QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Judicial Concerns and Ongoing Review: Court proceedings in recent years have underscored how deeply these questions cut. In 2022, Placer County Judge Garen Horst found “good cause” to re-examine Tholmer’s conviction, citing new evidence of false testimony and prosecutorial misconduct. “The petitioner alleged new evidence affecting the veracity of the investigator in this case, Lt. John Kane, and prosecution failing to disclose evidence,” Horst wrote. Former defense attorney Robert Blasier declared, “In my professional opinion, Lionel Tholmer is completely innocent of all charges filed against him in the Yolo County murder and abduction case. I can truthfully say that in my over 50 years of practice, this is the only case where I feel totally confident in making that statement.” Blasier later added, “It is my belief that it was the testimony of Detective Kane that was the primary reason for Mr. Tholmer’s conviction.”
---------------------------------------
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Newly-surfaced records, suppressed witness statements, and judicial findings raise unresolved questions about whether both convictions rested on false evidence and prosecutorial misconduct."
———————————————-
PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "At his most recent court appearance on August 14, 2025, Tholmer confronted a familiar pattern of delay and obstruction. The hearing was presided over by Judge Michael Jones, the same judge who in September 2024 shouted “shut up” at Tholmer and abruptly terminated a proceeding in which he had sought disclosure of evidence. This time, Jones was polite but again ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction to consider Tholmer’s motions, citing the earlier hearing as the reason jurisdiction had been lost. He told Tholmer that the matter could not be heard until jurisdiction was reinvoked. According to Tholmer, the judge’s reassurances that the August 14 session was a public hearing were misleading. On the video feed, he could see only the district attorney’s table, not the full courtroom. His family arrived just before the hearing ended and reported that no members of the public had been present, despite Jones’s claim. The hearing lasted only minutes, and Tholmer described it as another episode in a long history of judicial maneuvers that have kept his case from being heard."
————————————————————
DAVIS VANGUARD INVESTIGATION: "Tholmer's Yolo and Placer convictions still mired in doubt four decades later," by Founding Editor David Greenwald, published on September 2, 2025. (David Greenwald is the founder, editor, and executive director of the Davis Vanguard. He founded the Vanguard in 2006. David Greenwald moved to Davis in 1996 to attend Graduate School at UC Davis in Political Science.)
GIST: "Nearly four decades after his arrest, Lionel Ernest Tholmer remains incarcerated in California, convicted in two separate cases that prosecutors tied together: the killing of John Meadows in Placer County and the murder of Cynthia Sparpana, along with the disappearance of her three-year-old daughter Danyel, in Yolo County.
Newly-surfaced records, suppressed witness statements, and judicial findings raise unresolved questions about whether both convictions rested on false evidence and prosecutorial misconduct.
In Williams v. Superior Court (34 Cal.3d 584, 1983), the California Supreme Court held that a Black man accused of raping and murdering a white woman in Placer County could not receive a fair trial because the county had only 402 Black residents compared to 117,506 white residents, and media coverage had saturated the community.
“Williams could not receive a fair trial there,” the court concluded. Despite similar and even greater publicity surrounding the Sparpana case—including national missing child coverage—no change of venue was granted in Tholmer’s trial.
At his most recent court appearance on August 14, 2025, Tholmer confronted a familiar pattern of delay and obstruction. The hearing was presided over by Judge Michael Jones, the same judge who in September 2024 shouted “shut up” at Tholmer and abruptly terminated a proceeding in which he had sought disclosure of evidence.
This time, Jones was polite but again ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction to consider Tholmer’s motions, citing the earlier hearing as the reason jurisdiction had been lost. He told Tholmer that the matter could not be heard until jurisdiction was reinvoked.
According to Tholmer, the judge’s reassurances that the August 14 session was a public hearing were misleading. On the video feed, he could see only the district attorney’s table, not the full courtroom. His family arrived just before the hearing ended and reported that no members of the public had been present, despite Jones’s claim.
The hearing lasted only minutes, and Tholmer described it as another episode in a long history of judicial maneuvers that have kept his case from being heard.
