Parole denied again for SLO County man who murdered Arroyo Grande teen in satanic killing

Editor’s note: This story contains disturbing descriptions of violence.

One of the men who lured and murdered an Arroyo Grande teenager in 1995 as part of a devil-worshipping ritual will not be paroled after Gov. Gavin Newsom reversed the parole board’s decision for the second time, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.

The decision came after about three years of legal proceedings reversing decisions as to whether 45-year-old Royce Casey poses a danger to the public.

Casey, who is currently serving a life sentence at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla for the murder of 15-year-old Elyse Pahler, was denied parole twice previously, in July 2016 and July 2019.

But in March 2021, the parole board found Casey suitable for parole. Gov. Gavin Newsom reversed the decision in July 2021, alleging Casey lacked insight into the severity of his crime.

Then, in June 2022, Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen ruled to grant Casey’s writ of habeas corpus petition, an order that can grant release of an inmate if detention is found to be unlawful. This meant Casey was again suitable for parole.

But the California Office of the Attorney General appealed van Rooyen’s decision in July 2022. The Court of Appeal ultimately agreed with the governor in September.

The parole board again found Casey eligible for parole in October and the District Attorney’s Office sent a letter to Newsom alleging the parole board gave inadequate weight to the crime and looked primarily at Casey’s behavior in prison.

Newsom ultimately agreed with the District Attorney’s Office and reversed the decision, the agency said in a news release Wednesday.

“Mr. Casey must better understand the internal processes that led him to commit the crime and hone the skills he will need to manage them beyond the controlled environment of prison,” Newsom said in a letter sent to the District Attorney’s Office.

Newsom found Casey poses an unreasonable danger to society if he is released.

Men murdered teen as ‘sacrifice’ in ‘devil-worshipping ritual,’ court documents say

Casey was 17 years old, “infatuated with death metal music” and doing drugs when he and two other teens lured Pahler to a remote location in Arroyo Grande on July 22, 1995, telling the girl they were going to smoke marijuana, court records showed.

According to the records, Casey had discussed “sacrificing a virgin as part of a devil-worshipping ritual” with 17-year-old Jacob Delashmutt and Joe Fiorella, who was 15.

The three men had planned Pahler’s murder for several months.

When Pahler arrived at the location in a eucalyptus grove on the Nipomo Mesa, she was killed within 15 to 20 minutes, court records said. Delashmutt strangled Pahler with his belt before Fiorella stabbed her four to six times in the neck with a hunting knife.

Delashmutt then took the knife and stabbed her four to five more times in the neck, before Casey took the knife and stabbed her an additional four times in the back.

“As Pahler moaned on the ground, Casey stomped on the back of her neck,” the court records said.

Court documents said Delashmutt started to pull off Pahler’s pants when it was clear she was dead, noting the boys had discussed having sex with her corpse.

Casey said they should leave instead, and the men buried Pahler in a shallow grave and left the area.

Eight months later, Casey confessed his role in the crime to a clergyman. That clergyman contacted law enforcement, and Casey described the crime to detectives and led them to Pahler’s body.

Separate court documents describe the crime as “one of the most brutal and horrific murders in the history of San Luis Obispo County.”