Kathy Pinna
Flowers laid at murder site
Davis High neighbors tell police much about night Zell died
Nearly a dozen bouquets and flower arrangements marked the spot where Diane Zell was murdered last Friday, while concerned neighbors flooded Modesto police detectives with telephone calls. Detectives were trying to track down each of the tips callers left Monday and field new calls. "I've been on the phone for probably seven hours today in a 7 1/2 (hour) day," Detective Jim Waterman said. "There are a lot of people calling in."
None of the callers told detectives that they had talked to Zell the night before her body was discovered. Police know the 21 year old David High School graduate took a couple of calls at the home she shared with her parents near the school that night, but don't know who those calls were from. A custodian at Davis High School found Zell's partially-clad body just before 5:30 a.m. Friday near the sign in front of the school at 1200 W. Rumble Road. Zell was last seen by her parents at about 10 p.m. the night before, watching television at home. Monday's callers had a lot to tell police, but none reported seeing Zell during those missing hours.
"There was nothing that really popped out at us as being hot, but there are sill people I haven't had the chance to call back yet," Waterman said. "They've called about cars parked in the area, bikes riding by, a lot of things." Zell had been raped, and they were not ready yet to release the cause of death. "There is still a lot to be done," he said. People started leaving flowers on the spot where Zell was found the day after her murder. "It started Saturday morning," Davis High Principal Chuck Edmonds said. "I came down to finish up some stuff left over from the incident, and I first noticed it then." Edmonds said those bringing flowers were mostly people who knew Zell and remembered her from the neighborhood or school.
"It's part of the grieving process," he said. "They're leaving flowers there as a way of dealing with it."
- The Modesto Bee, Tuesday, June 4, 1996 on page 8 and 9.
Nearly a dozen bouquets and flower arrangements marked the spot where Diane Zell was murdered last Friday, while concerned neighbors flooded Modesto police detectives with telephone calls. Detectives were trying to track down each of the tips callers left Monday and field new calls. "I've been on the phone for probably seven hours today in a 7 1/2 (hour) day," Detective Jim Waterman said. "There are a lot of people calling in."
None of the callers told detectives that they had talked to Zell the night before her body was discovered. Police know the 21 year old David High School graduate took a couple of calls at the home she shared with her parents near the school that night, but don't know who those calls were from. A custodian at Davis High School found Zell's partially-clad body just before 5:30 a.m. Friday near the sign in front of the school at 1200 W. Rumble Road. Zell was last seen by her parents at about 10 p.m. the night before, watching television at home. Monday's callers had a lot to tell police, but none reported seeing Zell during those missing hours.
"There was nothing that really popped out at us as being hot, but there are sill people I haven't had the chance to call back yet," Waterman said. "They've called about cars parked in the area, bikes riding by, a lot of things." Zell had been raped, and they were not ready yet to release the cause of death. "There is still a lot to be done," he said. People started leaving flowers on the spot where Zell was found the day after her murder. "It started Saturday morning," Davis High Principal Chuck Edmonds said. "I came down to finish up some stuff left over from the incident, and I first noticed it then." Edmonds said those bringing flowers were mostly people who knew Zell and remembered her from the neighborhood or school.
"It's part of the grieving process," he said. "They're leaving flowers there as a way of dealing with it."
- The Modesto Bee, Tuesday, June 4, 1996 on page 8 and 9.
