THE FORSAKEN Update

Getting Closer to the Truth

The release of The Forsaken is drawing nearer, and although we initially hoped for a Fall launch, we’re now looking ahead to an early 2026 release. Recent updates and behind-the-scenes happenings have moved the timeline, but they’ve also brought new energy and community excitement.

Pre-Launch Book Gatherings

If you’ve visited our Facebook group (The Forsaken: Justice For Rhonda and Donnie), you know our incredible team member Flo Trapani, who I lovingly call our Public Relations Person. She shares updates so faithfully, pouring her heart into keeping this story alive through videos that connect with so many. Flo has gone even further—opening her home in Simi Valley to host Pre-Launch Book gatherings where people come to hear Rhonda and Donnie’s story and ask real, heartfelt questions. The most recent gathering on September 20^th was very meaningful to me. Though I could only join via video, having Alicia Doyle, our author, there, along with a local newspaper reporter from The Acorn and so many caring people, felt like a step toward healing.

The truest joy, however, came from having the original investigator (OI) there, answering questions and shining a light on the truth and details of the original investigation from 1978. Having him by our side and part of our team fills me with hope.

A Wake-Up Call for Simi Valley

Most surprising to me is these gatherings have shown just how much remains unknown about Rhonda and Donnie’s 1978 murder, even among long-time Simi Valley residents—some knew Rhonda or our family, yet there are still surprising gaps in public understanding.

This increased visibility from Facebook, Book Clubs, and word of mouth has led people to step forward with new information. As of this writing, we have two pending interviews: one about the renewed 2016 investigation, and another with someone referred to in my blog as XCV (see acronyms below). Despite multiple attempts—via mail, email, and Facebook messenger—to contact RDK, we’ve only received a response from his page administrator, who said they’d pass on our request but couldn’t guarantee a reply. To date, RDK himself has never responded.

Once these interviews are complete (unless more sources emerge), we’ll be far closer to submitting the manuscript for publication. Photography lovers will appreciate what’s inside—plenty of pictures, including actual documents, to leave no doubt about the details. I’m also thrilled to announce that I’ll soon be opening a dedicated website for The Forsaken, giving you another place to access more information as we move toward the release.

The Book’s Heart: The Truth

Alicia and I are committed to sharing the full story, so every reader can understand the truth and decide what it means to them. I know true crime often stirs strong feelings, but for me, this isn’t about debate or controversy—it’s about honoring Rhonda and Donnie as the beautiful, loving people they were. This book is my way of opening a window into who they were, so their story lives on with all who read it.

Remembering Rhonda and Donnie

The most important thing to my family and me is that people get to know Rhonda and Donnie and see how precious they were. Since RDK’s release in 2017 not one media outlet has asked him to share memories of Rhonda and Donnie. He has said he loved them but he has never elaborated. He said he never got to properly mourn them, but has never expressed his loss. We gave him that opportunity when we reached out for an interview but he chose not to respond. He didn’t reject it, he just didn’t even respond. Make of that what you will.

For me, this journey has been about love, loss, and the enduring hope that telling their story will finally bring some peace. I’m pouring everything I have into making sure Rhonda and Donnie are never forgotten — or forsaken.

Acknowledgments and Update

Over the past several months of dedicated work on The Forsaken, I’ve shared many updates about our progress, but I haven’t yet taken the time to recognize the incredible people who have made this project possible.

It truly took a team to bring this book to life—each person contributing their unique expertise, dedication, and passion for sharing this tragic story. What began as a collaboration has grown into a circle of close, lifelong friends, and I want to take this moment to honor them.

Sam Perry: The love of my life and the one who first inspired this project. It was Sam who suggested writing a book and reached out to his longtime friend, Flo Trapani, after learning she had written about her experiences with the same police department that investigated Rhonda and Donnie’s murder.

Flo Trapani: Her friendship has become invaluable. I often call her our “Public Relations” powerhouse because of her unrelenting passion for sharing this story—opening her home for meetings, spreading the word, and offering steadfast encouragement. Her own book, The Oath, is a deeply moving account of her time as one of the first female officers in the Simi Valley Police Department. The harassment she faced was unimaginable, yet she has met every challenge with courage and grace. Flo is truly one of the bravest people I know.

