FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – Fresno County District Attorney Lisa A. Smittcamp is asking Governor Gavin Newsom to block the parole release of convicted murderer David Weidert.
The Governor will decide by early December whether or not to overturn the Board of Parole Hearings’ decision in August which found Weidert suitable for parole.
Inmate David Weidert was convicted for the 1980 murder of the developmentally disabled 20-year-old victim Mike Morganti.
The DA says Inmate Weidert used Mike to serve as a look-out to commit a burglary, and when Mike spoke to law enforcement, Inmate Weidert silenced him by luring him into a car and taking him to an isolated location. Mike was then beaten with a baseball bat and a shovel, stabbed with a knife, and forced to dig his own grave before being buried alive. Inmate Weidert was convicted of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison.
Last month, District Attorney Smittcamp sent a letter to Governor Newsom urging him to overturn the Board’s findings that Inmate Weidert is suitable for parole.
Weidert was first found suitable for parole by the Board of Parole hearings at his 8th overall hearing on March 22, 2018, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says.
CDCR says in August of 2018, former California Governor Ed Brown reversed the board’s decision.
Per law, Weidert went before the Board for the 9th overall time in August of 2019, where he was again found suitable for parole.
Now Fresno District Attorney Smittcamp is urging all concerned people to contact the Governor’s Office and ask him to stop the parole release of convicted murderer David Weidert by calling (916) 445-2841.
Click to hear the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
