He almost got away with it. Almost, but not quite.

Listen to the stunning conclusion of what happens when suspect Daniel Garcia is asked to simply tell the truth about what happened to Saba Girmai back in 1985.

This is the final episode of our first limited edition series, Silicon Valley Beat: Major Crimes.

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[[Disclaimer: The Silicon Valley Beat, Major Crimes, is a podcast that deep-dives into major cases investigated by the Mountain View Police Department. Because this podcast covers investigations including critical incidents and homicides, what we discuss here may contain material that is not suitable for all listeners. Names and other sensitive information may be changed to protect the identity of the innocent.]]

On last week’s episode -- investigators were finally able to meet the man they thought was a suspect in the death of 21-year-old Ethiopian immigrant Saba Girmai. But over the course of a two hour conversation, Daniel Garcia, suspect number one, suddenly began to break any and all theories about his involvement in the case, providing reasonable doubt at every turn. Then suddenly, the course of the conversation changes, and finally, the death of Saba Girmai may see some closure.

This is the Silicon Valley Beat: Major Crimes.

[[opening bumper]]

Episode 5: Case Closed

Saul Jaeger: “I got a lot to lose.” That was the moment that changed everything for Detective Chris Kikuchi and Investigator Nate Wandruff. Everything that had been assumed, every second that they felt their one shot at solving this case was slipping away, suddenly, they were right back in it. 

Chris Kikuchi: When we first met, we always like to establish rapport with someone. We’ve never met them before. We asked questions related to his family, and he was very talkative, which is good, because anytime someone will speak, we just like letting them continue on as long as they do. Because we want that person to become comfortable speaking with the police. And he was. 

Katie Nelson: Let’s look at that a little more closely. Why is rapport with anyone, but particularly a suspect, so important in investigations? According to the work Investigative Interviewing: Rights, Research, Regulation, published in 2006, rapport with an interview subject, including suspects, in a criminal case, is “the heart of the interview.” In fact, in a study titled: Police Interviewing and Interrogation, establishing some kind of rapport with a suspect was the fourth most used technique during questioning. In short, rapport in this case was a huge factor in establishing any sort of communication line between Daniel Garcia and the detectives. Having never met before, this rapport was vital to establishing a quick, but solidly built, foundation on which the interview could continue in hopes of having any resolution to the case. 

Chris Kikuchi: He kind of portrayed himself as pretty relaxed as he was speaking with us. He was very talkative. He wasn’t asking too many questions, which you kind of expect. If detectives come out to speak with you during a probation meeting, he wasn’t asking a lot of questions, which I thought was peculiar. 

Saul Jaeger: “Peculiar,” Kikuchi said. Remember, Kikuchi was concerned that this expedition down to Fresno would not lead to any results and thus far, he seemed to be somewhat right. But was Daniel Garcia’s lack of questions proof of his innocence? Or perhaps, proof that maybe, there is something more there? 

Chris Kikuchi: As we were speaking, he just basically got into a little more detail about an incident that occurred regarding her basically stating she had scratched him. And that was how the DNA was under her fingernails. Unprovoked, she had scratched him. Again, that’s during some incident where she was asking him for food or alcohol. He said no. She scratched him. So, that’s how he kind of explained the DNA. 

Katie Nelson: A perfectly plausible reason for why Daniel Garcia’s DNA was underneath Saba’s fingernails. The fact that we had the DNA at all was extraordinary, as you learned back in Episode 2. And, if Daniel Garcia had stuck with that story in fact, he would have technically been the victim of an assault. 

Chris Kikuchi: At that point, he kept on mentioning that, he never admitted harming her or doing anything to her at that point. So we just kind of stressed, “Look, just tell us the truth, that’s all we want. We just want hte truth.” At which point, then he started giving a little bit more. He said something to the effect of “I have a lot to lose.” Then he finally gave a little bit more detail and description as to what happened during the incident. 

We’re getting something now, right? And we just wanted him to continue talking. 

Saul Jaeger: And there was about to be another bombshell.