Alicia Doyle: The gifted author behind The Forsaken, as well as The Oath and Fighting Chance. I can’t express enough how amazed I am by Alicia’s talent. When Sam and I first discussed writing a book, I couldn’t imagine how the years of information I’d gathered could ever be shaped into a readable story. Alicia’s extraordinary ability to turn emotions and memories into powerful words brought me to tears more than once. The Forsaken simply wouldn’t exist without her. Beyond her writing, Alicia has become more than a friend—she’s family. Her genuine warmth and ability to make people feel seen and understood during interviews have been invaluable to this project.

Robert Klamser: The original investigator (OI) who worked on Rhonda and Donnie’s murder case back in 1978. When the case was reopened, I reached out with countless questions, and Bob responded with patience, kindness, and honesty. Though initially hesitant to join the project, he saw that our purpose went beyond recounting evidence—we wanted to preserve who Rhonda and Donnie truly were. His contributions became invaluable to our work, and his friendship now means the world to me. By fate, Bob was also one of Flo’s supervisors during her time with Simi PD. When he discovered that her fellow officers had agreed not to back her up on patrol, he warned her to stay home—a decision that later drew the anger of her ex-husband, igniting decades of pain and retaliation that ultimately touched all our lives.

Together, this incredible group—affectionately known as The Justice Team—has become the heart of The Forsaken. For months, we’ve met every two weeks without fail, united by a shared mission: to bring truth, remembrance, and justice to this story.

But those meetings became far more than work sessions. They turned into moments of reflection and laughter—safe spaces where we shared not only updates about the book, but also our own emotions, memories, and hopes. Each person brought a unique strength that carried us through the most challenging parts of this journey. What began as a project slowly transformed into a bond built on trust, empathy, and mutual respect. The Justice Team has become family to me—people I can lean on, celebrate with, and forever share this journey with.

I know I posted some time ago that we were aiming for a January 2026 release, but here we are—January 2026—and we’re not quite there yet!

The exciting news is that we’re only a few weeks away now. Every time we thought we were close to finishing the book, another important interview would surface. As word spread, new people came forward—each with a unique perspective that added depth and insight to the story. These interviews became essential, and a number of them earned its their own chapter. Many of these courageous individuals chose to have their real names included, knowing that what they shared was both truthful and vital to understanding this case. Others preferred to remain anonymous, so we used pseudonyms out of respect—whether to protect their privacy, because we couldn’t reach them for permission, or to honor those who have since passed away.

The best news of all is that the book is now complete! It’s currently being reviewed by my attorney before heading to the publisher, which means we’re on track for a March 2026 release.

I’ve read the manuscript countless times for accuracy, and each reading leaves me in awe of how beautifully it’s come together. Alicia’s incredible talent shines on every page—her ability to weave the story and interviews into a compelling, emotionally powerful narrative has exceeded every expectation. I truly believe you’ll feel the same once you read it for yourself.

Before The Release…

As the release of The Forsaken approaches, we’re sharing an exclusive early look into its opening pages—a first glimpse at the real story behind the headlines. This excerpt from the introduction uncovers the deeper story of the brutal murders of Rhonda and Donnie, exposing not just the crime itself but the shockwaves that tore through their family and everyone it touched. Through Alicia Doyle’s unflinching, true-to-life storytelling, The Forsaken brings readers face to face with the human cost of tragedy and the haunting pursuit of justice that followed.

INTRODUCTION

“For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints.
They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.”
– Psalm 37:28

The rain began as a mist that morning in Newhall, the kind of reluctant drizzle that darkens stone and softens the silence of a cemetery. Eternal Valley Memorial Park, with its winding paths and solemn gardens, felt less like a resting place and more like a repository for stories that no one alive was meant to carry. I had come there searching—not just for a gravesite, but for courage. Beneath a pine whose needles wept with the weight of rain, two names waited for me: Rhonda Wicht, twenty-four, and her four-year-old son, Donnie.

Mother and child, bound in death as they had been in life—placed in the same casket after their murders in 1978. She, strangled with a rope looped twice around her neck; he, smothered with a t-shirt by a hand that likely belonged to someone they trusted. Their final breaths stolen, their futures erased.

It had been years since I last wrote about violent crime. As a reporter, I had covered horrors before, but nothing that pierced me so deeply, nothing that insisted I step closer when all I wanted was distance. This story did not arrive by assignment or curiosity—it found me through Shelley Hamilton, Rhonda’s sister and Donnie’s aunt. She reached out, desperate, determined, bearing a grief that decades had not dulled.

A man had already been convicted of the crime. He spent thirty-nine years behind bars before his release in 2017, walking free into the spotlight of vindication with a twenty-one million dollar settlement for what the courts called “wrongful imprisonment.”

