On March 28, 2000, Mrs. Elizabeth Steadman walked into the Sierra Community Church in Lake Tahoe, Calif. It would prove to be one of the most difficult days of her life. She did not want to be there, however circumstances beyond her control had brought her there. She quietly took her seat at the front of the congregation and pulled a tissue from her purse. Today was not a day for enlightening sermons — it was a day for Mrs. Steadman, along with her friends and family, to mourn the loss of her daughter, nine-year-old Krystal Dawn Steadman.

Krystal Dawn Steadman

According to reports by both the Nevada Appeal and the Tahoe Daily Tribune, several people broke into tears as the service opened with a video showing pictures of Krystal as she grew up. There were images of her learning to ride a bike, sledding and dressed as a pumpkin for Halloween. Following the video, several people took to the podium and shared their own stories about the precocious fourth-grader. One of the girl’s teachers at Meyers Elementary School, Susan Earnest, read a handful of letters and a poem another student wrote for Krystal and said, “I loved her most of all because she so easily and so openly loved others.”

Another to speak was Jennifer Welker, a friend of Krystal’s sister. She spoke fondly of the child and read a letter that her eight-year-old niece Khloe wrote to Steadman after her death. “I wonder if God made your soul into an angel,” Welker read. “Are you an angel? Check yes or no.”

Krystal’s sister, Sonya Klempner, said she had been trying to teach her sister the cha-cha. Grandfather Leslie Bucknell, who traveled from Florida, talked about Krystal’s tremendous energy. “I know her school chums, teachers and family all thought of her as a little human dynamo,” Bucknell said. “I know she gave me a run for my money.”

As the service came to an end, Krystal’s friends and family lit candles for her and dozens of people gave her mother cards of sympathy and offered condolences. Krystal’s death was hard for everyone to accept. Just nine days earlier the bubbly nine-year-old had been busy playing with friends and working on a campaign for her elementary schools student body elections. She was highly motivated and enjoyed spending her time playing soccer and singing in her schools choir.

Krystal had the entire world at her fingertips, but it all came crashing down around her on March 19, 2000. Her death was no tragic accident or simple misfortune. She was murdered in cold blood in one of the most sadistic and horrifying manners humanly possible. Why? All for the simply satisfaction of one mans insatiable lust.

Like Father Like Son, by Robert
Scott

On the morning of March 19, 2000, Krystal Steadman, her mom, Elizabeth, and her mom’s boyfriend, Dan Simmons, drove to Burger King for breakfast. According to the book Like Father Like Son, by Robert Scott, Krystal and her mom had spent the previous night helping Dan pack his belongings so he could move to a better neighborhood. Once back at Dan’s apartment, Krystal quickly grew bored of packing and asked her mom if she could play outside with some of the neighborhood kids. Elizabeth said it was all right as long as the other kids were with her. 

Once outside, Krystal and her new friends, Sandi Taylor and Connie Stewart, spent much of the early morning hours climbing on a big oak tree in front of the apartment complex. Every now and then Krystal would run back to Dan’s apartment and check in with her mom to let her know she was ok. At around 2:00 p.m. Krystal’s mom told her to make sure she was back in half and hour so they could go out for lunch. Krystal agreed and then ran back outside to play with to her new friends. At one point the girls ran into an older boy named T.J.  Krystal did not know him, but the other kids did and she soon felt at ease with him. Soon all three girls were taking turns riding on the running boards of his dad’s sport utility vehicle as T.J. drove circles around the parking lot.

Thomas Soria, Jr. also known
as T.J.

Eventually Sandi and Connie had to go home for lunch. Krystal was starting to get cold, so as the other girls made their way home she ran up to Dan’s apartment and grabbed her coat. When she returned the other girls were gone, but T.J. was still there. “I’ve got some candy for you upstairs if you want a piece,” T.J. asked her. Krystal, still feeling at ease with the older boy, agreed and followed him up to his apartment. Once upstairs, T.J. introduced Krystal to his father, Thomas Soria Sr. and announced that he had some laundry to do before making a quick exit. 

As soon as T.J. exited the room, his father grabbed Krystal and overpowered her. She fought back with all her might, but she was no match for the older man. He quickly quieted her screams by placing duct tape over her mouth and then bound her wrists with it. He then carried her into a back room and closed the door behind him.

Elizabeth Steadman started getting concerned when her daughter did not show up by 3:00 p.m. She went outside and found Sandi Taylor and asked her if she had seen her daughter. Sandi said she had not seen Krystal for a while, but that she had been playing with T.J. when she last saw her. Elizabeth did not know who T.J. was, so she asked Sandi which apartment he lived in. The little girl told her he lived in Apartment 22. Elizabeth and Dan quickly made there way upstairs to the apartment and knocked on the door. When the door opened, they saw T.J. standing before them with a dazed look on his face. When Elizabeth asked him if he had seen Krystal, T.J. said the last time he saw her she was riding her bike down the street towards a mobile home park. Elizabeth and Dan then left to go look for her in that direction.