Katie Nelson: Similar to other episodes, what you are about to hear is actual audio from the interview with Daniel Garcia. It contains strong language and content that is not suitable for all listeners. Discretion is strongly advised. 

Chris Kikuchi: Just the truth, that’s all we want.

Saul Jaeger: “We just want the truth.” It’s what they had come for all along. Five small words, and yet a very crucial request. Daniel Garcia looked at the detectives then, and something, some essence in the room, shifted. And that was when everything changed. 

Daniel Garcia: We got into a confrontation. Yeah, we did. We got into a confrontation. As I was getting into my car, she jumped in the car. I told her to get out. She didn’t want to get out. I reached over and I grabbed her. She passed out, and I didn’t know she passed out. I just thought she was passed out. And she didn’t move anymore. I drove somewhere, I don’t know where it was, and I thought she was still alive, and I threw her in the garbage can. 

Katie Nelson: “Threw her in the garbage can?” Is that what someone who is innocent does to someone who they think may still be alive?

Daniel Garcia: I went home. Nobody else was involved. Just me and her. That’s how it went down. It was fast. I don’t know what happened to her after that, I’ve never seen her again until you showed me that. Now I know what happened to her. 

Detective whispers: “Wow.”

Saul Jaeger: A shocking admission. After professing they had never touched, Daniel Garcia admits to discarding Saba’s limp body into the trash. If you listen closely, you can even hear one of the detectives breathe, “Wow,” in the stunned silence that follows Garcia’s revelation. 

Daniel Garcia: It wasn’t a big argument. It was over in a matter of minutes. I just remember strangling her. 

Chris Kikuchi: How did you do it?

Daniel Garcia: With my hand. 

Chris Kikuchi: With your left hand?

Daniel Garcia: I don’t think both of them. I don’t remember. I just remembered I strangled her. But I never, ever did anything else to her. I never had sex with her, nothing. 

Investigator Wandruff: Alright. Alright. 

Katie Nelson: And there it was, in all its honest, albeit initially brief, detail. After nearly 30 years, detectives were finally hearing from the mouth of the man who killed Saba just what had happened. It had been a long, slow road to this moment. Relief, and almost a sense of bewilderment on the part of the detectives, can be heard as they said ‘Alright’ in response to what Garcia was saying. 

He almost got away with it. Almost, but not quite. 

It was ultimately asking for the truth that set this case free. 

At 2:05 p.m. on January 3, 2013, Detective Chris Kikuchi read Garcia his Miranda rights. 

Chris Kikuchi: I’m just going to read your Miranda warrant, ok? 

Daniel Garcia: What?

Chris Kikuchi: Your Miranda rights, ok? You have the right to remain silent. Do you understand?

Daniel Garcia: Yes.

Chris Kikuchi: Anything you say may be used against you in court, do you understand?

Daniel Garcia: Yes.

Chris Kikuchi: You have the right to the presence of an attorney before and during any questioning, do you understand?

Daniel Garcia: Yes.

Chris Kikuchi: If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you, free of charge before any questioning if you want, do you understand?

Daniel Garcia: Yes. 

Chris Kikuchi: Ok. 

Katie Nelson: And then, we began to learn just what happened the day Saba was killed, inside a white Ford station wagon, outside an apartment complex in San Jose on January 18, 1985.

Here is Daniel Garcia, in his confession, telling Kikuchi and Wandruff just what happened. 

Just another reminder: This section contains strong language. Listener discretion is advised. 

Daniel Garcia: It was like I was telling you. I got home from work, same story. I got home from work, I sat down. I was eating my dinner. She came over asking me for money, food, stuff like that. I told her, “I work hard for mine, you need to get a job bitch. Leave me alone.” She kept pestering me. I got up, she slapped me. 

And then she scratched me. I just went to my room, thought nothing of it. Came back downstairs, she was still there. Again, she got in my face. I told her to get out of my face, you know what I mean. Get out of my face. And she kept blah blah blah blah blah blah. 

