The 48 Hours episode “Murder in Pinyon Pines” investigates a triple murder in Pinyon Pines, California. On September 17, 2006, the bodies of Vicki Friedli, 53, her boyfriend Jon Hayward, 55, and Vicki’s 18-year-old daughter Becky Friedli were found at the Friedli family home. Vicki Friedli and Jon Hayward had been shot inside the home which had been set on fire. Becky Friedli’s body was found outside in a wheelbarrow. She also had been set on fire.
Seven years after the triple homicide, in 2014, Becky’s ex-boyfriend Robert Pape and Robert’s best friend Cristin Smith, both 25 at the time, were charged with triple murder. Both men denied ever going near the Friedli house that day, and both pleaded not guilty although during the grand jury proceedings, both men pleaded the Fifth Amendment. One year after they were charged, in 2015, the District Attorney’s office asked that all charges against Pape and Smith be dropped and they were. In 2016, the two were re-arrested and charged. In June 2018, after a 10-man, two-woman jury heard testimony for approximately 23 days and deliberated for nearly 10 days, they found Pape and Smith guilty of first degree murder of Vicky Friedli and Jon Hayward. Pape was found guilty of second-degree murder in daughter Becky Friedli’s death, Smith was found not guilty in her murder. Both men face life in prison without the possibility of parole. They will be sentenced on August 10. 48 Hours airs Saturdays at 9pm and 10pm on CBS.
