Santa Barbara native, Kirsten Ely started Blonder Ambitions as a Fashion and Lifestyle Blog. and Coroner have reported. If you believe an Independent.com user or any material appearing on Independent.com is copyrighted material used without proper permission, please click here. Suddenly, and without any warning or legal justification, multiple defendant deputies opened fire on decedent Cameron, striking him a total of 22 times with bullets from several department-issued weapons. View Kirsten Ely results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. You're on the list. Every day, the staff of theSanta Barbara Independentworks hard to sort out truth from rumor and keep you informed of whats happening across the entire Santa Barbara community. 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One year after the deaths of Valerie and Cameron Ely, members of the Ely family were joined by their attorneys at their Hope Ranch estate on Thursday calling for the District Attorneys Office to revisit its investigation that cleared the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs deputies involved. Santa Barbara News-Press / Ampersand Publishing, LLC unless otherwise specified. PDF The Law Offices of John L. Burris That is the basis for the lawsuit., Attorney John Burris demonstrates where Cameron Ely allegedly stood in the homes driveway with his hands raised when he was shot. The biomechanical illustration showed details such as the allegedbullet trajectory. Please reload the page and try again. Deputies responded to Elys residence shortly after 8 p.m. and found ValerieElylying on the floor, having suffered multiple stab wounds. The Ely family has filed a civil rights lawsuit against Santa Barbara County, the Sheriff's Office and the four deputies involved who shot and killed Cameron. Things were even worse than we had imagined.. Copyright 2023 Santa Barbara Independent, Inc. Reproduction of material from any Independent.com pages without written permission is strictly prohibited. You truly do not make a lot of sense. Your browser does not support the video tag. The Ely's are a lovely family and Valerie truly was a real life fairy godmother, as Kaitland described. This happened in 2009 when he allegedly took it upon himself to respond to a situation on Highway 101 over which the California Highway Patrol has jurisdiction. Kirsten Ely, the daughter of actor Ron Ely, hugs her sister, Kaitland Ely-Sweet, at a press conference on the one-year anniversary of the deaths of Valerie Lundeen Ely and Cameron Ely. Additionally, he hosted the Miss America pageant in the 1980s. Dated: May 6, 2021 THE LAW OFFICES OF JOHN L. BURRIS By: /S/ DeWitt M. Lacy DeWitt M. Lacy Attorneys for Plaintiff, RON ELY, by his Guardian Ad Litem KIRSTEN ELY Dated: May 6, 2021 MICHAEL C. GHIZZONI COUNTY COUNSEL By: /S/ Mary Pat Barry Mary Pat Barry Senior Deputy County Counsel Attorneys for Defendants, COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA . Santa Barbara Ron Ely starred as the title character of "Tarzan," which ran from 1966 to 1968 on NBC and depicted Tarzan . It was only when they obtained the recording through their civil complaint did they realize their instincts were correct. For too long, Lacy declared, unlawful police killings have only been considered a problem for black and brown communities. The attorneys said 15 shots were fired from the rear into Camerons back, which they said came while he was on the ground and while he was not a threat to law enforcement. What the evidence is indicating is that they have not been truthful in their dissertation of the shooting events that night, he said. Valeries most serious stab injury was to one of her lungs, Lacy said. More so, they dragged a familys name and reputation through the mud when they knew their deputies and their detectives screwed up. Deputies also claimed that Cameron announced that he had a gun and that he lunged forward. 2023 - All Rights Reserved. Moreover, Lacy said, the few brief moments in the tape between when the deputies first approach Cameron and the explosion of gunfire erupts simply dont allow for that supposed series of events orders given, Cameron complying, Cameron then saying he has a gun, Cameron then not complying, deputies restating their orders to have occurred. Whoops! Santa Barbara Centre for Aerial Dance Presents: La Escalada, Dos Pueblos Theatre Company Presents The Music Man!, Cottage Hospitals Annual Mental Health Fair, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage of SB, Please note this login is to submit events or press releases. As it is, their collection was limited and flawed, Mr. Lacy said. {Featured Entrepreneur} Kirsten Ely of Blonder Ambitions! I asked Kirsten to be my "day of" coordinator for my wedding in Malibu. Lacy challenged that assertion, noting other dialogue is clearly audible just before and right after the shooting. New Allegations Arise in Lawsuit Against Santa Barbara Sheriffs Office, The wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the Ely family against the County of Santa Barbara and the Sheriffs Office is likely headed to trial after a year of closed-door negotiations failed to result in a settlement agreement. Sign Up for the