Details revealed in Atwater police homicide investigation of body found near Ralston Park
An Atwater police report sheds new light into the shooting death of a 58-year-old Merced woman whose body was found recently inside a car near Ralston Park.
Renee Osborne’s body was found on March 22 inside a 2019 red Kia Optima rental car, and she had been reported missing five days before. On April 1, police said they had arrested Stanley Young, 55, and Sharon Kelly, 56, both of Atwater, as suspects in the case. According to police, both suspects were at Young’s residence in the 2200 block of Eucalyptus Street at the time of the arrest.
Since then, however, only Young has been charged with murder in the case. No charges were filed against Kelly, and she is no longer in custody.
Young has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge, plus an enhancement for alleged use of a firearm causing great bodily injury. Attorney Christa M. Gonzalez, who is representing Young according to court documents, could not be reached.
The Sun-Star reached out to Deputy District Attorney Kathryn Gates who declined to comment on the case and charge against Young. Asked about Kelly, the prosecutor said the case remains under review.
Many questions remain, although police reports do reveal information about some of the possible circumstances behind Osborne’s death.
The day of Osborne’s death
Much of the information that’s alleged against Young in the report is based on statements made by Kelly to police during interviews.
Police believe Osborne was killed between the hours of 8:11 a.m. and 9:36 a.m. March 15. Kelly told police both she and Osborne knew Young, who is accused of being the shooter.
According to police reports, records show Kelly and Osborne had several conversations on March 15. Police reports say Kelly stated to officers this was a “bring drugs” conversation.
On the day of the killing, Kelly, Osborne and Young were at the Eucalyptus Street home together, according to Kelly’s statements to police. Kelly told police that she had known Young for years, stating the two of them went to school together and that they were romantically involved, according to police reports.
Kelly also told police that Osborne was her friend, stating that she had known the victim for many years.
Kelly said she and Osborne were alone in a room of the house when Young came in the room with a gun. Osborne and Kelly were on the floor while Young yelled at them while holding the gun, threatening to kill them, according to the police report.
Kelly then heard a shot, but she did not actually see where Young allegedly shot Osborne, she told police. Police reports indicate Kelly told police that Young appeared to fire the gun upward. After the shot was fired, Young moved the vehicle into the driveway and placed Osborne’s body into the rear of the rental car, according to Kelly’s statement in the report.
Kelly told police that Young told her to follow him. However, Kelly said she couldn’t remember the route, according to police records.
Video surveillance footage obtained by police shows a vehicle they believe is connected to the case — a silver two-door Mercedes that was in the area where the rental vehicle was parked, around the time the rental car’s ignition was turned off on March 15.
Video obtained from a nearby business shows a dark-colored coupe headed westbound appear to stop in the 1200 block of Grove Avenue on March 15. In the video, the vehicle is followed by a silver colored car that parks and a pedestrian enters the passenger side.
According to the police reports, Kelly had been driving the Mercedes, which belonged to someone who lived at the Eucalyptus Street address. Kelly told officers Young got out of the car and into the Mercedes she was driving.
Kelly stated she wasn’t aware of any issues Young had with Osborne telling authorities he would buy drugs from her.
Kelly told police she thought about calling law enforcement multiple times, but she was scared and knew Young would kill her, especially after seeing what he did.
Other details in the homicide
According to a coroner’s report, Osborne was apparently killed by a gunshot to the front left side of her neck.
Police reported finding a cell phone that allegedly belonged to Young in the rental car which authorities initially believed belonged to Osborne. Police reports indicate the phone’s number was found to be connected to an account attached to the defendant’s name.
Detectives collected multiple firearms from the Eucalyptus Street residence including a small .22 caliber semi-automatic handgun matching a description Kelly gave officers of the gun Young had in his home on March 15.
The Kia Optima containing Osborne’s body was located by Atwater police March 22 in the 1200 block of Fir Avenue.
The vehicle was located by Atwater police after a man told officers he found a key fob belonging to the vehicle next to a curb in the 1300 block of Grove Avenue on March 20. He entered the car and drove it to the the 1200 block of Fir Avenue on March 21, trying to find the vehicle’s owner.
The man said he did not look through the vehicle and immediately parked and exited the car after noticing a purse on the passenger side floorboard.
The man said he locked and secured the vehicle, according to police reports. The man took the fob to police on March 22. Officers located the vehicle and connected it to Osborne’s missing person case.
Officers said in the report Osborne’s body was found covered by a blanket and positioned behind the passenger side seat, sitting on the rear passenger floorboard with her hands and feet positioned up on the seat.
Young remains in custody at the John Latoracca Correctional Center in lieu of $1.3 million bail, according to jail records. He’s scheduled to appear in Merced Superior Court on May 18, for a pre-preliminary hearing.
This story was originally published May 13, 2020 at 5:00 AM.