User blog:UnderAPineapple/Hurricane Pineapple 8: Nicholas Markowitz

The world of illegal activity can lead to an innocent person being killed. For four years, I have been investigating the case of Nicholas Markowitz, a 15-year old boy in Santa Barbara, California who was kidnapped and murdered under the demand of an amateur drug dealer, and his gang of blind sheep. This case sparked so much interest, that famous Hollywood director Nick Cassavetes decided to make a 2007 movie off of the murder; the movie of which starred the late actor, Anton Yelchin and famous pop music superstar, Justin Timberlake. The storyline behind this heinous crime is going to shock even the toughest of readers. Let’s brace for Hurricane season.

Hurricane Pineapple Intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3DwJMhWdkY

Introduction
I started looking into this case on June 4, 2013; I was 13 at the time and was, like I am now, infatuated with crime stories. A couple things stood out to me about this murder case. 1) The fact that a Hollywood director was able to make a movie starring two very famous figures in the industry, made me want to check this case out. 2) Searching through the 700+ current death row inmates in California made me stumble upon one of the men involved in the murder of Nicholas. So, I ended up getting involved in the case myself.

About Nicholas
Nicholas was born on September 19, 1984 in the West Hills of Los Angeles, California. He was raised by a Christian mother and a Jewish father, but mainly was Jewish in terms of personal faith. Nicholas had a sister, Leah Markowitz and an older half-brother, Benjamin Markowitz. Nicholas’ mother, Susan Markowitz, was a loving mother and described Nicholas as a “wonderful and handsome kid”. “When he learned that there were bugs inside Mexican Jumping Beans, he cried” said Susan. “’Cut them open and let them out’, that’s the kind of kid Nick was”.

Whilst Benjamin & Leah loved Nicholas dearly, Benjamin was involved in a drug dealing gang that sold cocaine, marijuana, and other illegal substances in California. Benjamin owed a mid-level drug dealer around $1,200, and when drug money goes cold after a period of time, pandemonium is almost certain to ensue.

About Jesse H.
The man that Benjamin owed money to, was 20-year old Jesse James Hollywood. Jesse James Hollywood was born on January 28, 1980, and he wasn’t the stereotypical gangster per se. Jesse H. came from a pretty normal background; his father, Jack Hollywood was a struggling businessman, and hoped to become a restaurant manager. Jesse H. moved to Colorado with his father for five years until permanantly residing in the Hills (his birthplace) by 1995.

Jesse H. was on the high school baseball team where he was close friends with William Skidmore, Jesse Rugge, Ryan Hoyt, and yes, Benjamin Markowitz. Many people stated that Jesse H. was a skilled baseball player and it is believed he won “Most Likely to Succeed” in his high school, El Camino Real High School. However, Jesse H. was expelled from said high school when he erupted into a violent rage with one of his teachers in 1996. Despite this, Jesse H. remained close friends with William, Jesse R., Ryan, and Benjamin and all four of them would be key figures in the case of Nicholas Markowitz.

Jesse H. also was good at manipulating others. As a teen, he began taking steroids and other supplements in hope of building up muscle. However, because he didn’t do as much excercizing the steroids did not come into good use. Steroids are only able to build up muscle mass if you exercise during the intake. Along with taking steroids, Jesse H. was involved in a mid-level drug dealing gang with all four of the previously aformentioned men, and it is believe he started taking and distributing narcotics around 1998. It is because of a drug debt gone wrong, that one teenage boy is in a cemetary.

Three Days of Torture
On August 6, 2000, Jesse H., along with his friends, Ryan, William, Jesse R., and a few others decided to confront Benjamin Markowitz about the drug debt he owed Jesse H. Midway through driving, they discovered 15-year old Nicholas Markowitz roaming the streets of Santa Barbara, California. Nicholas had ran away from home following what appeared to be an argument between his mother and him. Jesse H. and his gang could not believe their luck, and instead of arriving at Benjamin’s house like they were planning on doing, the gang took Nicholas hostage, and threw him inside the van they were driving.

Jesse H. told Nicholas that they were keeping him hostage until Benjamin payed his debt. He believed that Benjamin would do so in fear of either A) never seeing his brother again or B) never seeing his MOTHER again. Nicholas was, rightly so, afraid for his life, however, he was given drugs to calm him down, and eventually Nicholas was comfortable with going through with the kidnapping. Defense attornies believed that Nicholas was allowed to leave at any time, but Nicholas instead declined to, whereas prosecutors argued that Nicholas was held hostage until the day he died. Nicholas befriended 20-year old Jesse Rugge (not to be confused with Jesse James Hollywood), and saw him as a “big brother” according to a police interrogation interview in 2000. Jesse R. stated that Nicholas “trusted him the most”.

