Man convicted of the 1977 Monterey County killing of 4 family members denied parole again
SALINAS – The California Board of Parole, represented by two parole commissioners, denied parole for Harold Bicknell, who was convicted of the 1977 murders of four family members in Seaside.
Despite multiple confessions, in varying environments, including detailed testimony under oath at juvenile proceedings against his co-participant, Bicknell claims to be innocent. The two commissioners found the denial implausible, according to a press release from the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office. On July 5, the panel agreed and denied Bicknell parole for three years.
On Aug. 9, 1977, Bicknell (then 19) and his pregnant girlfriend (then 14) arrived at the home of Bicknell’s grandmother, Josephine Smith, 66, who lived with her 28-year-old daughter, Suzanne Harris (Bicknell’s maternal aunt), her 15-year-old granddaughter Renee Ferguson (Bicknell’s cousin) and her 6-year-old granddaughter Rachel Harris (Bicknell’s cousin).
Bicknell confronted his cousin Renee, seemingly about Renee exposing Bicknell’s sexual relationship with his 14-year-old girlfriend.
Bicknell was convicted by a jury, based on evidence that included footprints, eyewitness testimony and his own statements.
Following his conviction, Bicknell made a detailed, taped confession with his attorney present. He then reiterated his involvement during his sentencing hearing and again confessed while testifying against his girlfriend.
RELATED: Parole board rescinds grant of parole for man convicted of killing Monterey County family in 1977
According to Bicknell’s sworn testimony against his girlfriend, he cornered 15-year-old Renee in a bedroom and stabbed Renee in the area of her heart, causing her to fall on the bed. He then grabbed her bra and tied her hands behind her back because she began to struggle. Bicknell then stabbed her in the throat repeatedly while he held a gag over her mouth.
Bicknell testified that Suzanne Harris then walked in. Bicknell chased her into the kitchen and stabbed her until she fell to the floor. His grandmother entered the room, so he struck her in the face with his fist. He noted that his other cousin, a juvenile and her friend witnessed this. He stated that the friend of his other cousin stabbed his grandmother, not him. He said that he then saw his girlfriend bring 6-year-old Rachel Harris toward the kitchen. He testified that his girlfriend stabbed her, but she broke away and that he then went after the 6-year-old and stabbed her repeatedly. Rachel Harris was stabbed over 40 times.
On Feb. 22, 2019, the Board of Parole granted Bicknell parole, citing a clean record while in the California Department of Corrections, his age at the time of the offense and an abusive childhood. In addition, the board credited Bicknell’s claim of innocence, which he argued was explained by the fact that law enforcement officers had him hypnotized during the initial investigation and implanted the story he related thereafter.
The victims’ surviving family members were under the impression that Bicknell would likely never be paroled according to the release.
On June 14, 2019, Governor Newsom reversed the Board of Parole’s decision and indicated that Bicknell remained an unreasonable danger to society if released from prison.
Bicknell faced the Board of Parole again on July 30, 2020; one of the commissioners was the same commissioner who found him suitable for parole in February, 2019. Surviving family members of the victim wrote letters opposing his release and many appeared during the hearing for the first time, now with the understanding that the person who brutally killed their loved ones could in fact be released. This board again granted Bicknell parole.
After the District Attorney’s Office discovered a tape in archives which proved that no facts of the case were related during an attempt – unsuccessful in the opinion of the participants – to hypnotize Bicknell during the original investigation in 1977, Gov. Newsom sent this decision back for review and an en banc panel rescinded this grant of parole after reviewing the facts of the case and the plausibility of Bicknell’s denials of involvement.
Bicknell’s girlfriend (pregnant with Bicknell’s child at the time of the crime) later gave birth and the child was adopted and eventually became a law enforcement officer. He spent many years dedicated to ensuring his father remained in custody. He formed a close bond with his aunts, Bicknell’s sisters. He died June 23, 2021, but his aunts vowed to continue to fight the fight to keep Bicknell in custody.
Bicknell faced a new parole board in November, 2021 and parole was denied for three years. Three of Bicknell’s sisters (granddaughters of Josephine Smith) were present and spoke at both the 2021 and 2023 hearings, begging the Board of Parole to deny Bicknell parole. They pointed out they did not feel they would be safe, nor family members of theirs, as Bicknell’s triggers appear to be female family members.
The victims and a representative from the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office also reiterated that Bicknell’s implausible denials made it impossible to deem him no longer a danger to society. On Wednesday, the panel agreed and denied him parole for three years.