The Killer Behind the Camera June 3, 2012

Trace the evolution of 20th Century crime scene investigation with LAVA's killer photographers seminar

WHAT: Cal State Los Angeles Professor Donald Johnson, in association with LAVA – The Los Angeles Visionaries Association and Esotouric, present a new lecture / demo in the ongoing crime lab series, "The Killer Behind The Camera" focusing on the 1950s Harvey Glatman murders and the 1995 Linda Sobek murder
WHEN: Sunday, June 3, 12:00pm-4:00pm
WHERE: The Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center (Cal State L.A.), 1800 Paseo Rancho Castilla, Los Angeles, CA 90032
COST: $36.50 per person, includes refreshments
RESTRICTIONS: Due to the graphic nature of the presentation, children may not attend.
PHOTOS: To see images from a previous crime lab workshop, visit http://lavatransforms.org/crimelabpics
INFO/RESERVATIONS – http://lavatransforms.org/crimelabjune3, or call 213-373-1947

LOS ANGELES- Turn on the TV today and odds are good you'll see white lab coats, DNA swabs and magnified fingerprints on computer screens. CSI is hot stuff, in fictional series ("NCIS: Los Angeles," "Bones," "Dexter," "CSI") and documentary programming. But it's not often that the general public gets a chance to tour a real crime lab with the forensic investigators and educators who use its tools to solve crimes and develop new research strategies.

Leave it to LAVA (The Los Angeles Visionaries Association), the creative consortium helmed by Richard Schave and Kim Cooper, the married couple whose Esotouric bus adventures have transformed the guided tour experience, to make a real-life CSI experience accessible to interested laypersons. Working closely with one of LAVA's most intriguing Visionary members, Professor Donald Johnson, they've developed a series of events highlighting the work conducted at Cal State L.A.'s state-of-the-art Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center, presented through tours and short lectures from the scientist/educators and graduate students who work there.

LAVA's inaugural lecture and tour in the CSULA crime lab in October 2010 was fully reserved in three hours, with hundreds of people signing up to be on the waiting list. The repeat engagement in November also sold out quickly, as did the Phil Spector trace evidence presentation in April 2011, the July 2011 event focusing on Patrick Tillman's death in Afghanistan and the November 2011 program on using national databases to solve local crimes. The latest sell out was Ed Nordskog's "Inside the Mind of the Arsonist" in March 2012. Space is very limited and pre-reservation recommended for this unprecedented opportunity to tour the crime lab, learn from experienced forensic investigators and educators, and discover the real art and science of crime scene investigation. A portion of the proceeds from this event supports the research of Criminalistics graduate students at Cal State Los Angeles.

ABOUT THE "THE KILLER BEHIND THE CAMERA" PROGRAM:

In the 1950s, wannabe photographer Harvey Glatman kidnapped and murdered three models after tricking them into agreeing to be bound and gagged. In 1995, model Linda Sobek was kidnapped and murdered by Charles Rathbun, the professional photographer who had booked her services for a commercial shoot. These two similar Los Angeles County murder cases, four decades apart, reveal how much crime scene investigation has changed in the digital age, while the antisocial instincts that lead to murder remain the same.

On June 3, you can join Heidi Robbins, the Assistant Director of the Scientific Services Bureau crime lab of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and the lead investigator on the Linda Sobek case, and Mike Fratantoni, an LASD Deputy who sits on the board of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Museum, for a fascinating afternoon uncovering "The Killer Behind The Camera," an in-depth presentation drawing on personal casework and historic evidence files.

"The Killer Behind The Camera" focuses on two criminal cases in which sexual offenders used the role of professional photographer in order to gain the trust of hired models, who they then murdered. These strikingly similar cases happened four decades apart, and illustrate the evolution in police work and forensic science from the 1950s through the 1990.

Lecture #1: Linda Sobek, a swimsuit model and former Los Angeles Raiders cheerleader, was murdered in 1995 by photographer Charles Rathbun, who lured her to a remote dry lake bed in the Mojave Desert to shoot photos with a new Lexus SUV. Her body was dumped in the Angeles National Forest, north of Los Angeles. Rathburn lead deputies to the body after confessing he had accidentally struck Sobek while trying to teach her a car stunt on the lake bed; in fact, she was asphyxiated. Heidi Robbins, the Assistant Director of the Scientific Services Bureau crime lab of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and the lead investigator on the case, will outline the forensic investigation which debunked Rathbun's testimony and the faked photos offered up as evidence of consensual sex in Rathbun's defense. Charles Rathbun was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in 1996.