Lake Park Apartment complex

Back in Apartment 22, the door to the rear bedroom was still closed, so T.J. took the opportunity to let off some steam by masturbating. When he was finished he cleaned himself up and took a nap. A short time later he was awoke by another knock at the front door. When T.J. opened the door he found a very agitated Elizabeth Steadman staring at him. She demanded he let her and Dan in so they could look for Krystal. T.J. agreed to let them in, but told them not to go in the back bedroom because his dad was asleep. After a quick search of the apartment, Elizabeth and Dan left. By 4:56 p.m., Elizabeth had looked everywhere she could think of and decided it was time to get help. She phoned the Douglas County District Sheriff’s Office at Stateline, Nevada and pleaded for help.

Douglas County District
Sheriff’s Office

Douglas County detective Ted Duzan was one of the first offices to arrive at the scene. The following text has been taken from Duzan’s original police report:

“DCSO Case #00—1582T — On March 19, 2000, I was the on call investigator for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO). On that date at approximately 6:20 p.m., I was called at my residence concerning the disappearance of a nine-year-old female, later identified as Krystal Dawn Steadman. (DOB: 08/25/90).

“Krystal Steadman was reported missing by her mother, on March 19, 2000 at 4:56 p.m. DCSO Deputies Sandy Cable and Craig Lowe responded to the Lake Park Apartments, the last place where Krystal was seen, to begin their search.

“During that investigation, information was learned that Krystal had been playing with other children in the Rabes Meadow and Lake Park Apartments area. Krystal does not live in Douglas County and did not know anyone specifically at the apartment complex. Her mother was at the complex, visiting her boyfriend. It was also learned that Krystal and other children were in the company of an adult identified as Thomas Soria Junior who resides in the Lake Park Apartment complex.

“The futile search for Krystal continued for several more hours. Her bicycle and jacket were found near building #1, at different locations. Upon arriving to the Lake Apartments at approximately 7:00 p.m., I was notified via Sheriff’s radio that Deputy Lowe had contacted the ‘suspect,’ Thomas Soria Jr., in the listed vehicle in the rear parking lot area of the Lake Park Apartments, Building #1. Upon Deputy Lowe’s contact with Soria Junior, he was patted down for weapons.

“Deputy Lowe introduced T.J. to Sergeant Tim Minister and I while he was sitting in the rear seat of his patrol car. T.J. agreed to accompany us to the Lake sub-station for a voluntary interview.  He sat down between Detective Minister and Detective Ted Duzan. Duzan turned on a tape recorder and said, ‘its March 19, 2000—7:24 p.m.'”

Krystal Dawn Steadman

What happened to Krystal Dawn Steadman on March 19, 2000? And more importantly, why did it happen? The latter of the two questions is perhaps the most difficult to answer. It brings us back to the age-old question of nature verses nurture. Is a person shaped by who they are genetically or by their environment? In the case of Thomas Soria Jr. you may be able to find good arguments for both sides of the coin, however in his father’s case, it would be a tough decision. Had his younger years been different, one might argue that he might have turned out to be a far different man then the monster he is known as today. Still, there was clearly something amiss with Soria regardless of the tragedies in his life.

According to reports by both Robert Scott and the Nevada Appeal, Thomas Soria Sr. was born on January 27, 1961, to Jayne Soria. His biological parents divorced when he was a young child and his mother later married a man by the name of Duane Mozingo. Duane also had a son, Ronny, who was born on February 24, 1957. The blended family lived together in Sacramento, California.

Napa State Hospital for the Mentally Ill

Thomas and Ronny never got along and the older boy often picked on his younger stepbrother. His parents shrugged it off as sibling rivalry, however it later became apparent that there was much more going on. According to court records, Ronny molested Thomas on at least two separate occasions, which landed him in the Guadalupe Home for Boys in Yucaipa, Calif. After serving his time there he had various other arrests, which ultimately landed him in the Napa State Hospital for the Mentally Ill. Upon serving his time in 1975, Ronny abducted a 14-year-old girl outside of a shopping mall. He held a knife to the girl’s throat and forced her to have oral sex with him. He then brutally raped and sodomized her. He was arrested shortly after the crime and sentenced to five years in prison. He was eventually paroled on August 20, 1979.

Jayne did not get along with Ronny and viewed him as a troublemaker. She put up with her stepson because of her husband, but rarely spoke to him or acknowledged his existence. On the other hand, she and Thomas had grown very close over the years and had a very loving relationship. In 1979, Thomas was accepted to the University of California in Sacramento. His mother was very proud of him for his accomplishments, thus only adding fuel to the fire brewing within Ronny Mozingo.

On the morning of September 25, 1979, a little over a month since his release from prison, Ronny decided to teach his stepmother a lesson. He entered the house and accosted Jayne before she knew what was happening. He quickly overpowered her and brutally raped her. Afterwards he bound her wrists behind her back with wire, then tied more wire from her neck to her ankles and placed her on the floor in such a position that if she dropped her legs, the wire would cut off her air supply. After approximately ten minutes of struggling to hold her legs up, she eventually became too tired to resist and died. Ronny stood by and watched the entire event. Afterwards he covered her head with a towel and walked out. Later that day, Thomas walked in and discovered his mother’s lifeless body on his bedroom floor. The scene was horrifying and would alter his life forever.

