952:
203:, aged 20 at the time of the murder, was charged with aiding in the kidnap and murder of Nicholas Markowitz. He was convicted in 2002 of aggravated kidnapping for ransom or extortion with special circumstances, but was acquitted on the murder charge. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after seven years. Parole was denied in 2006. After serving 11 years in prison Rugge was granted parole, and released from prison on October 24, 2013.
140:, a mid-level drug dealer, began over an alleged $ 1,200 debt owed to Hollywood by Ben Markowitz. On August 6, 2000, Hollywood and his friends Jesse Rugge and William Skidmore decided to confront Ben. On their way to see him, they saw Nicholas walking on the side of the road and decided to abduct him and hold him for ransom. After they chased, assaulted, and abducted Nicholas, they forced him into a white van and sped off.
215:, aged 17 at the time of the murder, dug Markowitz's grave. He was tried twice. In July 2002, he was acquitted of kidnapping; the jury hung on the murder charge. In October 2002, he was retried on the murder charge and was convicted of second-degree murder. Pressley was incarcerated at a California Youth Authority facility until shortly before his 25th birthday in 2007. He has since been released.
171:
After the party, Hoyt, Rugge, and
Pressley drove Nicholas to the mountains and walked up a trail to a grave dug by Pressley earlier that night. Rugge bound Nicholas's hands behind his back and covered his mouth with duct tape. Hoyt then hit Nicholas in the back of the head with a shovel, knocking him
147:
and plied him with drugs and alcohol. While in Santa
Barbara, Nicholas met Rugge's friends Graham Pressley, Natasha Adams-Young, and Kelly Carpenter and attended various house parties with them. Reports indicate that many witnesses, parents and teens alike, saw Nicholas with the others, but either
172:
into the grave, and shot him nine times with
Hollywood's handgun. The grave was shallow, and was located near a popular trail. Nicholas's body was found on August 12, 2000. Hoyt, Rugge, Skidmore, and Pressley were all arrested. Hollywood went on the run; he was captured in a small town near
234:
In 2003, the
Markowitz family won an $ 11.2 million civil lawsuit against the kidnappers and the murderers, along with other defendants such as the family friend whose van was used in the kidnapping and the owners of several homes where Nicholas was held against his
151:
After
Hollywood told Rugge that Nicholas would be returning home, Rugge and several others held a party at the Lemon Tree Inn. However, after learning of the legal ramifications he could face for kidnapping, Hollywood called
223:, aged 20 at the time of the murder, was not present at the scene of the crime; however, he was later found to have ordered the murder. After Markowitz was killed, Hollywood immediately went on the run. He was arrested in
209:, aged 20 at the time of the murder, was charged with kidnapping and robbery. In September 2002, he was sentenced to nine years in a state prison as part of a plea bargain. Skidmore was released in April 2009.
120:(September 19, 1984 – August 9, 2000) was an American teenager who was kidnapped and murdered at the age of 15 after a feud over drug money between his half-brother Benjamin Markowitz and
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semi-automatic handgun and directed him to kill
Nicholas as a way of paying off his debt. A decision was made to commit the murder on the Lizard’s Mouth trail in the
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701:"Teen in Slaying Case Gets CYA; At ex-sheriff's urging, judge rejects adult prison for Goleta defendant convicted for his role in the death of a West Hills boy"
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447:"Lizard's Mouth | Santa Barbara Hikes - Trails, day hiking, backpacking in Santa Barbara, Montecito, Gaviota, Carpinteria, California"
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263:, was released in 2006. In the film, the character modeled after Nicholas Markowitz was named Zack Mazursky. The role was played by
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227:, Brazil after being on the FBI's most wanted list for five years. In 2009, Hollywood was convicted of kidnapping and
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Several civil and criminal court proceedings resulted in relation to the
Markowitz murder. Those proceedings include:
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covered the events of the murder of
Nicholas Markowitz in an episode that aired in August 2001.
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of
Markowitz. He was convicted on November 21, 2001 and sentenced to death on December 9, 2001.
