Stanislaus County investigator questioned about secret recording of Kauffman murder defendant

Defense attorneys on Wednesday questioned a prosecution investigator about Miranda Dykes, who secretly recorded her then-boyfriend, Robert Lee Woody, talking about the disappearance and death of Korey Kauffman.

Woody is one of several people charged with murder in connection with Kauffman’s death. The 26-year-old man’s skeletal remains were found in a remote area of Mariposa County in August 2013, about 17 months after he was last seen alive leaving his friend’s Lander Avenue home in Turlock.

Woody remained the only person charged in Kauffman’s slaying until August 2015, when investigators arrested Frank Carson and seven others. Carson, a prominent Modesto defense attorney, is accused of recruiting a group of people to send a violent message to thieves who were repeatedly stealing antiques and scrap metal from his 5-acre property in Turlock.

Dykes already had been questioned by investigators, who convinced her to wear “a wire” to record the Feb. 18, 2014, conversation with Woody.

Dale Lingerfelt, a Stanislaus County prosecution investigator, testified that Dykes was the first to mention the name “Frank” in the recorded conversation with Woody. She also was the first to mention the possibility of Kauffman’s body discarded in the “mountains,” Lingerfelt said.

The investigator, however, testified he did not coach Dykes on what to say to Woody. Percy Martinez, Carson’s attorney, asked Lingerfelt whether Modesto police Detective Jon Evers coached Dykes before secretly recording Woody. Lingerfelt said not that he knows of and he couldn’t speak for Evers. Lingerfelt also said Evers might have been alone with Dykes before the secret recording.

At the time of the recorded conversation between Dykes and Woody, it had been several months since news outlets first reported the discovery of Kauffman’s remains in the Stanislaus National Forest in Mariposa County.

In the recording, Woody brags to his girlfriend that it’s very unlikely authorities will ever know what exactly happened to Kauffman. “He’s just a missing person. ... Nobody said anything about it, but everybody knew,” Woody tells Dykes.

In the recording, Woody explains that Kauffman had been stealing metal from a lot, which led to his demise. He tells Dykes the thefts continued to happen, and the stolen items never were recovered. Woody tells Dykes the burglary victim was his lawyer. When his girlfriend asks for the name of the lawyer, Woody whispers to her, “Frank Carson.”

Authorities say Kauffman, 26, last was seen alive March 30, 2012, leaving Mike Cooley’s Lander Avenue home. Cooley’s home and Carson’s property on Ninth Street were separated by a fence.

In the recording, Woody says about Kauffman, “He jumped over the fence. It was his last jump.”

Woody was arrested in March 2014, a few weeks after the recorded conversation he had with Dykes.

Timothy Rien, Walter Wells’ attorney, questioned Lingerfelt about Woody telling Dykes that two or three officers now had his back. Wells is a former California Highway Patrol officer charged with murder in Kauffman’s death. CHP Officers Eduardo Quintanar Jr. and Scott J. McFarlane are are charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and being accessories in Kauffman’s death. Quintanar and McFarlane are being prosecuted separately.

Dykes told Lingerfelt that two Turlock police officers were involved in the alleged murder conspiracy and referred to one as “Nathan the cop” and said the other had a last name that possibly began with the letter “H.” She didn’t mention the officers’ names in her first interview with Lingerfelt.

The investigator testified that Dykes did not mention any other officers involved in the alleged conspiracy. Dykes said she found a Turlock police knitted cap among Woody’s belongings.

Lingerfelt testified that officers from the Turlock Police Department, the CHP and the Merced County Sheriff’s Department would frequent the Pop-N-Cork liquor store in Turlock after hours. Baljit Athwal and Daljit Atwal, who own the liquor store, are also charged with murder in Kauffman’s death.

After more than a year in custody as sole defendant in the Kauffman murder case, Woody decided to cooperate with investigators. He told investigators the liquor store owners were involved in a scuffle with Kauffman on Carson’s property moments before Kauffman was shot. Woody also said they buried Kauffman’s body near the liquor store before unearthing it about a month later and dumping it in Mariposa County.

The defense has called Woody a liar who at one point claimed sole responsibility for Kauffman’s death and changed his story to obtain a plea deal. The prosecutor has told the judge Woody will be offered a plea deal, but the agreement has not been finalized. Woody also is being prosecuted separately.

In the recorded conversation, Woody told Dykes he committed Kauffman’s murder on his own and he never mentioned the liquor store owners as co-conspirators, according to Lingerfelt.

The lengthy preliminary hearing for Carson and five of his co-defendants is expected to continue Thursday with more testimony in Stanislaus Superior Court.

This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 3:30 PM with the headline "Stanislaus County investigator questioned about secret recording of Kauffman murder defendant."