Just three days after the brutal murder, Ronny bragged about the crime to family members, who in turn reported him to the Sacramento Police Department. Ronny was arrested, charged with first-degree murder and in April of 1980, he was sentenced to death. In 1984, Ronny’s attorneys filed an appeal, claiming he had inadequate representation at his murder trial. He won the appeal and was transferred from San Quentin Prison to the Sacramento County Jail. While awaiting his new trial, Ronny planned an escape, but was caught by guards. They found a knife and homemade rope on his possession. He was charged with planning an escape and carrying a concealed weapon.

At Ronny’s new trial the prosecution decided to make a deal. He could plead guilty with protestations of innocence and receive a sentence of 25 years for the murder and 11 years for the 1985 escape attempt. Ronny’s attorneys accepted the deal. With good behavior, Ronny Mozingo would be eligible for parole in just 12 years.

Thomas lost his mother, his only connection to family and his stepbrother got a slap on the wrist for her brutal rape and murder. In the end it was an injustice that would haunt Thomas for the rest of his life.

In 1979, Thomas Soria settled down and married Francine Smith (a pseudonym). On August 9, 1980, Francine gave birth to a baby boy, whom they named Thomas Soria Jr., nicknamed T.J. The marriage was a happy one at first, however the couple eventually started having marital problems. According to Robert Scott’s book, Like Father Like Son, Francine complained that her husband was into domination and kinky sex. He would often demand she engage in sadomasochism and sodomy.

Thomas Soria, Jr.

By 1985, Francine was working three jobs and barely spent any time at home. It was around this time that Thomas Soria Sr. started to have a sexual relationship with their five-year-old son. According to later police reports by T.J., his father would force him to lick his armpits, testicles, penis and anus. He would then do the same to T.J., often times sodomizing him afterwards. Oddly enough, T.J. never viewed the acts as sexual abuse and felt they were his father’s way of showing him how much he cared. In addition to the sexual abuse, Thomas Soria Sr. filled the child’s head with lies about his mother. “Your mother does not love you,” he would say. Generally following up with, “but I’ll always be there for you.”

When T.J. turned 15 in 1995, he began noticing girls. Before long he was dating a pretty 14-year-old girl named Carla. The two spent a lot of time together and before long they were sexually active. Thomas Soria Sr. felt threatened by the relationship and demanded T.J. let him get involved. The girl’s family had little money, so Thomas Soria Sr. offered the girl money for sexual favors. Before long the three were having group sex together on a regular basis. T.J. disliked the arrangement and eventually stepped out of the picture so his dad and Carla could do what they wanted. The affair lasted a few brief months until the girl finally moved on.

Thomas Soria, Sr.

By the spring of 1995, Francine was sick of Thomas senior’s kinky demands and she also began to suspect he was cheating on her. To top it all off, he had turned their only child against her. As spring turned into summer she finally made up her mind. She packed up all of her belongings and filed for a divorce. It took nearly two years for the divorce to be finalized, during which time T.J. informed the court he wanted to live with his dad. In the end Francine was granted a divorce and Soria Sr. was granted full custody of their son.

Not long after his divorce from Francine was finalized, Thomas Soria Sr. met a woman we will call Guadalupe. According to later reports by The Record Courier, Soria Sr. wasted little time settling down again and the two were married after their first date. Apparently the couple was a good match, as Guadalupe never seemed to protest Thomas senior’s kinky fetishes and even allowed T.J. to join them in threesomes.

Stateline, Nevada

Over the course of the next year, T.J. met a cute teenage girl named Tasha. The two hit it off and began dating. All well at first, however T.J. soon learned that his new girlfriend was a drug addict. In order to please her, he engaged in astonishingly risky activities so she could get her fix. On one occasion Tasha got so wasted that she agreed to sleep with the senior Soria. She later regretted what happened, but never told anyone. A few weeks later she discovered she was pregnant, but she ended up having a miscarriage. It is unknown as to who was the father of her child.

During the spring of 1998, Thomas Soria Sr. got a job working at GTECH, the security company for the California State Lottery. Everything seemed to go smoothly at first, however Thomas Soria Sr. was eventually caught making sexually abusive and threatening telephone calls to female coworkers. He was fired from his job and arrested for making annoying phone calls with a threat of injury. In June of 1998, Thomas Soria Sr. was sentenced to 75 days in jail and ordered to pay $3,800 in restitution. Through and agreement with his lawyer, Soria Sr. had his jail sentence suspended and agreed to work on a highway cleanup crew. After finishing his time, the Sorias decided to move out of town. They packed up their belongings and moved to the Lake Park Apartments in Stateline, Nevada.

On the morning of March 19, 2000, Thomas Soria Sr. woke up in a particularly foul mood. Guadalupe was out of town on business and he didn’t sleep well the night before. He had been unable to fulfill any of his kinky fetishes for months and it was starting to have an emotional impact on his daily life. Soria Sr. started out his day by logging onto his computer and writing several sexually explicit fantasies involving sadomasochism and torture. After filling page after page with his rants, he called T.J. into the room and said, “Get me a girl.” T.J. was not too thrilled about his dad’s request, but believed that he could not let him down. So he reluctantly threw on his coat and went outside to find a girl.

It was not long before T.J. spotted Sandi Taylor, Connie Stewart and a new girl playing together in front of the complex. T.J. knew the other girls well, but he was more interested in the new girl. He knew his dad had been fantasizing about a young blonde girl and she fit the description perfectly. T.J. ran upstairs and told his father about his find. Thomas Soria Sr. was so excited that he called Guadalupe and instructed her not to come home. He then sent T.J. back downstairs to get the girl.

