Fresno County district attorney seeks death penalty for man accused of killing Fresno State student
The Fresno County District Attorney’s office has notified the court that it will seek the death penalty against accused rapist and murderer Nickey Duane Stane.
The 56-year-old Stane is charged with a string of sexual assaults in Visalia from 1999 to 2002 and the 1996 death of Fresno State student Debbie Dorian, 22, whose lifeless body was found by her father in the bedroom of her second floor apartment.
Stane has pleaded not guilty to all of the 11 felonies he’s charged with, but during a 2019 interview with Visalia detectives, he admitted to sexually assaulting two woman in Visalia. Police have accused him of preying on at least four women who were assaulted at gunpoint.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Deborah Miller confirmed Thursday that she will seek the death penalty in Stane’s case. A letter from the district attorney announcing its decision was submitted to the Superior Court on Wednesday.
Although capital punishment is a legal penalty in California, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a moratorium against the practice in March of 2019.
Stane is expected back in court on Jan. 4 for an arraignment.
His defense attorney Jane Boulger said Thursday she was not surprised at the decision and wished they had done it sooner so she could adequately prepare.
Boulger said she will hire another attorney and will most likely file for a change of venue.
“I have real concerns about getting a fair trial in Fresno,” she said.