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156:, another member of his gang who owed him money. Hollywood gave Hoyt a
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851:"'Love, Antosha': A Cinematic Love Letter To An Actor's Brief Life"
374: (California Court of Appeal, 2nd District 10/5/2006),
760:"Jesse James Hollywood gets life sentence in Santa Barbara murder"
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and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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did not realize anything was amiss or chose not to report it.
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416:"Jesse James Hollywood, drug dealer orders murder and flees"
565:"22-Year-Old Is Sentenced to Life in Teen's Kidnap-Slaying"
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Jesse James
Hollywood, drug dealer orders murder and flees
535:"Jury Returns With Death Verdict for Killer of West Hills"
193:, aged 20 at the time of the murder, was charged with the
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Oct 24, Nick Welsh Thu; 2013 | 12:00am (2013-10-24).
503:"Family of Slain Boy Files Suit Against 32 People"
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790:"Fugitive Ordered to Pay Parents of Slain Boy"
267:, who, like Markowitz, was also raised in the
915:Report about the murder of Nicholas Markowitz
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595:"Jesse Rugge, Markowitz Kidnapper, Released"
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622:: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
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244:The crime documentary television series
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998:August 2000 crimes in the United States
886:My stolen son; The Nick Markowitz story
884:Jenna Glatzer, Susan Markowitz (2010).
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342:from the original on April 13, 2020
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300:"The real story behind 'Alpha Dog'"
52:West Hills, Los Angeles, California
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1018:Incidents of violence against boys
861:from the original on 14 April 2023
830:from the original on 13 April 2020
501:Guccione, Jean (August 10, 2001).
367:Hollywood v. Superior Ct. (People)
302:. Dateline NBC. January 15, 2007.
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1008:Child murder in the United States
988:2000 murders in the United States
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788:Guccione, Jean (August 2, 2003).
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818:Charity, Tom (12 January 2007).
350:– via www.theguardian.com.
143:Markowitz's captors took him to
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849:Hensel, Danny (1 August 2019).
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478:. April 5, 2006. Archived from
394:People v. Jesse James Hollywood
1038:People murdered in Los Angeles
910:Memorial to Nicholas Markowitz
637:Fox, Sue (November 11, 2001).
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16:Murder of an American teenager
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923:Los Angeles Police Department
675:The Santa Barbara Independent
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330:Wood, Gaby (April 1, 2007).
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888:. New York: Berkley Books.
424:. p. 6. Archived from
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671:"Hollywood's Day in Court"
476:"Lawyers, guns and money"
451:www.santabarbarahikes.com
118:Nicholas Samuel Markowitz
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993:American murder victims
134:West Hills, Los Angeles
1028:Murdered American Jews
1023:Murder in Los Angeles
930:America's Most Wanted
220:Jesse James Hollywood
138:Jesse James Hollywood
128:Kidnapping and murder
122:Jesse James Hollywood
1003:Capital murder cases
482:on September 5, 2019
162:Santa Ynez Mountains
70:Santa Ynez Mountains
269:San Fernando Valley
229:first-degree murder
207:William R. Skidmore
195:first-degree murder
132:Markowitz lived in
81:Cause of death
983:2000 in California
736:. March 10, 2005.
405:from the original.
378:from the original.
247:Unsolved Mysteries
240:In popular culture
201:Jesse Taylor Rugge
176:five years later.
74:Goleta, California
48:September 19, 1984
23:Nicholas Markowitz
895:978-0-425-23634-5
794:Los Angeles Times
766:. July 15, 2009.
764:Los Angeles Times
734:Los Angeles Times
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539:Los Angeles Times
508:Los Angeles Times
253:The feature film
180:Legal proceedings
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957:Los Angeles
96:Nationality
967:Categories
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685:2009-06-02
653:2007-01-01
609:2020-02-02
579:2009-01-01
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519:2007-01-01
461:2020-02-02
432:2010-05-23
275:References
44:1984-09-19
256:Alpha Dog
225:Saquarema
164:north of
154:Ryan Hoyt
106:Parent(s)
859:Archived
828:Archived
798:Archived
768:Archived
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618:cite web
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304:Archived
100:American
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166:Goleta
85:Murder
54:, U.S.
235:will.
158:TEC-9
890:ISBN
867:2023
836:2023
746:2009
624:link
488:2019
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60:Died
38:Born
855:NPR
824:CNN
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