on several occasions.[2][1] The body was located after Casey confessed to the crime following a conversion to Christianity. All three eventually pleaded no contest to her murder and are now imprisoned and serving 25 years to life.[3]

The trio lured Elyse from her house with the stated intention of killing her as part of a satanic ritual, although the crime bears many of the hallmarks of similar sexually motivated murders. In their defense, the defendants said they had needed to commit a "sacrifice to the devil" to give their heavy metal band, Hatred, the "craziness" to "go professional".[1]

Lawsuit

David and Lisanne Pahler claimed that the Slayer songs "Postmortem" and "Dead Skin Mask" (from the albums Reign in Blood and Seasons in the Abyss, respectively) gave the three killers detailed instructions to "stalk, rape, torture, murder and commit acts of necrophilia" on their daughter. The lawsuit was originally filed in 1996 but delayed until 2000 when the killers' trial was concluded. The initial case was originally thrown out, the judge stating, "There's not a legal position that could be taken that would make Slayer responsible for the girl's death. Where do you draw the line? You might as well start looking through the library at every book on the shelf."[4]

Undeterred, the Pahlers launched a second lawsuit claiming that Slayer "knowingly distributed harmful material to minors".[5] This case too was dismissed, with Judge E. Jeffrey Burke stating, "I do not consider Slayer's music obscene, indecent or harmful to minors."[5]

Jacob Delashmutt himself stated in a Washington Post interview, "The music is destructive [but] that's not why Elyse was murdered. She was murdered because Joe [Fiorella] was obsessed with her, and obsessed with killing her."[3]

Aftermath

Royce Casey was denied parole by governor Gavin Newsom in July 2021, Joseph Fiorella has a parole hearing tentatively scheduled for July 2022 after voluntarily waiving his right to a hearing for one year and Jacob Delashmutt has a parole hearing which is scheduled for December 2024.[6][7][8][9][10][11]

References
  1. "Elyse Pahler: Killed in Nipomo in 1995". San Luis Obispo Tribune. April 14, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  2. "22 years later, Arroyo Grande Teen's Family Still Has Received No Money From Satanic Killers". Noozhawk. June 28, 2017. Retrieved May 11, 2021. In July 1995, the trio lured Pahler to a eucalyptus grove on the Nipomo Mesa and strangled, stabbed and stomped her, then left her to bleed to death. After she died, the boys took turns having sex with her corpse, according to San Luis Obispo Tribune archives.
  3. "Judge Throws Out Slayer Suit". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 5, 2008. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  4. "Slayer Case Dismissed". Metal Hammer. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved February 20, 2007.
  5. "Slayer: Out of the Dock". Metal Hammer. Archived from the original on March 10, 2007. Retrieved February 20, 2007.
  6. https://www.ksby.com/news/local-news/governor-denies-potential-parole-of-man-convicted-in-1995-killing-of-arroyo-grande-teen
  7. https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article252729963.html
  8. https://pasoroblesdailynews.com/governor-reverses-decision-to-parole-convicted-murderer/129138/
  9. https://atascaderonews.com/news/governor-reverses-parole-boards-decision/
  10. https://atascaderonews.com/news/governor-reverses-parole-boards-decision/
  11. https://calcoasttimes.com/2021/07/12/newsom-denies-parole-to-slo-county-killer-who-murdered-arroyo-grande-teen/
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