Investigator Wandruff: So what happened during the second confrontation. She got up in your face, you said. What does that mean? 

Daniel Garcia: Yeah, she got up and she started calling me names, you know what I mean, and stuff like that. 

Investigator Wandruff: Yeah, but do you remember what she called you?

Daniel Garcia: Fucker, asshole, whatever. You know what I mean? I told her to get out of my face And she just kept going and going. 

And then I jumped in my car. She jumped in my car. She wouldn’t get out of my car. I kicked her. Told her to get out of my car. 

Investigator Wandruff: What car were you in, do you remember?

Daniel Garcia: Oh that car is no longer around. 

Investigator Wandruff: No that’s ok, I’m just ...

Daniel Garcia: It was a Ford. 

Investigator Wandruff: A Ford?

Daniel Garcia: Yeah, it was a Ford wagon. What year it was I don’t even remember. 

Investigator Wandruff: A Ford wagon. What color was it?

Daniel Garcia: White.

Investigator Wandruff: White. 

Daniel Garcia: I was really going to my dad’s when the second confrontation happened. Never made it to my dad’s. All I can remember is she kept going at it, jumped in my car. When we were in my car, she was still asking for beer and money and something to eat. And I kicked her and told her to ‘Get the fuck outta my car.’

Investigator Wandruff: So wait a second, why was she attacking you? Did she think you owed her money? Did you guys do dope together? Did she owe you dope? Did you owe dope? So none of that. Why was she so focused on you?

Daniel Garcia: I don’t know. Probably because I called her some names. 

Investigator Wandruff: You called her some names. Ok you called her “bitch” and “hoe” and whatever else. Do you remember anything else? 

Daniel Garcia: No. That was just about it. I kept calling her ‘f-ing bitch’ ‘f-ing bitch.’ Telling her to get the hell away from me. 

Investigator Wandruff: Did you say ‘Leave me alone.’ ‘Fuck off?’ Anything of that?

Daniel Garcia: Yeah. 

Investigator Wandruff: And she just kept coming at you? Was she still calling you names?

Daniel Garcia: She was following me to the car. Cussing me out. Like I was her old man. 

Investigator Wandruff: Was she actively intoxicated? Or high? Or …

Daniel Garcia: She was slurring her words. You know what I mean? But like I said, she talked funny anyways. She was slurring her words and she wouldn’t just leave me alone. 

Investigator Wandruff: So you got in the driver's side?

Daniel Garcia: Yeah.

Investigator Wandruff: How did she get in the car?

Daniel Garcia: Through the passenger’s side. 

Investigator Wandruff: Was it unlocked?

Daniel Garcia: The windows were down. The windows didn’t work on the car. 

Investigator Wandruff: So you got in? What did you say when you got in the car?

Daniel Garcia: I told her to get the fuck out. 

Investigator Wandruff: Just like that? Is that when you kicked her?

Daniel Garcia: Yup. 

Investigator Wandruff: Where did you kick her?

Daniel Garcia: In the chest. Right here. 

Investigator Wandruff: Did you kick her hard?

Daniel Garcia: Yeah, yeah I had my steel-toed boots on. 

Investigator Wandruff: Oh really?

Daniel Garcia: Yeah, I was still coming from work. I had steel-toed boots on. 

Investigator Wandruff: Ok. 

Saul Jaeger:  Steel-toed boots. In the small cabin of the Ford station wagon, amidst an argument about food, money, and beer, Daniel Garcia contorted his body to deliver a striking kick to Saba’s chest. The impact of steel on skin and bone had horrific consequences. It was such a power blow, Daniel Garcia could recall that “her eyes watered bad.”

Daniel Garcia: I kicked her in the rib cage. Oh her eyes watered bad, but she wouldn’t get out of the car. That’s when I grabbed her by her throat. 

Investigator Wandruff: Right there, in the street? Wait a minute, was it dark or light out?

Daniel Garica: It was, I would say it was a little bit light. 

Investigator Wandruff: But it was in the street, right?

Daniel Garcia: Oh yeah, in the driveway right there in front of the apartment. 

