Tuesday, July 7, 2015 • Altes changes plea to guilty in murder case

Publisher’s note: This story originally appeared in the Tuesday, July 7, 2015 edition of the Lassen County Times.

William Leo Altes III claims he doesn’t remember the savage attack that killed Lauren Lindskog Allen.

But he knows he did it.

With tears rolling down his cheeks, Altes said no words could explain his remorse for the brutal murder he committed seven months ago.

“I wanted to stand up in court and say I’m sorry,” Altes said during a jailhouse interview last week. “But how do you say you’re sorry for something like that? I destroyed a family. I destroyed a community …”

Altes said his overwhelming feeling of sorrow was one of the reasons he decided to change his plea from not guilty to guilty for the Dec. 1, 2014, murder of the Greenville woman.

He said the other reason was that he wanted to spare his and Allen’s family and friends from the ordeal of a trial.

On Thursday morning, June 25, Altes formally changed his plea in Plumas County Superior Court in Quincy.

Altes pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and waived his right to appeal. He faces a sentence of 25 years to life in prison when he is sentenced Oct. 2.

During Thursday’s proceeding, Judge Ira Kaufman repeatedly asked Altes if he understood what he was doing by pleading guilty. Each time Altes replied, “Yes, sir.”

Altes, 45, of Butterfly Valley, attacked the 51-year-old Allen in the workshop next to her Williams Valley Road residence in Greenville.

He slit her throat three times and repeatedly hit her in the head with a hammer. He then took her Remington 870 shotgun and ammunition. He stole Allen’s credit cards and fled the scene in her GMC Suburban.

Allen’s boyfriend, Jared Tappero, discovered her body about 6:40 p.m., just minutes after he called 911 to report that she was missing.

The Plumas County sheriff issued an alert to law enforcement agencies throughout the western states.

Altes was apprehended and arrested seven hours later at rest stop near Willows, after a Glenn County sheriff’s deputy saw him leaving a restroom.

District Attorney David Hollister said there was a mountain of evidence against Altes. He said it included Allen’s blood on Altes’ clothes.

“Between the DNA evidence, the crime scene evidence, witness statements and everything else, the evidence was overwhelming,” Hollister said. “It’s not a ‘who done it?’ as we all recognize. … It was a horrific crime.”

In a Saturday, June 27, interview at the Plumas County jail, Altes talked openly about the crime with a Feather Publishing reporter.

During the interview, Altes talked about his lifelong struggle with methamphetamine addiction and his attempts to get treatment. He said he was high on meth when he killed Allen and doesn’t remember doing it.

“I want people to know I didn’t go there to kill her …” Altes said, adding that he admired and respected Allen. “Lauren was a beautiful person. She cared about people.”

He said he went to Allen’s residence to do a repair and remodeling job for her. He said he remembered walking into her workshop.

He said the next thing he remembered was seeing Allen’s body on the floor. Even though he doesn’t remember killing her, he said he knew he did it.

“When I saw her on the floor, I knew I was guilty. I knew it,” Altes said, adding that he then panicked and fled.

Altes said he initially asked for the death penalty, but changed his mind because he didn’t want to do that to his family.

He originally pleaded not guilty April 17. Under the advisement of his public defender, Robert Zernich, he was interviewed by two psychologists in preparation for an insanity defense.

However, Altes said he decided in February to change his plea to guilty. He said he couldn’t bear the thought of putting his and Allen’s family through an emotional trial that would include graphic testimony and images of the crime scene.

“I don’t have the words … There are no words to acknowledge the pain I’ve caused Lauren’s family, my family and the people of Indian Valley,” Altes said.

With Allen’s family sitting in the courtroom Thursday, Altes said he couldn’t bring himself to look at them.

“I looked at them once and I could see the pain in their eyes,” he said, wiping away more tears.

“I didn’t make a choice to kill Lauren … I know that in my heart,” Altes said. “That doesn’t take away from the fact that I did it.”