“The only thing that happened in that court hearing is this. The judge says this hearing here for whatever, you can’t hear this matter because the court no longer has jurisdiction. He has to reinvoke the jurisdiction on the court. Well, I’ve done it now,” he said.
Tholmer later explained that Jones’s decision to stop proceedings on September 16, 2024 cost him nearly a year.
“Had he not stopped them, I would’ve been out of here a long time ago,” Tholmer said. “But when he stopped proceedings, according to him on his own motion, he then rescheduled court. But when he rescheduled it, the DA told him then, hey, he has to have an underlining pleading in that court for us to resolve this.”
The Sparpana Case
On November 5, 1985, Cynthia Sparpana was found dead in her West Sacramento apartment by her father. Her three-year-old daughter Danyel was missing and has never been located. Reports from local law enforcement and the FBI determined that Cynthia had been dead two or three days before her body was discovered and that her killer was left-handed. Tholmer is right-handed.
The autopsy revealed she had been beaten with a blunt object, strangled, and shot in the back of the head with a small-caliber gun. The only missing item from her home was her .22 caliber handgun.
Cynthia had filed a sworn declaration before her death stating that her ex-husband, Tedd Sparpana, threatened to kill her and take their daughter. That declaration was never disclosed at trial.
Neighbors corroborated troubling details. Mary Sanchez reported to police that she saw a white male fitting Tedd Sparpana’s description taking Danyel from the home on the night of November 1, 1985. That same evening, neighbors Robert Blake and Deborah McMurphy said they heard gunshots, dogs barking, and a diesel truck idling outside Cynthia’s residence.
Cynthia’s close friend, Sylvia Waddington, told investigators she spoke with Cynthia by phone around 9 p.m. on November 1. Cynthia promised to call her back later that night but never did. Sylvia said she began calling Cynthia the next morning and throughout the weekend with no response. Prosecutors failed to disclose Sylvia’s statement during trial.
Despite this evidence pointing to other suspects, prosecutors built their case against Tholmer. In 1992, he was convicted by an all-white jury and sentenced to death. Yolo County Judge James Stevens later expressed “lingering doubt” about the evidence, overturning the death sentence and imposing life without parole. Stevens told the court there was no testimony placing Tholmer at the crime scene and no motive.
A juror later told the Auburn Journal, “No matter what you believe in your heart, all the evidence was circumstantial, there just was no evidence.”
The Meadows Case
Just days before Cynthia’s body was discovered, John Meadows was found dead near Foresthill Road in Placer County. Tholmer, then 27, admitted he had a confrontation with Meadows, claiming Meadows lured him to a secluded area and pulled a gun. Tholmer said a struggle ensued, the weapon discharged, and Meadows was shot twice.
Panicked, Tholmer fled, later returning to the scene where he found Meadows dead. Believing police would not accept his claim of self-defense, Tholmer burned the body. The prosecution later used this incident to portray him as violent and to tie him to Sparpana’s murder.
But critical forensic testimony in the Meadows case was later discredited. Dr. Anthony Cunha testified that Meadows had been burned alive, undermining Tholmer’s self-defense claim. Years later, Cunha admitted he had misidentified soot in Meadows’ trachea and that forensic testing showed no evidence Meadows was breathing when burned. Asked under cross-examination, “Do you believe now that you were wrong?” Cunha responded, “Yes.”
The Role of Lt. John Kane
Much of the controversy surrounding both cases centers on Sacramento Police Lt. John Edward Kane. Kane was not originally assigned to either case but inserted himself after Tholmer’s arrest in Oklahoma on December 9, 1985.
Kane authored a December 10, 1985 report claiming former Assemblyman Larry Bowler arranged Tholmer’s arrest and that Tholmer had threatened him. Bowler has since denied any involvement, stating, “I would not normally work field investigations. I know Ltd. John Kane now retired from the Sacramento Police Department. I, however, do not recall ever co-investigating a case with him.”
