How sadistic couples tortured and killed pal with chilli bean can & burned body
WHEN police found Lora Sinner’s naked body burned, bruised and bloody in a fire-pit at a remote and picturesque campsite, they immediately knew she’d endured an agonising death.
However, they could never have guessed at that point how horrifying the full extent of what had happened to the tragic 20-year-old was – she had been slowly tortured before her eventual murder.
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For hours she’d suffered – forced to cut her own wrists with a razor, struck over the head with a chilli bean can and made to down dangerous amounts of alcohol.
But how did such a kind, loving and giving woman by all accounts end up being victim to such a brutal murder?
Here we take a closer look at the case, which is the focus of Hayu series, Snapped: Killer Couples…
Starting a new life
Lora grew up on a dairy farm as the youngest of three siblings in a loving, Christian family.
Her brother Jason Sinner recalls: “She enjoyed helping others, and that was just part of her Christian spirit. It was part of her personality.”
She spent the summer of 1997 volunteering at a Christian mission in Aberdeen, Washington, which is where she met Tim Smith, from Redding, California.
Her other brother Ryan says: “Lora definitely liked Tim. She always wanted to be around him.”
Just two months later her mother was suddenly diagnosed with Leukaemia and died a few weeks later.
Jason says: “That’s when she started developing this idea that maybe she could go to California and make a change in her life so she could become a happier person.
“She saw this opportunity with Tim to try something different.”
In March 1998, Lora, then 20, and Tim travelled 560 miles to his hometown.
Ryan said: “She said they loved each other and they were going to go down and meet his family, get married and start a life there.”
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Signs of a struggle
However just a month later, the couple had split – and Lora was dead.
On the morning of April 18, 1998, police responded to a call regarding a derelict Trinity Alps preserve campsite, and it was immediately obvious something was amiss.
Shasta County Sheriff’s Office Detective Steven Berg says: “There was debris everywhere, there were empty liquor bottles, there were signs of possibly a struggle had taken place.
“The whole investigative unit was called in and they sent cadaver dogs to the campsite – and the dog immediately went to the fire pit.”
Crime journalist David Kulczyk explains: “The police gently dug through the fire pit and eventually they found a hand and discovered a partially burnt body buried underneath the campfire.”
Detective Berg says: “The victim was naked. She had a black plastic garbage bag tied around her head.
“It definitely appeared she’d been struck several times in the back of her head and she had bruising all over her body. There were cuts on her arms.”
One of the pieces of evidence police located in the campsite was a small purse, with Lora’s drivers licence, and dental records later confirmed her identity.
‘She was excited about these friendships’
Once Lora’s body was found, Tim was immediately located and brought in for questioning, where he shared the pair had split after a series of arguments.
They had last seen each other March 30, and Lora had decided to stay at Tim’s father’s house after becoming friends with Tim’s family, including his brother Paul, then 20, sister Lori, 18, and her boyfriend Eric Rubeo, 19 – who was Paul’s best friend.
Paul had also met and was dating Amy Stevens, who was just 14, a runaway who’d fled the foster care system.
Lora was relieved she had a group of friends she could hang out with, with Shasta County Sheriff’s Office Detective Janet Breshears saying: “She was excited about these friendships as she had been alone, and had very little in her life after her mother died.”
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‘The fifth wheel’
On April 7 the group decided to travel to the Trinity Alps on a camping trip.
Pat Lalama says: “Paul had invited Lora to join the two couples on the camping trip.
“Amy [later] admits she was not happy about that at all but they set up camp and they were having a good time hanging out.
“But later in the evening Lora started flirting with Paul.”
David Kulczyk says: “There were two couples, with Eric and Lori and Amy and Paul.
“[Amy] said Lora was kind of disruptive to the group. She was the fifth wheel.”
Bizarre bean can theory
In terms of locating a murder weapon, the police did make a rather bizarre discovery when searching the camp.
Detective Berg says: “We did ultimately find a family sized, large can of chilli beans that had hair, blood, evidence on it and it was dented.”
Eventually Paul struck her to the point where Lora was no longer responsive.”
Detective Berg
Pat Lalama added: “Police suspect that this can was actually used as a weapon on the victim, and with the amount of force taken to make this kind of dent – you could only imagine the level of rage and anger that was behind it.”
Speaking to police after Lora’s body was discovered, Amy revealed Lora had kissed Paul, and she became angry.
Detective Berg says: “She actually ran up to Lora, punched her in the face. At that point Lora was able to physically push Amy back and the two fell on the ground. Lora was on top of Amy.
“Amy described that Paul had grabbed the can, [and] hit Lora in the head.
“She described that Paul had grabbed a dent puller [a device used to pull dents out of a car]. Eventually Paul struck her to the point where Lora was no longer responsive.”
Amy also confirmed Tim wasn’t present, ruling him out of the investigation, and put detectives in touch with Lori.
Sick attempt to stage a ‘suicide’
In her interview, Lori claimed Paul was making them all drink alcohol, and the group drank three cases of Budweiser and almost a gallon of whiskey, before Lora started flirting with Paul.