Not long after he left, T.J. returned with the petite blonde girl in tow. He quickly excused himself from the apartment and went downstairs to do his laundry. As soon as T.J. exited the room, Thomas Soria Sr. grabbed Krystal and overpowered her. He quickly quieted her screams with duct tape and then bound her wrists. He then carried the four-foot, 45-pound girl into a back room and closed the door behind him. He proceeded to brutally assault and mutilate the child, culminating in her murder.

After committing the brutal murder, Thomas Soria Sr. called T.J. into the room and asked him to help dispose of the body. T.J. grabbed an empty box and the two men lifted Krystal’s body into it. T.J. then grabbed her clothes off the floor and threw them in a garbage bag. His father instructed him to drive out to U.S. Highway 50 near Carson City and throw the body off a cliff. T.J. did not argue with his father. He carried the box downstairs, put it in the back of his dad’s truck and drove out to U.S. Highway 50. There he found a secluded location near the canyon of Clear Creek. He stopped the truck and threw Krystal’s clothes over the edge. He then drove down the road a little further before stopping again about halfway down the summit. After pulling over he took her body out of the box and threw her over the side of the cliff. T.J. then drove off towards Carson City. There were pools of blood all over the truck and he knew he had to get it cleaned up before he returned. He eventually found a car wash and scrubbed the bloodstains until he was satisfied they were gone.

Searchers and police examine an area

Once back at the apartment building, T.J. noticed officers from the Douglas County District Sheriff’s Department questioning his neighbors. Upon exiting his vehicle, T.J. was approached by Deputies Sandy Cable and Craig Lowe. The officers informed him that they had some questions for him regarding a missing girl and escorted him back to their patrol car, where Douglas County detective Ted Duzan was waiting. Duzan briefly questioned T.J. and asked him to accompany the officers back to the sheriff’s department for further questioning. T.J. did not resist and agreed to go with the officers. Once back at the station, T.J. informed them that he had seen the girl earlier that day, but said he had no idea where she was now. All attempts to get information out of T.J. were futile, as he kept repeating the same statements. He was shaking and appeared nervous throughout the interview, and that while he provided no relevant information, his story seemed to make no sense. During the course of the interrogation, one of the officers noticed what appeared to be a drop of blood on one of his boots. The officer made a note of the discovery and sent another officer to the Soria apartment to get permission from Thomas Soria Sr. to search his truck. After over an hour of questioning, officers were unable to get any substantial information from T.J. and did not have any solid proof he was involved in Krystal’s disappearance. As the interview came to a close, T.J. voluntarily gave his clothes to the investigators and was driven back home. By now over seventy law enforcement officers were combing the area in hopes of finding Krystal.

After returning from the sheriff’s department, T.J. ran up to his father’s apartment and informed him of what was going on. By now Thomas Soria Sr. had completely scrubbed down the apartment and gotten rid of all the visual evidence. He was calm and collected and felt he had nothing to worry about. He had even given the sheriff’s department permission to search his truck. As far as he was concerned no one could connect him to the crime. T.J. on the other hand was fast becoming a nervous wreck.

Soria’s Bronco

Shortly after driving T.J. home, a dispatcher at the Douglas County District Sheriff’s Department received a phone call from Diantha Wilson. The woman said she was driving down U.S. Highway 50 earlier that evening when she saw a red and white Bronco-type vehicle on the westbound side of Highway 50 around 5 p.m. She said she saw a white man with medium-length, “shaggy” hair and a white shirt throw something resembling a pillowcase over the edge of the road. She felt his actions were suspicious and wanted make sure the sheriff’s department knew what she saw. Upon taking the woman’s statement, Sgt. Lance Modispacher told her he would send a unit out to investigate.

Douglas County District Sheriff’s Department

South Lake Tahoe Police Department evidence technician Shirley Shaw was given the task of conducting a preliminary search of Thomas senior’s red and white 1989 Chevrolet Blazer, Nevada license plate 248KHV. The vehicle appeared to be partially cleaned, however Shaw did notice what appeared to be drops of blood on the passenger side floorboard and running board. When she tested the areas with luminol, a chemical substance which can detect blood at one part per million,the results showed the droplets to be positive for human hemoglobin. The vehicle was immediately seized and transported to the crime lab in Reno for further testing.

On the morning of March 20, 2000, Detective Duzan and several other officers from the sheriff’s department drove out to the spot on U.S. Highway 50, where Diantha Wilson said she saw the suspicious vehicle. According to the investigators’ reports, upon arriving at the scene, they carefully made their way down the embankment and almost immediately noticed Krystal’s body. She had been stripped naked and there was a deep laceration on her neck.

Judge Steve McMorris

Less than three hours after the naked body of Krystal Steadman was discovered, 19-year-old T.J. Soria was arrested and charged with felony murder and kidnapping. The following day, T.J. was brought before the Tahoe Township Justice Court. Attorneys Tod Young and Mark Jackson were appointed by the state to represent him. T.J. showed little emotion as he was arraigned on charges of kidnapping and murder. He did not look at any of the victim’s relatives in the front row of the room, focusing instead on Judge Steve McMorris and answering “Yes, sir,” in a clear, quiet voice to questions about whether he understood the proceeding. In the courtroom, the girl’s 25-year-old sister, Sonya Klempnerr, cried as the charges were read. “My sister’s (death) is an example of how you can teach a child all that is good and bad, but this kind of thing can still happen,” she told reporters from the Nevada Appeal. During the hearing Douglas County District Attorney Scott Doyle presented the states evidence against T.J. Soria and informed the court that preliminary autopsy results confirmed that nine-year-old Krystal Steadman died when her throat was slashed. Doyle also stated that the autopsy was not complete and that the results were not yet available.