Lecture #2: Harvey Glatman was a serial killer who was active in Southern California and Colorado in the late 1950s. Obsessed with the posed crime scene photographs illustrating pulp magazines, Glatman posed as a professional photographer in order to lure models into posing for scenes illustrating his murderous fantasies. Glatman photographed his victims while assaulting them, then strangled and dumped their bodies in the desert. Mike Fratantoni, an LASD Deputy who sits on the board of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Museum, will talk about Glatman's crimes and his extraordinary capture, which took place after the model who could have been his last victim overpowered and beat her assailant on the side of the highway. Harvey Glatman was convicted of two counts of first degree murder and executed in 1959.

Between the case history lectures, the hands-on lab section will focus on methods of forensic photography and analysis.

By the afternoon’s conclusion, attendees will have a deeper understanding of the real work that’s done in the field by forensic investigators, and the tools and techniques used to interpret crime scenes for the benefit of investigating officers and juries.

ABOUT LAVA: Through participation in LAVA, a select group of creative professionals come together to promote cultural programming that speaks to the urban experience while promoting positive public space. LAVA's creative partners share a love for L.A. and unique ideas for exploring it in their work. Formed by social historians RICHARD SCHAVE and KIM COOPER -- proprietors of Esotouric bus adventures and the 1947project time travel blog series (including On Bunker Hill and In SRO Land) -- LAVA brings together L.A.'s most visionary promoters, artists, writers and thinkers. The first crop of Visionaries in the growing curated community includes cultural chronicler ADRIENNE CREW, artist and Eastside historian AL GUERRERO, Cacophony Society co-founder AL RIDENOUR, avant garde fashion maven A. LAURA BRODY, poet/publisher ALEIDA RODRIGUEZ, back-to-nature pioneer ALICIA BAY LAUREL, filmmaker ALLISON ANDERS, writer/curator ALLON SCHOENER, designer/mom of Chicken Boy AMY INOUYE, custom tours maven ANNE BLOCK, documentarian/radio producer ANTHEA RAYMOND, author/gallerist APRIL DAMMANN, pop culture historian BECKY EBENKAMP, ethnomusicologist BETO GONZALEZ, puppeteer BOB BAKER, tile historian BRIAN KAISER, producer/promoter CHRISTIAN VOLTAIRE MEOLI, cultural events programmer CHRISTINA GALANTE, musician COUNT SMOKULA, performance artist CRIMEBO THE CLOWN, writer/Libros Schmibros proprietor DAVID KIPEN, forensic educator DEREK PACIFICO, sculptor DONALD GIALANELLA, forensic scientist/educator DONALD JOHNSON, author/educator DOROTHY RANDALL GRAY, artist ELENA MARY SIFF, documentarian ELIJAH DRENNER, conversation curator ERIC VOLLMER, social connector EVONNE HEYNING, musician/performance artist FEATHERBEARD, photographer GARY LEONARD, pop critic/outsider artist GENE SCULATTI, musician/artist GEORGE EARTH, songsmith HARVEY SID FISHER, theater director HOLLY WITHAM, musician/writer IAN WHITCOMB, artist JASON HADLEY, food blogger JAVIER CABRAL, musician JEFF BOYNTON, urban explorer (Ranger) JENNY PRICE, filmmaker JEREMY KASTEN, musician JIMI CABEZA DE VACA, social historian JOAN RENNER, writer/artist JOE OESTERLE, writer JOHN BUNTIN, filmmaker JON ALLOWAY, documentarian JOHN DULLAGHAN, Musso & Frank co-owner JORDAN JONES, performance artist JULES ROCHIELLE, curator JULIE RICO, "Kristin's List" cultural chronicler KRISTIN BEDFORD, songstress/prognosticator MADAME PAMITA, esoteric scholar MAJA D'AOUST, author/broadcaster MANNY PACHECO, performer McCRISTOL HARRIS, visual artist MELVIN HALE, journalist MICHAEL LINDER, photographic archivist MICHAEL RISNER, poet/dancer MONA JEAN CEDAR, architectural historian NATHAN MARSAK, writer NEAL POLLOCK, theater director NICHOLAS HOSKING, L.A. Historic Theater Foundation rep NICK MATONAK, music producer NO'A WINTER LAZERUS, musician OCTAVIUS, writer /photographer /musician PAUL KOUDOUNARIS, peace activist PAUL NUGENT of the Aetherius Society, 3-D photography expert RAY 3D ZONE, historic ghost seeker RICHARD CARRADINE, artist/musician RICH POLYSORBATE 60, filmmaker/preservationist ROSS LIPMAN, singer-songwriter RUTHANN FRIEDMAN, ghost hunter SARAH TROOP, social networking mistress SHAWNA DAWSON, painter/gallerist SUSAN DOBAY, artist/writer/activist SUSANNA DAKIN, Warhol star and writer TERE TEREBA, sculptor TOM WALKER, musical entertainer THE UKULADY, and hat designer YASMIN DIXON.

Applications from prospective LAVA members are being taken at http://lavatransforms.org/apply

To learn more about LAVA, please visit http://www.lavatransforms.org

Official Website: http://lavatransforms.org/crimelabjune3