Investigator Wandruff: Ok. Um, so, you kicked her, you told her to get the fuck out, before or after you kicked her?

Daniel Garcia: Before. 

Investigator Wandruff: And then you kicked her. 

Daniel Garcia: Yeah, and then I told her to get out again. 

Investigator Wandruff: And she didn’t do it. 

Daniel Garcia: No.

Investigator Wandruff: Did she come at you again?

Daniel Garcia: No. 

Investigator Wandruff: So what happened?

Daniel Garcia: Nothing. That’s when I reached over and grabbed her by the throat and I said, ‘You’re gonna get out one way or the other.’ She just passed out in the front seat. From there, I don’t … I remember driving somewhere and I threw her out of the car into the trash can. 

Saul Jaeger: Daniel Garcia is right handed. In his confession, he stated he believed he used only his right hand to strangle Saba. According to Garcia, the ordeal lasted roughly one minute. 

Investigator Wandruff: When you grabbed her, what hand did you grab her with?

Daniel Garcia: This hand. 

Investigator Wandruff: Right hand. Are you right handed?

Daniel Garcia: Yeah. 

Investigator Wandruff: You do everything right-handed, you throw, cut, everything? You grab her like this? Did you use one hand or both hands?

Daniel Garcia: I think I just used the one hand. 

Investigator Wandruff: Because she has injuries on both sides of her neck. Do you remember if she had a neck you could reach your hand all the way around?

Daniel Garcia: Yeah, she probably did. She was real thin. 

Investigator Wandruff: Is that when she scratched you?

Daniel Garcia: No. She scratched me before. 

Investigator Wandruff: Ok.

Katie Nelson: It’s incredibly painful to hear about Saba’s final moments, but each second in these cases must be accounted for. The more information Daniel Garcia could give investigators, the more they could ensure they had all the information necessary to successfully close Saba’s case. 

But, hearing about these final moments of Saba’s life wasn’t easy. And, it was about to get even harder. 

Investigator Wandruff: What did she do when you grabbed her by the neck?

Daniel Garcia: She was swinging, you know what I mean? And then she just went “uh.”

Investigator Wandruff: Ok. 

Daniel Garcia: I thought I had her long enough just to make her lose her breath. 

Investigator Wandruff: You grab her by the neck, and you start to squeeze. You feel like you were squeezing hard? Now, granted, you had lost your temper at this point, right? You were pissed. Were you saying anything to her when you were choking her? 

Daniel Garcia: No. Not that I can remember now. I probably did, but I don’t remember. 

Investigator Wandruff: Was she saying anything to you?

Daniel Garcia: She was cussing at me and stuff. Trying to hit me. 

Investigator Wandruff: She tried to hit you. Did she connect?

Daniel Garcia: No. 

Investigator Wandruff: How long did that struggle go on?

Daniel Garcia: About a minute. 

Investigator Wandruff: Ok, and what ended up happening? When you grabbed her?

Daniel Garcia: I was like this and she was there and I told her to get out of my car and she didn’t want to get out of my car so I scooted over and I kicked her. And she kept coming at me. Yelling at me and stuff and I just went like that and I grabbed her. And I just drove, I guess to Mountain View, or wherever else I don’t remember, I just got in the car and got on the freeway and I remember throwing her in the trash can. 

Investigator Wandruff: A trash can?

Daniel Garcia: Yeah, and I said, ‘Fucking bitch.’ You know what I mean?

Investigator Wandruff: So, a trash can?

Daniel Garcia: Yeah, a trash can.

Investigator Wandruff: Like a little trash can?

Daniel Garica: No, no a big dumpster. 

Investigator Wandruff: Oh a dumpster, and where was the dumpster?

Daniel Garcia: I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t. You know what I mean? That part I don’t remember. 

Saul Jaeger: You may be asking yourself: Why do investigators keep asking the same question over and over again? Why are they continually clarifying what Garcia says? Because any shred of doubt and confusion about what he may have said or meant could be a hole in their interview and could pose problems down the road when the case goes to trial. They must know every detail, every second, they must confirm every comment. 

