A California man told the Redding news station KRCR that his faith in God and years of inner turmoil led him to confess to the 1993 cold case murder of 19-year-old Frank Wesley McAlister.
Brian Keith Hawkins, 44, of Shingletown in Shasta County, called the station to say he wanted to admit his role in the killing, but producers told him the interview wouldn’t air until he turned himself in to police, according to KRCR.
Police have since arrested Hawkins, along with his alleged accomplices, 46-year-old Shanna Culver and her brother, 45-year-old Curtis Culver.
McAlister was first reported missing in May of 1993 after police found his car abandoned at a Costco parking lot. Investigators found “a large amount of blood located in the vehicle.”
About one year later, a hiker stumbled across McAlister’s remains.
According to investigators, Hawkins said they lured McAlister to a rural area of Shasta County so they could rob him and buy methamphetamine. Once they got there, the trio allegedly decided to kill McAlister, stabbing him to death leaving his body in the woods.
Detectives knew in 1993 that the three were the last people to see McAlister alive, but Hawkins and the Culver siblings denied any connection with his death. At the time, investigators were unable to find evidence tying them to the murder.
The Confession
An emotional Hawkins didn’t go into details about the actual crime, but said that he wanted to do the right thing, saying that his relationship with God and the weight of the past 25 years led him to confess.
“Every minute of every day has been a nightmare,” Hawkins said. “It’s kind of weird, Frank never got to have a life, but we were teenagers and now I’m 44 and still haven’t even had a life and now most likely won’t anyway.”
Hawkins told KRCR he spoke with McAlister’s family several times and wanted to meet in person to ask for forgiveness. Before he made it, however, McAlister’s dad died, he said.
Hawkins, Shanna Culver and Curtis Culver were booked on charges of murder and are being held at the Shasta County Jail. Police told KRCR one of the Culvers has also confessed to the murder. Officials didn’t specify which one.
Redding police are asking anyone with additional information to call 530-225-4200.