South Lake Tahoe Police
badge

Following the brief hearing, Judge McMorris ordered that T.J. be held without bail at the Douglas County jail. Following the arraignment, District Attorney Doyle told the Tahoe Daily Tribune T.J. Soria could face the death penalty. He also stated that T.J. could face additional charges if the autopsy proved to show Krystal was sexually assaulted.

Police identify mark on Soria Sr.

Not long after the arraignment, the results of Krystal’s autopsy were released. Pathologist Ellen Clark, who performed the autopsy, noted that “there was sexual penetration in the anal area.  Her throat was slashed several times. Some of the cuts just barely penetrating the skin, leaving a crease where the knife went. Others were deeper above her clavicle and under her chin. There’s a group right at the base of the neck where there’s two or three wounds that come together. Finally there’s a slash on the right side of her neck that severed an artery, eventually causing her death. Evidence shows that Krystal fought back. There are defensive wounds on both her hands.”

Investigators were confident they had enough evidence against T.J. to win a conviction. However, what they did not know was that a bombshell was about to be dropped in their lap. With the extended news coverage of the case several people who knew the Sorias began to come forward with information of there own. One such call would prove to blow the case wide open.

On March 23, 2000, a woman contacted Douglas County Sheriff’s Investigator Mark Munoz and claimed Thomas Soria Sr. had sexually assaulted her daughter. According to the woman, whose father lives in the apartment building near the Sorias, upon hearing the media reports revolving around the Soria case, her 15-year-old daughter came forward and told her Thomas Soria Sr. had sexually molested her. According to the victim, in October 1999, T.J. and his father convinced her that Soria Sr. — who the son introduced as his “uncle Tom” — was sick with tumors that could explode if he got upset. The two then persuaded her that the uncle would die if she did not have sex with him. The girl, who had expressed a romantic interest in the son, allegedly agreed to sleep with the “uncle” at the urging of the younger Soria.

Thomas Soria, Sr.’s computers

Following the girl’s shocking statement, the case began to take an unexpected turn. As it turned out, a computer, belonging to Thomas Soria Sr., which had been confiscated following his son’s arrest, was found to contain multiple pictures depicting child pornography. In addition, investigators also discovered texts by Soria Sr., describing his twisted fetishes and dark desires. On March 28, 2000, Soria Sr. was arrested and charged with sexual assault against a child under the age of 16, arising from the October 1999 incident. It was also announced that he was now considered a suspect in Krystal’s murder. Following his arrest, Soria Sr. was remanded to the Douglas County Jail, where he was held on a $500,000 bond. In addition to the charges against Soria Sr., Douglas County District Attorney Scott Doyle filed charges against T.J. Soria for aiding and abetting his father in the commission of the offense.

Douglas County Sheriff Ron
Pierini

Father and son were arraigned on March 29, 2000, in the Tahoe Township Justice Court, on sexual assault charges stemming from the October 1999 incident with the 15-year-old girl — the father, because he allegedly engaged in sexual activity with the girl, and the son because he allegedly encouraged it. In addition to the sexual assault charges, Thomas Soria Sr. was also charged with the sexual assault and murder of Krystal Steadman. “Evidence supports the additional charges,” Douglas County Sheriff Ron Pierini told the Nevada Appeal. However he refused to elaborate on what evidence they had to implicate Soria Sr. in Krystal’s death. “We have up to ten investigators working an exhaustive amount of hours, and they have done a superb job. They have been very meticulous and are doing what’s right; taking their time to make sure everything’s done legally. I’m comfortable we will have a successful prosecution when this evidence is presented,” Pierini said. Following the hearing, both Sorias were held without bail. They were scheduled to return to court April 5.

On April 2, 2000, the Douglas County District Attorneys office announced that investigators had found semen belonging to Soria Sr. on Krystal’s clothing. During a press release, Douglas County Sheriff Ron Pierini told the Tahoe Daily Tribune that neither suspect was talking with investigators. “What role each of them played is still under investigation,” he said. “It is safe to say that Soria Sr. was an active participant.” Lawyers for the Sorias refused to speak to the press.  Tod Young, defense attorney for 19-year-old Soria Jr., said, “(We) intend to defend our client in the courtroom and not in the media.”

Thomas Soria Sr. was bound over for trial in Douglas District Court after waiving his preliminary hearing on April 26, 2000, stemming from the 1999 sexual assault case. During the same hearing, prosecutors dropped aiding and abetting charges against T.J. Soria for his involvement in the 1999 case. Prosecutors said they could not substantiate allegations that the younger man conspired with his father to assault the girl. “There was no evidence against Thomas Soria Jr.,” Deputy District Attorney Tom Perkins announced to reporters from the Nevada Appeal, following the dismissal.