Tholmer disputes Kane’s account. “[Lt. Kane] made entirely false claims to other law enforcement in California that I had contacted him while on the run and would only speak to him and he further told these investigating agencies that I had also made threats against him to the officers in Oklahoma City who took me into custody. These extraditing officers clearly went on record confirming that I made no such statements to them about Lt. Kane.”
A December 10 report authored by Kane showed that Bowler told him Tholmer would “talk to anybody but Kane.” Tholmer argues that if prosecutors had disclosed this report, it would have undermined their argument that he spoke to Kane because he trusted him. “Kane’s own report shows it’s a lie,” Tholmer said.
Records later showed Kane was demoted on December 10, 1985, the same day he wrote the report, for manufacturing evidence and writing false reports. He was eventually placed on a Brady/Giglio list marked “do not call” because his department found him not credible.
Despite this, prosecutors in both counties relied on him as their chief witness.
“If it wasn’t for Kane and Cunha I wouldn’t have been convicted,” Tholmer said.
Coercion Allegations
Tholmer also described coercion during the investigation. He said that in March 1986, Kane and Yolo County Officer Penny Welch summoned him to an attorney visiting room in Placer County Jail under the pretense of meeting a lawyer.
“Once they close the door, there’s no way for me to get out besides push this button, but it’s Kane and Penny Welch. They won’t let me go,” he recalled. When he refused to cooperate the next night, officers brought a police dog into his cell to force him out. “They brought the dog in there and forced me out of that jail by use of the dog, turned me over to Kane and Welch, they took me out. The newspaper called it a midnight run.”
Evidence Suppressed or Manufactured
Newly-obtained records show that guns introduced as trial evidence were linked to Kane. One Rohm revolver came directly from Sacramento PD through Kane. Another was provided by a man named Floyd Johnson, who was paid $500 after prosecutors described the make and model of Cynthia’s missing handgun.
Yolo County investigators determined in August 1988 that the killer of Cynthia Sparpana was left-handed. Reports noted detectives examined blood spatter and wound patterns and concluded the perpetrator was not right-handed. Tholmer is right-handed, but this exculpatory evidence was not disclosed.
Prosecutors also concealed California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS) reports that documented California officials coordinating with Oklahoma police on December 9, 1985. Those reports contradicted Kane’s claim that Bowler was responsible for the arrest and wiretap.
Judicial Concerns and Ongoing Review
Court proceedings in recent years have underscored how deeply these questions cut. In 2022, Placer County Judge Garen Horst found “good cause” to re-examine Tholmer’s conviction, citing new evidence of false testimony and prosecutorial misconduct. “The petitioner alleged new evidence affecting the veracity of the investigator in this case, Lt. John Kane, and prosecution failing to disclose evidence,” Horst wrote.
Former defense attorney Robert Blasier declared, “In my professional opinion, Lionel Tholmer is completely innocent of all charges filed against him in the Yolo County murder and abduction case. I can truthfully say that in my over 50 years of practice, this is the only case where I feel totally confident in making that statement.”
Blasier later added, “It is my belief that it was the testimony of Detective Kane that was the primary reason for Mr. Tholmer’s conviction.”
Lingering Doubt and Unresolved Loss
The disappearance of three-year-old Danyel Sparpana remains unsolved. “Her family deserves to know what happened to that little girl,” Tholmer said. He added, “I believe the government must give her some kind of resolution. I don’t want her to have that pain but I certainly don’t want her attributing that pain to me when I wasn’t the one that caused it.”
In a prior Vanguard report, Judge Stevens acknowledged the lack of direct evidence. He said there was “no testimony placing Tholmer at the scene of the crime and that there was no motive.”
Yet, despite admissions of faulty forensics, withheld evidence, and a star witness later found to have falsified reports, Tholmer remains imprisoned on convictions increasingly called into question.
“Everyone involved in this case from the Yolo DA to the Placer DA and the detectives knew what they did,” Tholmer said.""
The entire story can be read at:
https://davisvanguard.org/2025/09/prosecutorial-misconduct-tholmer-case/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
———————————————————————————————
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
—————————————————————————————————
FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
-------------------------------------------------------------------
