Man convicted of murder has hearing delayed in child molestation case
The hearing was delayed Friday in Kern County Superior Court for the man convicted of the 2021 Ridgecrest ice pick murder in his case related to child molestation charges.
Daniel Gunnarsson, 23, is charged with four counts of oral copulation with a child under the age of 10, four counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14 and one count of possessing 600 or more images of a minor engaged in sex. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Gunnarsson appeared in court Friday with his defense attorney Chief Deputy Public Defender Teryl Wakeman. The prosecutor in the case is Deputy District Attorney Samantha Allen.
According to the probable cause statement submitted by BPD to the courts, Gunnarsson sexually assaulted a young girl from 2016 until he went to prison in 2021.
Gunnerson made the victim sexually touch him and engage in oral sex, according to KCSO deputies’ interviews with the victim listed in the police report. The report said Gunnarsson never sexually touched her.
Gunnarsson is currently serving 25 years to life in prison for stabbing and killing his girlfriend, Katie Pham, with an ice pick in May 2021 in Ridgecrest. The Californian previously reported after she died, Gunnarsson sexually touched her corpse.
Gunnarsson’s next court date will be on Wednesday. As of Friday, Gunnarsson’s trial is still scheduled for July 29. He is currently being held without bail as he continues serving his previous prison sentence.
