Man who kidnapped and killed 10-year-old child molestation victim denied parole
Randy Cook.
Cook and friend beat 10-year-old and strangled her to death in an Avila campsite to prevent her from testifying in 1979
Tami Carpenter.
–The Board of Parole Hearings denied the request of Randy Cook, now 55, to be released on parole from his life sentence in state prison for kidnapping and killing ten-year-old Tami Carpenter in Avila Beach in July of 1979.
In July 1979, ten-year-old Tami Carpenter was expected to testify against William Record in a child molestation case. At Record’s preliminary hearing in April 1979, Tami told the court the defendant had molested her twice — once at Burnardo’z Ice Cream Plant in Arroyo Grande and once after swimming at Avila Hot Springs.
Record sought help from 20-year-oldr old stepdaughter, Brandee Tripp, her boyfriend Hilton Tripp, and his friend Randy Cook, to kidnap Tami and to prevent her from testifying. The three then kidnapped Tami from a grocery store and took her to a remote campsite. They tied her up and held her captive for several hours, before Hilton Tripp and Randy Cook beat and strangled her to death. Hilton Tripp and Randy Cook buried the girl in a shallow grave nearby.
Because of pretrial publicity, the case was transferred to Monterey County, where it was tried. All three individuals were convicted. Brandee Tripp was paroled in 2008.
Deputy District Attorney Nik Dandekar appeared at the Parole Hearing on behalf of the People of the State of California and argued successfully against the release on parole, stating that Cook was unsuitable and unfit for release.
Hilton Tripp is scheduled for a parole consideration hearing on July 26, 2017, where an attorney with the District Attorney’s Office will object to his release as well.