On May 9, 2000, T.J. Soria surprised everyone at his father’s preliminary hearing when he announced his decision to accept a plea bargain from the district attorneys office. T.J. stood before the court and pled guilty to kidnapping and murdering Krystal Steadman. “I committed the crimes that were alleged,” Soria Jr. said. “I participated in the kidnapping that led to the death of Krystal Steadman.” In exchange for his plea, the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office agreed to dismiss the charge of sexual assault against him and promised not to seek the death penalty. “He is pleading guilty to the things that he did,” Deputy District Attorney Tom Perkins later announced to reporters from the Associated Press. “And we don’t think that he was eligible for the death penalty under the law.” Perkins would not rule out a plea by Thomas Soria Sr., but called it highly unlikely. “We have not made a final decision on Soria Sr. but we think he is eligible for the death penalty and we will probably seek it,” he said. Neither Perkins or attorneys for Soria Sr. would comment on how the son’s plea would affect the case against the father, who was in court throughout the day while witnesses testified during his preliminary hearing in the Tahoe Township Justice Court. 

As a part of the plea agreement, prosecutors would be able to use a sworn statement about Steadman’s death by T.J. against his father, but they agreed not to call him as a witness during the hearing. The eight witnesses who did testify talked about evidence gathered during the investigation and about what T.J. was seen doing March 19 — the day he allegedly met Steadman and the day she disappeared. Attorneys for Soria Sr. pointed out that none of the witnesses saw their client with Steadman and frequently objected to the way in which witnesses answered questions. DNA evidence allegedly linking Soria Sr. to the crimes was also presented.

During the hearing Dr. Ellen Clark, who performed Krystal’s autopsy, testified that because many of the wounds were superficial, but highly painful, she believed Krystal to have been tortured. She also stated that semen found on Steadman’s body matched DNA belonging to Soria Sr., which, along with trauma to the girl’s body, suggested she was raped. It was also revealed that the DNA evidence excluded T.J. as a rape suspect. He had been charged with sexual assault but that charge was dropped as part of the preliminary hearing.

Judge David R. Gamble

Soria Sr. sat expressionless and barely moved throughout the hours of sometimes-graphic testimony. As the hearing came to a close, Judge Steven McMorris ruled there was reason to believe that Soria Sr. had kidnapped, raped and murdered Krystal Steadman. After viewing pictures of Steadman’s battered body, the judge said, “I have been in this business for 30 years and I have never seen anything like this, and I don’t want to see anything like it again. Having had the misfortune of looking at these pictures… the word torture comes to mind,” McMorris said. Afterwards McMorris scheduled a hearing for Soria Sr. to enter his plea.

On June 7, 2000, Thomas Robert Soria Sr., waived his right to a speedy trial and entered a plea of not guilty to charges of murder, kidnapping and sexual assault in the death of Krystal Steadman. He also maintained his innocence in regards to the sexual assault charges stemming from the 1999 case. After Soria Sr. took his seat, state attorneys announced they would seek the death penalty for Soria because of “evidence of additional aggravating circumstances” that include torture, sexual abuse and the young age of the victim, according to court documents. After both sides rested their case, Judge David R. Gamble announced that jury selection for the first trial, where Soria would face charges of first-degree murder, would begin Jan. 17. His second trial, for the sexual assault of a 15-year-old, was set for March 26.

Thomas Soria, Sr.’s bedroom

On July 24, 2000, T.J. Soria appeared before Douglas County District Judge David R. Gamble for his sentencing in the murder of Krystal Steadman. During the proceeding, Soria Jr.’s defense lawyers asked for leniency and argued that their client deserved a chance at parole someday because his father sexually abused him, creating a dysfunctional relationship that eventually led to Steadman’s murder.

The defense also argued that a small amount of Soria Jr.’s semen, which was found on Steadman’s underwear, did not prove that he participated in the sexual assault of Steadman. Soria Jr. reportedly told his attorneys that he masturbated in the room next to his father’s bedroom and when he disposed of her body some of his semen got on her underwear.

After the defense pleaded their case, Krystal’s father, sister and grandfather spoke about the loss of Krystal. At one point the grandfather read a letter written by Krystal’s mother. “My life revolved around Krystal,” she wrote. “She was my center, my crystal light. He took Krystal knowing she would be silenced. A child of nine kidnapped, raped and murdered — why? I have been in a state of shock and my life is in chaos.”

Before he was sentenced, Soria Jr. turned and spoke to Krystal Steadman’s relatives. “I have just a few things I’d like to say,” he said. “I’d like to apologize to the entire family of the Steadmans and their relatives. Everyday I will hold this burden on my shoulders. It will be on my conscience the rest of my life. It was a very big mistake to say the least. I realize that I will never be forgiven for what I’ve done.”

Northern Nevada Correctional Center, aerial view

When T.J. returned to his seat Judge Gamble addressed the courtroom. “The issue of Mr. Soria’s upbringing is an important one in this case,” Judge Gamble said. “So we have a young man at the age of 19 with certainly a skewed set of values, but Mr. Soria knew full well the rightness and wrongness of his acts.” Judge Gamble then sentenced T.J. Soria to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Sighs of relief and “Yes” could be heard coming from Krystal’s relatives seated in the second row of the courtroom. 