Katie Nelson: Garcia became upset when he realized just what he had done. 

Daniel Garcia: And when I got the alley, I pulled up and shook her like that and she didn’t do nothing again and, I touched her hand and she was cold. 

Investigator Wandruff: Is that when you knew she was dead?

Daniel Garcia: Mhm.

Investigator Wandruff: Let me back up just a little bit.

Daniel Garcia: That was when I threw her in the trash can. 

Investigator Wandruff: I understand. So when you let go of her and she wasn’t moving, is that when you started to freak out? Did you think maybe she was dead then?

Daniel Garcia: No, I thought she was playing possum because I kicked her pretty hard and maybe she lost her breath or something. 

Investigator Wandruff: I guess what I’m asking Daniel is, were you panicking because you thought you might have killed her?

Daniel Garcia: Yeah it happened so fast. 

Investigator Wandruff: Did you think that that moment you might have killed her?

Daniel Garcia: Yeah. 

Investigator Wandruff: Is that what you were afraid of? Did you panic and go “Oh shhhhh…”

Daniel Garcia: I just remember getting on the freeway, driving, I looked down and I was almost out of gas and I gotta get back. So I just got off, went behind somewhere, there was a bin and over. 

Investigator Wandruff: You had her in the car, you got on the freeway, at some point you said you reached over and you touched her hand. Is that because you were checking on her? To see how she was doing?

Daniel Garcia: Yeah.

Investigator Wandruff: And so what did you do? Tell me what you did.

Daniel Garcia: That was when I really freaked out. That was when I thought she was cold. And I thought, ‘Oh shit, now she’s dead.’ Now I’m thinking ‘Oh shit she’s dead, she’s dead. What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do?’

Katie Nelson: That hand touch was such a small gesture, but it had such huge repercussions. He knew she was dead. But, he never called for help. He just knew that Saba Girmai, the young Ethiopian immigrant who was maybe a little rough around the edges, had her life cut short. Too short. 

Investigator Wandruff: Well how did you end up deciding on a dumpster? How did that go? What happened?

Daniel Garcia: Like I said, I looked down and I was almost out of gas. And I knew I was on the freeway somewhere and I had to get back home before I ran out of gas. And, I had no money. So if I had run out of gas, it would have been over with. 

Saul Jaeger: This detail really struck investigators. Here was Garcia talking about his concern about how much gas he had in the tank when he had a dead woman slumped over next to him in the car. 

Katie Nelson: In total, Garcia stated, the entire incident, from the time he and Saba fought in his car, to him dumping her lifeless body in the Safeway dumpster, lasted about one hour. 

When Garcia pulled over to remove Saba from the car, he pulled her body so hard that when he lifted her up, her belt broke. Pieces, he recalled, were left in his car.

Daniel Garcia: I just grabbed her and when I threw her in there, she had her pants on. Because they were not in the car in the morning. In the morning, I went to the car wash and I sucked up all the belt pieces. There was no clothing in the car. 

Investigator Wandruff: Did you vacuum the whole car?

Daniel Garcia: Mhm.

Investigator Wandruff: How come you did that?

Daniel Garcia: Why? I don’t know, I just wanted to vacuum all the pieces of the belt up. Because there was, I forget what you call that crap, you know I was vacuuming it up and I thought I’d just vacuum the whole car. 

Investigator Wandruff: Of course, there was a dead girl in there. 

Daniel Garcia: Yeah. 

Saul Jaeger: Was it possible during all of this, when Daniel Garcia was sure no one saw him, that he was having doubts? Is that why he went to such great lengths to remove all traces of Saba from his car? Because wasn't it possible that one of the witnesses, whose interviews were detailed back in episode 1, could have heard or seen him? What about the father, whose daughter was up late studying when she heard the ruckus outside of her window? What about teh car that another witness saw in the area with a black woman inside? Were one of these memories possibly Saba and Daniel Garcia?

