Father of Polly Klaas still grieving 33 years after Petaluma 12-year-old's abduction and murder
SAUSALITO, Calif. (KGO) -- More than three decades after the abduction and murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas, her father says he continues to live with the loss as he prepares to once again see her killer in court.
Oct. 1 marks 33 years since Polly Hannah Klaas was abducted during a sleepover at her Petaluma home.
"She had this very open personality, and was so funny and just a loving little girl," Marc Klaas said.
Recalling the night of her abduction, Klaas said, "This individual came through and unlocked a back door and had a knife and entered Polly's bedroom and told the three girls that if they made a noise, he'd slit their throats...He then proceeded to tie up and bind Polly's girlfriends, and he stole her into the night."
Polly was Marc Klaas' only child. Following her disappearance, he focused on finding her.
"You exist on hope, and it just runs thinner and thinner and thinner and thinner as time passes by," he said.
Two months after Polly's disappearance, a suspect was arrested. Four days later, Polly was found dead near an abandoned lumber mill about 40 miles away.
"There was a 64-day gap there," Klaas said.
MORE: Polly Klaas Case: Here's how 1993 Bay Area murder of 12-year-old transformed criminal justice system
According to Klaas, information that led investigators to Polly's body came from Richard Allen Davis, who remains in prison.
"He ended up exchanging the information for cheeseburgers and cigarettes," Klaas said. "He was the most hated individual in the entire state at that point."
Three years after Polly's death, a jury convicted Davis of murder following what Klaas described as "a very long, long trial."
The trial was moved to Santa Clara County, but tried by the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office. Davis was sentenced to death. However, executions remain on hold in California.
"I was looking forward to it. I was ready with champagne," Klaas said.
In the years since Polly's death, Klaas has devoted himself to child safety advocacy. He championed efforts including the Three Strikes law, Megan's Law and Amber Alerts.
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For decades, he ran the Klaas Foundation, now closed, to help families of missing children.
"He was a condemned man in California for 30 years, and now he's having a resentencing hearing," Klaas said.
MORE: Man convicted in 1993 Polly Klaas kidnapping, murder asks for death sentence to be overturned
The Sonoma County District Attorney's Office said the proceeding will be a partial resentencing hearing. In 1996, Davis received additional punishments because of his criminal history.
"He'd been twice convicted of kidnaping and released only three months before Polly disappeared," Klaas said.
According to prosecutors, changes in California law since the 1990s have appealed the rules on prison prior sentence enhancements, entitling Davis to a hearing.
Prosecutors said the hearing will not affect Davis' murder conviction or his death sentence.
"Why is this even happening all these years later?" Klaas said.
The prospect of another court appearance has taken an emotional toll.
"I can't even tell you what this is doing to me."
Klaas said memories of his daughter continue to surface in dreams.
"The only time I ever really get to visit with Polly is in dreams. Yeah. And then that doesn't happen that often. And she's always 12 years old," he said. "There's one last mark on the door where she was growing...This whole thing it's so wrong,"
Davis' next court date is scheduled for Nov. 6. The district attorney's office said a date for the resentencing hearing is expected to be finalized then. Klaas said he plans to attend every court appearance to honor his daughter.