To some, he became a symbol of injustice corrected. To Shelley, however, he was something more menacing: either a guilty man unshackled or the living proof that Rhonda and Donnie’s real killer still walks among us.

The case spirals outward in confounding directions—hero cops, controversial exonerations, the deafening roar of media praise for the man released. Lost in that noise, though, are the voices we should have never forgotten: Rhonda and Donnie. Their names, their faces, their memories have been buried beneath legal arguments and headlines that glorify everything but them.

And so Shelley asked me to tell their story. Not the story of the exonerated, not the self-anointed heroes—but of Rhonda and Donnie, whose lives ended too soon and whose absence has carved wounds into everyone who loved them.

I agreed, though the weight of it terrified me. Journalism teaches objectivity, the steady hand, the exacting eye; but who can remain neutral when confronted with the fingernail torn from a young woman in her final struggle, or the unbearable image of a boy gasping beneath the hand of someone he knew?

Still, I went. Rain dripping from the pines, mud clinging to their stone until I brushed it clean with my palm. I stood before Rhonda and Donnie and did the only thing I could—I spoke to them. I introduced myself as though they could hear, explained that I carried Shelley’s faith in me, confessed my dread at the enormity of what lay ahead. “Guide me,” I whispered. “I cannot do this without you.”

When I left, I carried no comfort, only a fierce clarity. At home, when I spread before me the photographs Shelley had entrusted—images of a smiling young woman and her golden-haired boy—I understood the true assignment. Not merely to retell the grotesque facts of one night in 1978, but to breathe back into history what was stolen: their humanity. In that moment, the work began; chapters unfolded, voices emerged, and yet one haunting question remained unresolved, crushing in its simplicity:

If the man convicted is innocent, then who killed Rhonda and Donnie? And why does no one still seek him?

I often wonder what they might have become. Rhonda—a radiant college student whose resilience hinted at a bright and determined future. Donnie—a four-year-old with blue eyes and the kind of grin that convinces you the world is still good. Their potential, obliterated. Their legacy, distorted by a system that celebrates warriors of justice while discarding its most fragile victims.

The truth is, the killer did more than end their lives. He severed timelines, destroyed possibilities, and set off shockwaves that will reverberate through their family, their community, and now through me—until their story is finally told.

Stay tuned for more updates on The Forsaken, which I’ll share here as they happen. Subscribe to the blog to catch every new post in your inbox.

The Forsaken

March 19, 2026 Update

* * * * *

The information just keeps coming.

Just as we finished having our attorney vet The Forsaken and prepared to send it to the publisher, an unexpected discovery changed everything.

A couple weeks ago, a woman who lives just a few miles from Simi Valley was browsing at a Goodwill “bins” warehouse when she noticed a plastic tub that other shoppers ignored, filled with intriguing paperwork and envelopes.

Curious and naturally drawn to historical items, she took a closer look and realized these were not ordinary papers. She saw old handwritten reports instead of computer-generated forms, envelopes with photos, and, after just a couple of images, recognized that she was looking at crime scene photographs. Understanding the gravity of what she had stumbled upon, she stopped digging, trying to touch as little as possible while still confirming what was there.

One name appeared over and over on the documents: RKD’s. When she searched that name, she discovered it was connected to an open murder investigation.

Instead of walking away, she chose to act. She contacted the local police department, explained what she had found, and an officer came to collect the bin. It was later picked up by the Simi Valley Police Department and is assumed to be evidence in a case that should never have been reopened in the first place.

In her research she came across an October 2025 article about The Forsaken, mentioning possible missing and/or destroyed evidence in Rhonda and Donnie’s nearly fifty-year-old case. Having lost her own brother under mysterious circumstances in Washington State, she understood deeply what it meant for a family to live without answers.

Then she went one step further: she searched for Rhonda and Donnie’s family, found me on social media, and reached out to share what had happened.

Her intuition, restraint, and compassion are amazing. She protected the integrity of what she found, made sure law enforcement took custody, and still thought about the surviving family’s need to know. All I can say is that this woman’s courage, insight, and empathy are a blessing, and I am profoundly grateful she chose to do the right thing instead of turning away.

So where does that leave the publication timeframe? Because of this discovery, we are adding a new chapter and making a few final, complex edits recommended by our attorney. Our target is more realistically a summer 2026 release.

When this journey began, none of us imagined the twists and turns it would take, but here we are—doing everything possible to honor Rhonda and Donnie and to tell their story as carefully, truthfully, and close to perfectly as we can, even if it takes longer than we first planned.