After he detailed the crime to investigators, Garcia offered something more. He would take investigators to the residence in San Jose where he had killed Saba. 

[[Interlude]]

Katie Nelson: Three hours later, investigators were brought to a place they were already familiar with -- the Reed Street apartment where Daniel Garcia had said he had lived with his cousin back in 1985. 

Garcia noted he remembered the 7-Eleven on the left side of the complex. Sitting in the back of the car, Garcia pointed up to a second story window with its lights on, noting that ‘that was his room.’

As he and investigators walked up to the front of the complex, Garcia pointed to a green chair on the front porch of an apartment and stated that was where he was eating when he encountered Saba, when things began to devolve. 

“She was asking me for money, food, she wanted my beer,” he told investigators. “I told her no. Then, I got up. She slapped me and I called her a name and then she scratched me. I went upstairs.”

Garcia noted that he took his food, and his beer, with him. 

But then, Garcia came back out a short while later. And, Saba was still there.

Saul Jaeger: As he walked outside, Garcia said Saba began yelling at him, and when he “jumped” into his car, she did too. 

That was when, he said, he started to panic. 

Garcia then took investigators on the route he believed he took to get to Mountain View, where he would discard Saba’s body in the dumpster. 

Katie Nelson: Officers drove onto Reed Street before getting onto Highway 280, a major thoroughfare in the South Bay that shoots off to both San Francisco and the East Bay. Garcia stated that by the time the fight ended, to the time he discarded Saba’s body in the dumpster, it was about a half hour. 

As detectives followed Garcia’s instructions, they retraced the final leg of the journey, heading down an alley behind Safeway to park. 

According to Daniel Garcia, he had only known who Saba was for roughly a week before he killed her. They had never socialized together, never shared a meal. They had hardly even spoken to one another. Just passing ships, so to speak.

Saul Jaeger: After his entire confession, Daniel Garcia was officially arrested for the murder of Saba Girmai. 

Shortly thereafter, he would forgo a trial in lieu of immediate sentencing. Due to the length of time between when Saba was killed, and when her killer was identified, Daniel Garcia was sentenced to just over a decade in state prison.

[[interlude]]

Katie Nelson: It has been 35 years since Saba Girmai was discovered in the dumpster behind Safeway in Mountain View. Today, Saba would have just recently celebrated her 56th birthday. Much of her Silicon Valley world has evolved since her death, but then again, some of her world still remains. 

The Reed Street apartments where she and Garcia had that horrific, fateful interaction still stand. The Safeway where Saba was found is still there. For years, we wondered: would we ever know what happened to Saba Girmai? 

This semblance of closure was also due, in part, to Daniel Garcia’s cooperation and ultimately, his honesty. We may never know why Kikuchi’s final plea for the truth was what finally led him to speak out. 

We do know, though, that his confession, and Garcia’s willingness to finally come clean about what happened that January in the front seat of a Ford station wagon, was what helped bring some justice to Saba, and some closure to her family and her extended community. 

Saul Jaeger: If you liked what you heard throughout this series, and you’d like to let us know, leave your reviews and ratings on any listening platform you prefer on which you can find us. 

Silicon Valley Beat: Major Crimes, can be found on: Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. 

Thank you for listening. We’ll be back soon with another story to tell on Silicon Valley Beat: Major Crimes.

Thank you for listening to The Silicon Valley Beat: Major Crimes. We want to extend our thanks to those who took the time to speak with us about this case, the complexities of investigative police work, and, we want to send a special acknowledgment to the family of Saba Girmai. 

For more details and for credit for the music and other source material used throughout our podcast, please visit the episode’s website at pippa.io.

We hope you have enjoyed listening to The Silicon Valley Beat: Major Crimes.

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Music sourcing:

Interlude/interview background music: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAyFXPDUoPQ – MorningLightMusic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjoqx7wYbVw – MorningLightMusic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OnJidcj2CU – FesliyanStudios Background Music

Theme Music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVl9frUzHsE – Over Time by Audionautix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qjh0OGDt58I – AshamaluevMusic

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