It is believed Nicholas was comfortable with being kidnapped after being surrounded by 3 days of house parties, which involved many teenage girls being at his side. For three days, Nicholas was traveling throughout Santa Barbara with Jesse H. and his gang, attending parties, drinking alcohol, and consuming a plentiful amount of drugs. The latter can be argued as it was not confirmed if any drugs were found in his body during his autopsy report. Nicholas is believed to have been oblivious to the fact that his mother, father, sister, half-brother and close friends were all wondering where he was. A missing persons report was filed, and Jesse H. was in serious danger.

Jesse H. was initially going to allow Nicholas to leave, considering Benjamin, who was immediately targeting Jesse H., sent him a phone call stating, “I know you have my brother! No matter where you go, no matter what you do, I’m gonna hunt you down. You’re through motherf*cker”. However, friends of Jesse H. informed the 20 year old that child kidnapping in California, could be punishable by life imprisonment. In fear of being caught, as the FBI was soon to be involved in the disappearance of Nicholas, Jesse H. ordered Ryan Hoyt to kill Nicholas on August 9, 2000. Ryan also owed Jesse H. around $1,200, but because Ryan was cooperative with accepting Jesse H.’s orders, Jesse H. said that Ryan could “erase his debt”, by erasing Nicholas.

On the night of August 9, 2000, Nicholas Markowitz was accompanied by Jesse Rugge, Ryan Hoyt, and 17-year old Graham Pressley to the Santa Ynez Mountains in Goleta, California, where a gravesite was already planted. Everyone was on board with murdering Nicholas, although Jesse R. was reluctant to carry out the execution. When Nicholas saw the gravesite, it is believed that he started crying and begging for his life to be spared. Jesse R. bound him up, and duct taped his mouth, and Ryan hit Nicholas in the back of the head with a shovel. A crying Nicholas was looking up at Ryan, who had a TEC-9 semi-automatic firearm; the weapon belonged to Jesse H.. Ryan proceeded to shoot Nicholas nine times, killing him instantly. After the murder, the boys covered his body up in tree branches and dirt, and they also placed the semi-automatic between his legs in hopes of nobody finding the body, and instead finding what would appear to be a broken gun. Nicholas was 1 month away from turning 16 years old.

Capturing the Killers
On August 12, 2000, the county sheriff’s office discovered the deceased body of Nicholas under a pile of branches and dirt. He had been dead for less than 72 hours. Ryan, Jesse R., William, and Graham were all arrested within hours, due to testimony by guests at the August 9 house party Nicholas was attending. They were all brought to court and given separate sentences after being convicted in 2002 of the murder of Nicholas Markowitz.


 * William Skidmore pleaded guilty to kidnapping and robbery. In September 2002, he was sentenced to 9 years in a state prison as part of a plea bargain, and only served six years before being released at the age of 29.
 * Graham Pressley, aged 17 at the time of the murder, dug the shallow grave for Nicholas. He was tried twice. In July 2002, by a vote of 8-4, he was acquitted of pre-meditated murder. In October 2002, he was retried and convicted of second-degree murder, considering whilst he did not technically come up with the murder of Nicholas, he was present and was a bystander in the horrific murder. Graham committed the crime when he was underage, and therefor could not be given legitimate prison time under California law for those convicted of second-degree murder, so he was instead sent to a California Youth Facility.
 * Ryan Hoyt was charged with first-degree murder, and on November 21, 2001, he was convicted of the charge. Ryan Hoyt, was sentenced to death.

Jesse James Hollywood fled the country and moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and went under the alias, Michael Costa Giroux. Jesse H. was receiving weekly payments of – ironically enough - $1,200 by none other than his father, Jack Hollywood. Jesse H. became the youngest person to land on the FBI’s Most Wanted List at the age of 20.

Jesse H. was living the life following 2000, as he had a beautiful girlfriend, he was receiving money every week, he was a promoter for a night club, and he also worked as an English teacher for a private school. During this time, his buddies were taking the fall for him, as Ryan was facing execution, and Nicholas’ family were still demanding answers.

