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On April 5, 1984, Tina Faelz, a 14-year-old Foothill High freshman, was stabbed to death while she was walking home from school. Now, 27 years later, a suspect is being charged in the killing.Steven J. Carlson, the man accused of stabbing 14-year-old Tina Faelz to death 27 years ago, will be charged as an adult, a judge ruled Tuesday. Carlson, 44, has been in the juvenile system since his August arrest because he was 16 years old when Faelz was killed. There are several criteria that have to be met to keep an adult in juvenile court, and Carlson did not meet them, Judge Rhonda Burgess said. She said the viciousness of the crime, along with Carlson's age and "extensive criminal record" were among the reasons to move the case. The alleged offense, she said, was particularly vicious…
Steven J. Carlson, the man accused of killing 14-year-old Tina Faelz almost 30 years ago, will remain in the juvenile court system until after the New Year while his new attorney gets up to speed on the case. Deputy Public Defender Richard Foxall, for reasons not discussed in court, will no longer serve as Carlson's attorney. Cameron Bowman of the Valencia, Ippolito and Bowman law firm took over on Tuesday, appearing at the San Leandro Juvenile Justice Center with Carlson. According to Bowman's public LinkedIn profile, he was named “Trial Attorney of the Year” in 1998 by the Santa Clara …
Steven J. Carlson, the man accused of murdering 14-year-old Tina Faelz almost 30 years ago as she walked home from school, will appear in court on Nov. 15 and again on Dec. 6. Because Carlson was 16 years old at the time of the killing, hearings associated with the case have been held at San Leandro Juvenile Justice Center. On Nov. 15, Judge Trina Thompson will conduct a readiness hearing to determine future court dates. And on Dec. 6, she will determine, based on a behavioral study, whether Carlson is fit to stand trial as a juvenile or whether the case will be moved to adult court. Carlson…
The man charged with murdering his high school classmate almost three decades ago was found guilty of contempt of court charges Friday for granting an August jailhouse interview, thus violating a day-old gag order. Steven J. Carlson, 43, a registered sex offender with a criminal history involving drugs and battery, was arrested Aug. 7 on suspicion of stabbing 14-year-old Tina Faelz to death as she walked home from school one April day in 1984. Carlson was 16 at the time, and a classmate of Tina's at Foothill High School. Carlson appeared inside a courtroom at the San Leandro Juvenile Justice …
After police announced Monday that they'd made an arrest in the murder of 14-year-old Tina Faelz almost three decades ago, Pleasanton Patch's Facebook page was flooded with comments. Friends of Tina's from Foothill High School — many of whom had moved out of state — reconnected with each other and talked about their beloved friend. They traded memories of that horrible day in 1984, and even talked about 43-year-old suspect Steven J. Carlson, who was a 16-year-old classmate at the time, and how they'd always thought he did it. Click here to read about his arraignment on Wednesday. On Tuesday…
The man accused of killing his high school classmate 27 years ago made his first appearance Wednesday in a courtroom usually reserved for juveniles who have run afoul of the law. Steve Carlson, 43, a registered sex offender with a criminal history involving drugs and battery, was arrested Sunday after Pleasanton Police were tipped off by an FBI analysis of evidence collected at the scene of Tina Faelz’ murder in 1984. In the brief hearing, San Leandro Juvenile Justice Center Commissioner Mark Kliszewski set a Sept. 21 court date to further deliberate the legal wranglings of a grown man on …
Steven Carlson is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at the Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center in San Leandro. Carlson, accused in the killing of 14-year-old Tina Faelz in 1984, must be processed as a juvenile because he was 16 at the time of crime. Prosecutors will ask a judge to move the case to adult court then. Meanwhile, Pleasanton police continue to deal with the deluge of questions from the community. Why did it take so long to get the evidence it takes to charge someone? And what is this much-discussed DNA sample? Lt. James Knox, who was a 20-year-old Pleasanton …
The father of homicide suspect Steven J. Carlson shared his story with Patch on the condition that his name not be published. He no longer lives in California and was concerned about the privacy of family members who live in the Bay Area. Homicide suspect Steven Carlson's dad says his son didn't stab high school freshman Tina Faelz to death that spring day in 1984. "He was a lot of things, but a murderer? I don't think he is," he said in a phone interview Tuesday afternoon. Steven J. Carlson, 43, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of killing Faelz as she was walking home from school 27 years …
PLEASANTON, CALIF. — The Pleasanton Police Department announced Monday morning that a former classmate of Foothill High student Tina Faelz has been arrested in her killing — 27 years later. Police said at a press conference that a 43-year-old former Pleasanton resident with an "extensive criminal history" was arrested Sunday in Santa Cruz. The man, whom police didn't want to name until the case is cleared through the juvenile court system, is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon. According to the Alameda County Inmate Locator, a man named Steven J. Carlson, 43, was arrested in Santa …
