SUMMARY OF LINDA SOBEK CASE

Linda Sobek is a Blonde Model and Actress lived right of the boardwalk, a cheerleader
for the Los Angeles Raiders Football Team, and was a popular Bikini, Lingerie, and
Calendar Model, an aspiring actress. Linda Sobek died of asphyxiation; an autopsy
finds. She had a blood-alcohol level of 0.13%. This was happened when Linda Sobek
met a commercial freelance photographer named Charles Rathbun. On the
investigation, Charles Rathbun said that he was with Linda Sobek at Denny’s
Restaurant on the morning of her disappearance. Linda showed him her portfolio and
discussed about it and after that, they were both went separate ways. Her car found in
the parking lot of the restaurant and no evidence of foul play. A worker in Los Angeles
forest once went to the trash bin and saw some photos of Linda Sobek well done so that
he took it home. When he realized that the girl in those pictures were the one who were
missing, he immediately called the police. one of the things that was seen with Linda's
pictures was a rental agreement for a Lexus sports utility vehicle. and the attached
name there is Charles Rathbun. He said that it was only included in the portfolio of
Linda Sobek during their meeting. the vehicle they used in the photoshoot, no matter
how many times it was washed inside and out the police still had visible clues. In the
backseat, there was a suspicious red stain. Later it was revealed blood when it was put
to Phenolphthalein Test, and further test showed it was a human blood. The cargo area
was a car cover which was tested positive not only for blood, but also there are traces of
human saliva. Mr. Stephen Schliebi, a Forensic Analyst states that they put a Vaseline
on the tire, roll it across poster posterboard and then used a magnetic fingerprint
powder to enhance the tire track on the that’s on posterboard. The police became even
more suspicious when Charles interrogated again and it changed the said story, he now
said that he hired her for him in the photo shoot with the Lexus sports utility vehicle.
They went to El Mirage which is a dry lake bed about two (2) hours north of Hermosa
Beach. Her assignment was to drive the vehicle in tight circles while Charles Rathbun
took photographs. Linda Sobek asked Charles to show her how to do. Minutes later,
when Charles performing or demonstrating the maneuver, he said the lost control of the
vehicle and accidentally bumped into Linda which caused her death. He panicked and
put Linda’s body in the vehicle and drove into a deserted location in the Angeles
National Forest and buried the body somewhere there. Ms. Mary-Jean Bowman an
Assistant District Attorney told that Charles Rathbun were very vague and kept on
saying he can’t remember, crying and he’s not sure where exactly Linda was but he can
take them there. She also said that he was leading them to a wild goose chase, he
knew exactly where she was, he was trying to stall to buy more time hoping that Linda
Sobek’s body was decomposed by the time they did find it. After a number of failed
attempts interrogating him, he finally led them to Linda Sobek’s body. She was buried
next to a tree. The left tire impression of the Lexus was found in the soft sand nearby.
Linda Sobek autopsy revealed an enormous amount of information about her death.
Except her blood, no external signs of an automobile injury where Charles says he
bumped into her. Marian Gausche Hill, MD states that Linda Sobek struggled against it,
caused a hemorrhage in the lungs, as well as in the neck and in the eyes, which is
typical for somebody who’s being asphyxiated against their will. She was awake, aware
for her life at that time. Other injuries are bruises, a twisted wrist and ligature marks on
her ankle, that showed that her legs had been forcibly spread apart and held in that
position. She struggled against those restraints because there were abrasions up and
down her legs indicating a struggle. Linda’s body has been washed, not wearing make
up and her clothing were change before the burial. There is also evidence of forcible
sodomy. Charles is a pretentious person; good manners will be shown in the beginning
but there is a bad plan. The guns were examined for the presence of blood. It is not
found in the regular lighting but because presumptive blood test is used to examine the
gun, they detect and finds blood on the breach-face surface of the gun. According to
Charles, Linda Sobek is a little bitch and hard to work with. He was arrested and
charged with first-degree murder and sodomy with a foreign object. He continued to
maintain that Linda’s death was an accident. He said that Linda was drinking that day
and after striking her accidentally with the Lexus, she began kicking and screaming.
While trying to subdue Linda, he accidentally suffocated her. Charles claimed that his
sexual encounter with Linda that day wasn’t force at all –that it was consensual, and he
claimed that he has nude photographs to prove it. In the films that Charles' brother
Robert saw, he developed it himself and here he saw four photos of Linda wearing two
different clothes in the photo shoot, it was very different from what she was wearing
when she was buried. And the fifth photo is pornographic of female genitalia, no head,
no face, hand only and primary close up of female genitalia. With the help of Sherriff’s
photo lab and Aerospace Company, the pictures were enhanced. They found out that
the photos were different from the vehicle to the body. The prosecutors believed that
when he was taking photograph that day, it was a job for Linda, but for Charles, it is an
opportunity. Forensic Evidence suggested that Charles struck her on the right side of
the head, twisted Linda’s arm and tied her ankles, and sexually assaulted her, possibly
with his gun. He may force her to consume the alcohol. Deep bruises on Linda’s ankle
desperately tried to escape. After the assault, Charles caused Linda’s death by
asphyxiation. Found in the car cover were Linda’s blood and saliva, also evidence
suggests that Charles washed Linda’s face and redressed the body to conceal what
happened. Then he disposed Linda’s personal items in a trash bin but made a mistake
of including the Lexus rental agreement in his name. He was now sentenced to life in
prison without parole. They believed that Charles Rathbun cannot handle a rejection by
women so that he is acting out in a very inappropriate ways.