She also described how Paul made them watch as he beat Lora up before tying her up with a rope and telling her he was going to slice her wrists open to make it look like she’d tried to kill herself.
He then put a bag over her head, and beat her more.
Shasta County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Terrisa Clemens: “[Lori] said she was not helping because Paul had threatened to kill them.”
Detective Berg says: “After they had left the campsite Paul told everyone involved that if they said anything he would kill them or have them killed.”
However, there were discrepancies between their stories which made the police suspicious.
Detective Berg says: “It made us think ‘we aren’t even close to what really took place.'”
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‘Why are you doing this?’
The police then interviewed Eric, to see if he could shed more light on what really happened.
Detective Breshears says: “Eric said that due to the fact Lora Sinner was an outsider she was really getting on everybody’s nerves.”
He explained Lori became embroiled in the fight, and it was the two girls who used the chilli bean can to hit Lora over the head.
Detective Berg says: “Amy went over and retrieved this two pound can of chilli beans and then came over and struck Lora in the back of the head two times.
“Lori then stepped in and took the can from her because Amy wasn’t strong enough to really do any damage and then Lori struck her multiple times in the head, to the point where finally Lora collapsed on the ground.”
Paul grabs a bottle of whiskey, puts it in front of Lora and tells her she’s got to drink the thing because he doesn’t want her to feel anymore pain. She drinks practically the entire bottle.”
News Presenter Pat Lalama
Eric revealed Paul then produced a razor blade, and asked Lora to cut her own wrists.
David Kulczyk says: “She didn’t want to do it. She made some cuts to her wrists which weren’t very deep, which angered Paul.”
Detective Berg says: “At that point Paul took the razor blade from her, made the cuts more deeply. Lora was still crying out, ‘why are you doing this?’ She wasn’t dying.”
Pat Lalama adds: “At one point Paul grabs a bottle of whiskey, puts it in front of Lora and tells her she’s got to drink the thing because he doesn’t want her to feel anymore pain. She drinks practically the entire bottle.”
Detective Berg says: “This poor girl was in agony, extreme pain and unbelievable fear for a very long period of time. It’s very difficult to comprehend.”
5 must-watch Hayu true crime shows
- Deadly Cults – In this series, investigators uncover and expose the dark world of cults that kill. Each episode focuses on a different cult, looking at the behaviour of their leaders and followers.
- Snapped: Killer Couples – Each episode reveals the shocking story of a couple who have committed murder together. A spin-off of series Snapped, which chronicled lives of women who lost control and were charged with murder, the show has aired 17 seasons, each with ten episodes.
- In Ice Cold Blood – Hosted by Ice-T, this series exposed outrageous tales and shocking true stories involving sex, money, murder and sometimes a fatal cocktail of all three.
- Charmed To Death – A series following the true stories of manipulative and deceptively dangerous criminals who use their charm to cheat, steal and lure unsuspecting victims into romantic relationships, ultimately leaving a wake of devastation and death.
- The Girl In The Box – Colleen Stan relives what it was like to be kidnapped, imprisoned in a box, and how she bravely escaped. The 20-year-old’s ordeal all started when she accepted a ride from Cameron Hooker, and she was kept captive for nearly a year…
‘He was a cult leader type’
When interviewed Paul Smith corroborated Eric’s account – that the fight had started between the three girls and ended with Paul.
Detective Berg says: “In his mind Lora was not going to live. Her skull was crushed… He described hitting her in the neck several times and then at some point hearing a snap.”
There was no denying Paul was the one who dealt the killer blow. Detective Berg says: “He was a cult leader type person… he liked to control people through fear.”
However, authorities decide to indict all four of them for their roles in Lora’s murder.
Detective Breshears says: “Ultimately all of them were involved in it, and at no point did I see any remorse on the two girls.”
Deputy Clemens adds: “It’s like that pack of dogs. If you have one dog that’s a little bit more aggressive then the next thing you know [they’re all] attacking.”
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‘She was tortured’
The autopsy ultimately determined that the cause of death was massive blunt force trauma – which tied in with being beaten with the bean can and dent puller.
The coroner’s report also indicated Lora had an abnormally high blood alcohol level, with David Kulczyk adding: “The coroner said someone would have to be forced to drink that much alcohol because it’s physically not possible to do it yourself.”
Shasta County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Terrisa Clemens says: “It’s terribly shocking. She obviously wasn’t killed right away. She was tortured.”
Claimed to have ‘done her a favour’
In July 1999 Lori Smith pled guilty to murder, followed shortly after by her then-fiancé, Eric Rubio.
The pair both made a deal to testify against Paul for a reduced sentence of 15 years to life with the possibility of parole.
Amy was sent to juvenile court and sentenced to the maximum sentence, which meant she’d be in custody until she was 25.
In 2002 Paul Smith finally went on trial, and was eventually convicted and sentenced to death, however this was later overturned by the California Supreme Court in 2015 and changed to life without the possibility of parole.
David Kulczyk adds: “Paul Smith testified that he had only put Lora Sinner out of her misery because he felt like she was going to die anyway from the injuries.
“That was his defence – that he had done her a favour.”
All episodes of Snapped: Killer Couples are available to stream on Hayu.
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