Victory laps
Look to the stars
Racers earn their trophies at the Mark Forni Classic.
Community Observatory to host a stellar public event.
Sports, A6
News, etc., B1
171
C ali forn ia’s Olde st Ne w spaper
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Volume 171 • Issue 87 | $1.00
mtdemocrat.com
Wednesday, July 27, 2022
Justice for Jane
Murder suspect takes plea deal Thomas Frey Staff writer
Jane Anker Hylton
Michael Green
Michael Green pleaded no contest to second-degree murder Friday for the 1985 killing of Jane Anker Hylton — a crime once thought committed by another man, Ricky Davis, who undeservedly served 15 years in state prison. Green’s plea comes 37 years after Hylton’s death and two years after DNA evidence led authorities to the now 54-year-
old man, who was arrested in Roseville in 2020. Hylton’s body was discovered at 2848 Stanford Lane in El Dorado Hills on July 7, 1985. At the time of the murder Green was 17 years old, according to Savannah Broddrick with the El Dorado County District Attorney’s office. Green is said to be one of three young men who hung out with Hylton’s then 13-year-old daughter Autumn Anker the night of the murder. Hylton, 54 at the time of her death,
and Anker were staying at the El Dorado Hills home of Ricky Davis’ mother after Hylton sought a safe haven from her husband, to whom she had been married for about a year. Hylton’s husband had a solid alibi, according to investigators. On the night of July 6, 1985, Davis and his girlfriend Connie Dahl went to a party and when they returned to the home they found Hylton brutally murdered. A knife was used to n
See Plea, page A7
Guiding Hands staff charged with involuntary manslaughter Mountain Democrat staff Three former Guiding Hands School employees pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter last week in the death of 13-yearold Max Benson. In an indictment filed by the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office July 15, school Executive Director Cindy Keller, Principal Staranne Meyers and special education teacher Kimberly Wohlwend are each accused of involuntary manslaughter, a felony. The indictment states the three women failed to perform a legal duty, which was criminally negligent and caused death. The school’s parent corporation, Guiding Hands School Inc., also is charged with involuntary manslaughter. The defendants appeared in El Dorado County Superior Court July 19, waiving time. A trial setting conference PLACE ADDRESS LABEL HERE
has been scheduled for 9 a.m. Sept. 2 in Department 2. Mountain Democrat previously reported that Benson, an autistic student, died in late November 2018 after reportedly being restrained by staff at the school during a violent episode. While being restrained, Benson became unresponsive and a teacher then performed CPR. He died at an area hospital two days after the incident. Wohlwend was the employee who restrained Benson, according to prosecutors. One week after the student’s death the California Department of Education suspended the school’s certification. An investigation by the California Department of Education found that school staff may have violated state rules regarding student restraint. The CDE determined that school staff’s actions were “harmful to the health, welfare or safety” of Max. Benson’s family lived in the Davis area and he was placed in the El Dorado Hills school by the Davis Joint Unified School District. For 25 years Guiding Hands School, which closed in January 2019, was a private, K-12 school with more than 100 children enrolled at the El Dorado Hills Business Park campus. The school worked with many school districts in the Sacramento region to serve students whose needs could not be met at home or in public schools.
Mountain Democrat photos by Eric Jaramishian
Goin’ round — An underpass and a roundabout are being constructed at Pondorado Road, which will connect to Carson Road, as part of Caltrans’ Camino Safety Project scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022.
Camino Safety Project hits snag n Work still on schedule to be completed this year Eric Jaramishian Staff writer Construction crews continue to make progress on the $55.4 million Camino Safety Project; however, some of the work done has failed to pass inspection. Earlier this summer project area resident Mark Messier reached out to the Mountain Democrat expressing concerns that multiple sections of the safety project’s divider had the word “reject” written on them. “This same contractor botched n
See safety, page A7
1 Dentist!
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Construction crews improve drainage and replace El Dorado Irrigation District lines, as part of the Camino Safety Project.
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