Jeff and Susan Markowitz would find answers in April 2005 when Jesse H. was captured by Brazilian officials who cooperated with the FBI in extraditing him back to the United States. Jesse H.’s girlfriend (who I will not name for privacy purposes), was pregnant; and Jesse H. was the father. Jesse H. believed the pregnancy would protect him from extradition to the United States, as Brazilian law stated that "If you're the father of a native Brazilian, you cannot be extradited". However, he appeared to have fumbled when it came to reading about the laws in the country he was living in. The law was changed following the international manhunt against a criminal whose name will ALSO not be mentioned. His/her name will not be mentioned since he/she is a possible candidate for a future ‘’Hurricane Pineapple’’ episode.

Jesse James Hollywood stood trial in 2009, four years after being captured. It is believed Jesse H. attempted to commit suicide when he was captured, but this is not confirmed or denied. Because the lead prosecutor violated law proceedings in 2007 with the trial of Jesse H., a new prosecutor was put in place. His name was Joshua Lynn, and he planned to have every single family member and friend of both Nicholas or Jesse H.’s take the stand; he succeeded. The trial lasted until July 8, 2009 when the jury finally reached a verdict. 29-year old Jesse James Hollywood was found GUILTY of first-degree murder and kidnapping. Defense attorney, James Blatt has stated that his client had nothing to do with the “unfortunate” murder of Nicholas, and that Jesse H. has maintained his innocence. Sentencing was planned to be held on July 15, 2009, and Jesse H. was eligible to receive the death penalty.

Jesse James Hollywood was spared from execution however, as the jury instead recommended that he serve life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The Markowitz family said that they “finally get to think less about Jesse James Hollywood, and more on our son, Nick”.

The Aftermath
Susan Markowitz attempted to commit suicide three times following the trial, and all of which failed. She released a book called My Stolen Son: The Nick Markowitz Story in September 2010. The book has received 4.5 stars out of 5 according to Amazon.com, and I strongly recommend that if you are looking to buy ANY book, to buy Susan's book.

Ryan Hoyt is still on death row right now, and he is awaiting execution. However, no date has been set, and I cannot confirm or deny if he has exhausted all appeals. Jesse Rugge was released from prison on October 24, 2013, which caused a lot of controversy, and caused the Markowitz family to be saddened, as they believed Nicholas trust Jesse R. the most. Lastly, Jesse James Hollywood married a girl by the name of Melinda in 2014. Melinda wrote Jesse H. numerous love letters in prison and eventually met up with the murderer, and they became partners through sickness and in health.

Hurricane Pineapple - My Thoughts
There was a movie entitled Alpha Dog that was released around 2006 that was based off of the murder of Nicholas Markowitz, and I recently watched it, and hated it. One of the reasons Susan attempted suicide was because of the movie and whilst I know that the creator did not intend to hurt the Markowitz's, they did a poor job in depicting the death of this kid in my eyes. However, there are mixed opinions and I would suggest seeing the movie for yourself before basing your opinion. In other words, don't take my word for jack shit when it comes to this movie.

As for Jesse James Hollywood, there is no doubt in my mind that he is guilty, even though James Blatt (the defense attorney) has been adamant in proving otherwise. What makes my blood boil is that whilst Nicholas was in a cemetery and his parents were mourning the loss of their child, this scumbag (Jesse James Hollywood) was earning a decent income as a nightclub promoter, he had a Brazilian girlfriend, and he had a father who helped him out. (I wish I had one of those things, let alone all three). I want to send my condolences to Susan Markowitz and her family, and I also want to say "Fuck you" to Jesse Rugge, who in my opinion, should've never been released.

That's going to be it for this episode of Hurricane Pineapple. I put four years into this investigation (and probably did a shit job at it), but I hope you enjoyed it. I'll see you nezt Friday for the next episode.

Sneak Peak of Episode 9

 * Another gang is taking over another major city, and the casualties are increasing.
 * The violence surrounding this case put many millionaires in the United States in danger of their lives.
 * Will someone be willing to risk their life to save his reputation?
 * Join us on November 17, 2017 when we discuss the case of...

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Between the two people, who do you believe was more deserving of the death penalty? Jesse James Hollywood. He orchestrated the murder, whilst Ryan was not the one to come up with the plan. Ryan Hoyt. He pulled the trigger, whilst Jesse H. did not physically kill Nicholas.