Man on death row for 1980 ‘sweetheart murders’ dies at CMF in Vacaville

Hirschfield died of natural causes in the hospice unit of the California Medical Facility in Vacaville.

VACAVILLE, Calif. — Richard J. Hirschfield, sentenced to death for the 1980 ‘sweetheart murders’ of UC Davis students John Riggins and Sabrina Gonsalves, died in prison on Monday at age 75, according to CDCR.

The case, unsolved until 2002, was cracked with a DNA match.

Riggins and Gonsalves were abducted on December 20, 1980, after volunteering at a “Nutcracker” ballet and were found two days later in a ravine near the Folsom Auto Mall, with their heads duct-taped and throats cut.

Hirschfield died of natural causes in the hospice unit of the California Medical Facility in Vacaville.