Aleda Doe, a 20-year-old student, was abducted in the Reno area and sexually assaulted in the minivan before being released. This earlier kidnapping case later helped trigger the couple's arrest.
Daveggio and Michaud committed additional sexual offenses against Daveggio's minor daughter (April Doe) and her friend (Sharona Doe) in November 1997. Evidence of these assaults later became part of the California prosecution.
Daveggio and Michaud purchased two curling irons from a Kmart in Hayward, CA. These were later modified by Daveggio and used to sexually torture Vanessa Samson.
The couple purchased a red rubber ball gag and a cassette tape titled 'Submissive Young Girls' from an adult store in Livermore, CA. These items were used during the assault on Vanessa Samson.
The day before the Samson abduction, investigators believe the couple cruised the Pleasanton area, including parking outside a local high school, in search of potential abduction victims.
In an unrelated investigation, a federal warrant was issued for Daveggio's arrest related to the Aleda Doe kidnapping after she identified him from a photo array.
Daveggio and Michaud abducted 22-year-old college student Vanessa Lei Samson in Pleasanton, forcing her into their green Dodge minivan.
After abducting Vanessa Samson, Daveggio and Michaud held her in the rigged minivan, sexually assaulted and tortured her with modified curling irons, and ultimately strangled her with a nylon rope.
After killing Samson, Daveggio and Michaud drove to a remote section of the Sierra Nevada and disposed of her body down a snowy embankment off Highway 88.
Acting on the federal warrant for the Reno case, the FBI and Douglas County Sheriff's Department arrest Daveggio at a slot machine in the Lakeside Inn and Casino, and Michaud in a hotel room.
A passing motorist discovers Vanessa Samson’s body off Highway 88. An autopsy confirms death by ligature strangulation and reveals evidence of sexual torture, with Samson's DNA found on the ball gag and curling irons.
Michelle Michaud confesses key details of the abduction, torture, and killing of Vanessa Samson during an interview with the FBI, solidifying the murder case against the pair.
Daveggio and Michaud were convicted in federal court in Reno for the kidnapping and assault of Aleda Doe. Michaud received 15 years and Daveggio 25 years before both were transferred for the California murder case.
The joint California trial of James Daveggio and Michelle Michaud begins in Alameda County. The jury later convicts both defendants of first-degree murder with special circumstances of kidnapping and rape by instrument.
Judge Larry Goodman formally sentences both James Daveggio and Michelle Michaud to death for the kidnapping, sexual torture, and murder of Vanessa Samson.
The California Supreme Court unanimously affirms the convictions and death sentences imposed on Daveggio and Michaud in the Vanessa Samson murder case after their automatic appeals.
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