Two hours after he was sentenced, authorities took Thomas Robert Soria Jr. to his new home at Northern Nevada Correctional Center in Carson City, Nevada to begin his reception process. T.J. remained at the correctional center until August 8, 2000, when he was transferred to the maximum-security Ely State Prison. Authorities announced that no special precautions would be taken to protect T.J., but they did assure reporters from the Las Vegas Review Journal that the prison did have procedural precautions in place.

Cross erected for Krystal

On November 19, 2000, members of the Reno chapter of the Vietnam Veterans Motorcycle Club and the Legacy Motorcycle Club erected a cross in memory of Krystal Steadman along Highway 50, near where her body was found. 

Inscription on the memorial cross:
“In Loving Memory of my Sister
Krystal Dawn Steadman
August 25, 1990 – March 19, 2000″

The painted redwood cross with its metal plaque was made possible by several Carson City businesses that donated funds and material for the project. The new memorial replaced an initial memorial to Krystal, which was erected in the first days following her death — a cross surrounded by a mound of stuffed animals.

Krystal’s sister, Sonya Klempner, and her boyfriend Tracy Heer were invited to help place the cross. Once the cross was secured with cement, Klempner and Heer tied four pink helium balloons to the cross. “It’s just beautiful. Thank you so much,” Klempner told the club members.

While the monument was unable to alleviate the constant pain Krystal’s family suffered, it stood as a symbol of their love for her. However, just two days after the four-foot wooden cross was erected, it was ripped out of the ground and stolen. “I’m shocked,” Sonya Klempner told the Associated Press. “I don’t know what’s going on anymore. Life is just crazy.” 

Upon hearing of the vandalism, a member of the Reno Chapter of Vietnam Veterans Motorcycle Club, known only as “Packer,” decided to craft a new memorial. During an interview with the Nevada Appeal, Packer said, “It’s personal now. The cross is going to be there,” he said. Not only is this a slap to little Krystal, but it’s a slap in the face to all of us.”

Packer kept true to his word and on December 8, 2000, along with members of the Vietnam Veteran’s Motorcycle Club, he set up a new cross, constructed from two welded train rails, which were then secured in more than a cubic yard of cement. The memorial was set in place 15 feet behind a guardrail to prevent interference with traffic and snow-clearing equipment. “We wanted to make sure it was in good spot, so it didn’t endanger drivers,” Packer said. Nevada Department of Transportation officials gave the motorcycle club the go-ahead on the site, and construction commenced. “It will be good. It will stand a long time behind the guardrail.”

On Friday January 26, 2001, Thomas Soria Sr. went on trial before a Douglas County jury for the murder of nine-year-old Krystal Steadman. During their opening arguments, the prosecution claimed Soria Sr. tortured, raped and killed Krystal and afterwards asked his son “to get rid of the body.” In turn, defense attorneys told the jury the son committed the murder, then lied his way to a plea bargain and agreed to incriminate his father.

Thomas Soria, Sr. in court

Deputy District Attorney Kris Brown quoted parts of a 17-page text found on Soria Sr.’s computer. The file described fantasies of raping, torturing and killing women and young girls.  “He had thoughts of rape. He had thoughts of murder,” said Brown. “He acted on those words.” Michael Roeser, one of Soria Sr.’s attorneys, didn’t deny his client wrote the computer texts. “Ugly thoughts, repugnant thoughts have never killed anybody,” he said. “If you raise a child and that child turns into a monster and kills somebody, that doesn’t mean you killed somebody.”

Brown said Krystal was beaten and assaulted, and DNA evidence identified Soria Sr. as her attacker. Roeser said investigators didn’t find fibers or DNA connecting Krystal to the Soria family apartment, despite dissecting the plumbing, flooring and fixtures. Soria Sr. sat expressionless as the lawyers made their arguments. He watched as Krystal’s mother, Elizabeth Steadman, testified about the frantic search she started when Krystal didn’t check in at the prearranged time. “I had a feeling. I had a sense. I felt something was wrong,” she said through tears. After Elizabeth’s intense testimony the trial was brought to a close and was set to continue on Monday.

On the morning of Sunday, January 28, 2001, the day before testimony was set to resume, Thomas Robert Soria Sr., who turned 40 just two days earlier, was found dead in his cell at the Douglas County Jail. Douglas County Sheriff Ron Pierini told reporters from the Sacramento Bee Soria Sr. was being held in a medical cell, “for his protection and everyone else’s.” Guards checked him hourly, Pierini said. When guards opened Soria Sr.’s cell door for breakfast, they found him unresponsive. His body was then transported to the Washoe County Coroner’s Office in Reno for an autopsy.

In an interview with the Tahoe Daily Tribune, Tracy Heer, boyfriend of victim Krystal Steadman’s sister Sonja Klempner, said, “There’s a lot of confusion, but, remember, we did want this man to die. The next six weeks were going to be exhausting,” said Heer. “And having to look at (Soria Sr.’s) face and having to hear the testimony and the DNA evidence, it was going to be tough.” Heer said he and Sonja received a phone call Sunday morning asking them to go to Krystal’s grandparents’ home. When they arrived, deputy Douglas County district attorneys Kris Brown and Tom Perkins and investigator Mike Beam met them. “They said Soria was found in his jail cell this morning, dead,” Heer said. “There were tears of joy, it was quite overwhelming. This has been a tough and exhausting ten months, we’re glad it’s over,” Heer said.

