Editor's note: This story contains an account of a murder that some readers may find disturbing.
This story has been updated with information about the death of Hennis’ codefendant, Roy Corbett.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A man who as a teenager was convicted of taking part in the murder of the ex-girlfriend of one of his friends has been denied release at his first parole hearing.
The Board of Parole Hearings denied parole to Paul Gordon Hennis, 41, who is serving his sentence at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano, according to Deputy District Attorney Ed Borg, who traveled to the prison on Wednesday for the lifer hearing.
Hennis and a friend, Roy Allen Corbett, were convicted in February 1994 of first-degree murder for the killing of 16-year-old Jamie Faris in May 1992 in Lakeport, Borg said.
Both Hennis and Corbett were 16 at the time of the murder and were tried as adults, while Borg said a third juvenile who was present when the murder occurred, Kevin F., reached a plea agreement and served time in the juvenile system.
Borg said Faris and Corbett had been in a dating relationship but broke up. Corbett began dating another girl but also continued to have some involvement with Faris, who had threatened to tell his new girlfriend about them.
Corbett made a statement to Hennis about wanting to kill Faris, and Hennis asked why he didn't, Borg said.
That formed the beginning of their planning to kill Faris, who they lured to a shop at the home that Hennis shared with his grandfather on May 16, 1992, according to the case's investigative documents.
Borg said Hennis provided Corbett with a baseball bat. While in the shop, as Hennis and the other juvenile looked on, Corbett tricked Faris into closing her eyes and turning around, telling her he had a surprise for her. He then came up behind her and hit her in the head with the baseball bat, knocking her to the ground.
It was at that point that Kevin F. went outside of the shop and began throwing up, Borg said.
Hennis told Corbett he had to finish Faris, and Borg said Corbett then tried to strangle her with his bare hands. When that failed, Hennis provided Corbett with spark plug wires, which Corbett used to strangle and kill her.
After Faris was dead, Corbett and Hennis put her in her car and planned to drive it up to the Hopland Grade and push it over a cliff in the hopes that it would look like she died in an accident, Borg said.
However, Borg said that on the way up the grade, Hennis – who was following Corbett in Faris' car – got a flat tire on his pickup. So Hennis and Corbett left Faris' vehicle on the side of the road and drove back to Lakeport, returning to Hennis' home, cleaning up the blood in the shop and then meeting another teen to go to a party.
Borg said they were arrested soon after the murder. The arrests came about after Hennis told another friend about killing Faris. That friend, in turn, told his mother, who reported it to law enforcement.
Throughout the case, Hennis – even at his young age – appeared extremely callous in how he prompted Corbett to commit the murder and assisted him, despite knowing Faris and not having any real animus toward her, Borg said.
Pointing out that they were all “just kids” at the time of the murder, Borg said, “It's difficult to comprehend.”
Corbett and Hennis had a fitness hearing in juvenile court, where it was determined that they should be tried as adults. Due to publicity in the case, their trial – which involved two separate juries – was moved to Sacramento, Borg said.
The case was prosecuted by then-District Attorney Stephen Hedstrom, with Hennis represented at trial by Mitchell Hauptman and Lawrence Kaplan defending Corbett, Borg said.
Borg said Corbett and Hennis were convicted in February 1994 of first-degree murder.
While Corbett's jury found he had not been lying in wait, Hennis' jury did find him guilty of that charge, which potentially made him eligible for life without the possibility of parole. However, Borg said the judge did not pursue that sentence for Hennis because he hadn't actually committed the killing himself.
Corbett and Hennis were sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in July 1994, with Borg explaining that the delay between their conviction and sentencing was due to exploring a motion for a new trial, which is normal in homicide cases.
Since that time, Corbett has died in prison, but Borg said he did not have any details about when and the cause.
Krissi Khokhobashvili, a public information officer with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, told Lake County News that Corbett died by suicide at California State Prison-Sacramento on March 5, 2005. He was 29 years old.
During his time in state prison, Hennis has been involved in a series of violent altercations that led to numerous disciplinary write ups.
Borg said Hennis also self-identified as a member of the Nazi Low Riders prison gang in 2005.
On behalf of that gang Hennis stabbed another inmate 19 times in March of 1996, assaulting another inmate three months later, according to Borg.
Hennis committed further assaults against other inmates in November 1999 and April 2000; had a total of four charges of willfully obstructing a peace officer in 1996, 1999 and 2000 for refusing to leave his cell when ordered; and in 2011 – again at the direction of the Nazi Low Riders – participated in a mass disturbance hunger strike, Borg said.
In another incident, in March of 2012 Hennis' cell was searched and prison guards found he had two gang poems that referred to killing black inmates, according to Borg.
Borg said Hennis spent time at Pelican Bay State Prison in the secure housing unit, where he was isolated from other prisoners.
In December 2012, Hennis applied to be debriefed to get out of the gang, and last year was decertified as a gang member. Borg said he then was housed in a special yard for former gang members where they're protected from violence.
Borg said Hennis had actually been eligible for his initial parole hearing in 2013 but elected not to do it then. “So this was in essence his initial hearing.”
The Wednesday hearing began at 9 a.m. and lasted until 1:30 p.m., with Hennis represented by an attorney when he appeared before the two parole commissioners. Borg was present on behalf of the Lake County District Attorney's Office.
During the hearing, a risk assessment related to Hennis' potential release was discussed, and it outlined all of Hennis' behavior issues, which the commissioners questioned him about, Borg said.
Borg said the commissioners determined that Hennis did have some insight into his crime, and that he understood it and accepted responsibility.
It also was discussed at the hearing that since 2014 Hennis has been taking classes and participating in Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous groups, and so has made some progress in his personal rehabilitation, Borg said.
While Hennis hasn't had disciplinary issues in prison involving drugs or alcohol, Borg said he came from an abusive background in which both of his parents were involved with drugs, including growing marijuana. Hennis was using marijuana and drinking while living with his grandfather, who wasn't sophisticated about drug use so wasn't aware he was using.
The parole commissioners remained concerned that Hennis posed a significant risk of violence to the community if released, which Borg said was a result of the numerous violent incidents in prison as well as the fact that he was not forthcoming about his gang activity and actually downplayed it.
“It was an extremely brutal act, and I think that's one of the reasons why the parole commissioners are concerned about what he's going to be like,” Borg said.
Borg said the parole commissioners also were concerned about Hennis learning to function in the outside world, including being able to take responsibility for basic tasks such as paying bills. In response, Hennis said that if he was released he had a plan to go to a halfway house in Southern California to learn those life skills.
The risk assessment found that Hennis has a low risk of reoffending if he remains abstinent from drugs and alcohol, Borg said.
However, when it came to avoiding substance abuse, Borg said Hennis didn't have a good answer for how he would accomplish that. He told the parole commissioners he would simply go to a community where there are no drugs. Borg said the commissioners pointed out that there are drugs in every community.
Ultimately, the commissioners decided to deny Hennis parole for five years, which Borg said will give Hennis time to work on the issues that came up during the hearing.
By the time he's back up for parole consideration in 2021, Hennis will have been in custody for 29 years.
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