The Vietnam veteran and member of the Vietnam Veteran’s Motorcycle Club, known as Packer, who had arranged two memorials for Krystal, said he couldn’t have been happier about Soria Sr.’s death. “Personally, I couldn’t find it better and I think (Soria Sr.) saved the taxpayers of this state a whole bunch of money and time,” he said. “All I can do is hope that junior keeps following in his father’s footsteps.”

The following day, Douglas County Judge David Gamble excused the jury with the news that defendant Thomas Robert Soria Sr. had died. Two weeks later the autopsy results for Thomas Soria Sr. were finally released. According to the toxicology reports, Soria Sr. died from an overdose of medication prescribed for depression. According to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department, the antidepressant Amitriptyline had been given to Soria Sr. by a clinical psychologist and administered to him by guards. Apparently Soria been hoarding his medication until he had saved enough to make his last dose fatal.

During March of 2001, 17 counties in Western Nevada and Eastern California adopted the “Krystal Child Abduction Alert Program” to use the Emergency Alert System to inform the public about abducted children. The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Nevada State Emergency Communications Committee developed the program. It was named for Krystal Steadman and dedicated to her memory. Some of the major law enforcement agencies in southern Nevada were not interested in following this “AMBER Alert” approach and Las Vegas broadcasters did not push the issue because the Emergency Alert System needed rebuilding. Then Nevada Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa contacted the Nevada Broadcasters Association. Her office began working with the NBA and they were eventually able to establish a statewide AMBER Alert Plan.

Krystal Steadman

On March 19, 2002, due to reoccurring vandalism against Krystal’s memorial, an eight-foot, half-inch thick, steel cross, weighing approximately 2,000 pounds, was built to replace the previous memorial. Gary James, a friend of Krystal’s father, organized the effort. Blue Mountain Steel donated the materials and Shaw construction donated the crane that moved the two-ton cross into position. T&H Auto Paints provided the paint and Craig Maxwell of Blue Mountain Steel crafted a heart shaped plaque bearing Krystal’s initials.

The memorial remained untouched for over a year and six months, but then on October 2, 2003, vandals struck again and defaced the cross with flat-black spray paint. Regardless, the vandalism would prove to be of little consequence. In a Sept. 30, 2003 letter to NDOT, Reno attorney Robert Angres detailed an unnamed client’s opposition to the cross: “it is an establishment of religion, it is on the roadside without a permit, it is distracting to motorists and its presence decreases the scenic value of the area. It is important that such a monument be relocated and not stand as an irritant to persons who will constantly be concerned that the vital precepts under which this country was founded and has progressed, are being disregarded out of well-intentioned, but nonetheless inappropriate motives,” Angres wrote. He expressed displeasure that the cross still remained and said the next step would be to take legal action.

Scott Magruder, state transportation spokesman, told the Las Vegas Sun his department had no choice but to remove the memorial. “NDOT has been sensitive to the issues of crosses and memorials in the right-of-way. Because of the sheer size of this cross, we’ve heard from a number of individuals that did not want it in our right-of-way, and since nothing should be in our right-of-way, we have no other choice,” he said.

One person who voiced public opposition to the memorial was John Messina of Silver Springs. In an interview with the Nevada Appeal, Messina said, “It sets a bad precedent. It’s distracting. To me it’s negative. I like to go by to see the beauty of the scenery, not be reminded to the death of a kid,” he said. Messina also said he was opposed to the fact that the memorial was a cross. “It’s bad enough that they have a memorial there, but it’s a slight to all of the other religions too.”

As chairman of the Board of Transportation, Governor Kenny Guinn also supported the removal of a roadside memorial. “The Nevada Department of Transportation has allowed the memorial to be there for a considerable amount of time,” said Greg Bortolin, Guinn’s press secretary. “The governor does support what’s being done here. (The memorial) is not proper, it’s a First Amendment issue. It’s not safe, it can’t be where it’s at.”

On November 18, 2003, the two-ton steel cross for nine-year-old Krystal Steadman was cut from its concrete foundation and hoisted on to a flatbed truck by Nevada Department of Transportation employees. “It seems like everyone just wants to keep hurting her,” family friend Jerry Marshall told the Associated Press, his eyes welling with tears. “I hope whoever has done this is happy, because it’s making a lot of people distressed — the kind of distress they couldn’t even imagine.”

Krystal Steadman

“Our family is just like your family,” Krystal’s sister Sonya Klempner said as she watched NDOT workers dismantle the cross. “I think this stood as a reminder that things like this do happen even in our small town. It was as big as it was because people kept destroying it… the importance of that memorial was to remind the community that there are monsters around us all the time and that we have to protect our children.” Klempner said.

In an effort to keep other children safe from violence, Sonya Klempner now spends her free time encouraging parents and children to report all suspicious incidents to law enforcement. To contact Klempner, send an e-mail to inkrystalsmemory@yahoo.com.

Was justice ever served for Krystal Steadman? In the end it really depends on how you look at it. The fact that Thomas Soria Sr. was never found guilty does weigh heavy on some, however regardless of how things might have turned out, nothing could ever bring Krystal back. She’s in a place where none of that matters anymore — a place where she knows no pain and suffering. Her long and trying ordeal is over.