A.M. Report An autopsy of both Valerie and Cameron is pending. At the time, Cameron was the prime suspect in the stabbing death of his mother, Valerie, earlier that evening. We are not looking for a settlement. The shooting itself was unjustified, Burris said. We believe there are others involved, others in the house that evening. Mr. Roder argued that if Cameron was moving like the D.A.s report indicates, it would be impossible for the bullet trajectory to have occurred. Gratitude | Kirsten Only then might they find the justice they seek. . Still, he was able to tell them that another family member was involved in the stabbing of his wife, which occurred at the exclusive Hope Ranch home. advice. Decedent Cameron immediately fell to the ground motionless. Op-Ed: Santa Barbara Unified Schools Do Not Have to Be This Way, CHP to Enforce Super Bloom Traffic Issues, Helicopter Rescues Couple from Hiking Trail, Op-Ed: County Republicans Hire Accused Child Sex Trafficker for Keynote. Inside the $4.8million Santa Barbara home where Tarzan star's wife was It is important to remember that the plaintiffs attorneys allegations are just that allegations, not facts. There is a ton of evidence that Cameron did not do it. Law enforcement officials claim Cameron announced he had a gun, then lunged at the deputies during their confrontation at the property. Kirsten is a thirty-four-year-old. They all tell different stories, said Lacy. My best friend. glamour. Deputy Rogers solution: He allegedly ramped slowly onto the 101 without switching on his cruisers flashing lights or siren. Each of the four deputies, for example, gave differing accounts of Camerons actions in the seconds leading up to the shooting, Lacy said. He was clearly unarmed with no weapon of any kind, and so the justification of that just seems unjustified, said Mr. Burris. What does it matter whether or not they dealt with people less fortunate than them that have been wronged by police? He also starred in the iconic Seventies show Fantasy Island and the 1975 film Doc Savage: The Man of Iron and Bronze. We haven't been made privy to details like the forensics - was Valerie's blood on Cameron? Plaintiffs, vs. COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA, a municipal corporation; DESIREE THOME, individually and in her official capacity as a sergeant for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department; JEREMY ROGERS, individually and in his official They are not causing others to riot, burn, steal and destroy property of others because of this incident. We're so close to reaching our Spring Campaign goal! The spokesperson said no deputies were injured during the confrontation and noted that the office is currently conducting criminal, coroners, and administrative investigations. The rendition that theyve cooked up doesnt pass muster, and they have to be held accountable.. One claimed Cameron, 30, had laid on the ground and thrashed about like a child having a tantrum. Another said he got prone but then suddenly did some jiu-jitsu move and sprang to his feet. All About the Model Who Shares 3 Kids With Nick Cannon, Florida Mom Charged with Manslaughter After 2-Year-Old Son Finds Gun and Fatally Shoots His Dad, D.C. Our hearts break every time we think that the simple acts of checking her pulse, administering CPR, or immediately calling medics could have given us back our mom and allowed our father many more years with the love of his life, said Kirsten. Mr. Lacy said that leaving the bodies at the home following the incident was one of the most egregious displays, in my mind, of malfeasance, that law enforcement can make.. Heroffice reviews all officer-involved shootings in the county. Our view is we ought not accept their official position without some corroboration, and there is no corroboration whatsoever, he said. That means that they were deceitful in where they said they were standing at the time they discharged their weapon.. the estate is owned by Kaitland H Ely and Kirsten C Ely Ron Ely's . Cameron Ely, who was unarmed, was fatally shot by the responding deputies on the driveway of the residenceat 4141 Mariposa Drive, where he lived with his parents. They claim the deputies lied in their statements to investigators, and they point to multiple audio recordings of the incident that contradict the deputies version of events. If she had gotten the medical attention she required, she may have survived. Lacy said the deputies denied lifesaving medical care to Valerie Ely. Speaking to reporters, Burris said, Our view here is not necessarily about dealing with the criminal components, but we are very much concerned about the depiction of Cameron (Ely), and suggesting that he was lawfully killed by the police. Ron Ely's daughters Kirsten Ely and Kaitlin Ely-Sweet spoke, describing their emotional losses in one night of their mother and their brother. To make the tragedy even more devastating, the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office announced that the gruesome act had been committed by Valerie and Rons son, Cameron Ely. October 15, 2019:Wife and Son Killed in Tarzan Actor's Hope Ranch Home, October 29, 2019:Officers Identified in Shooting of Unarmed Hope Ranch Murder Suspect, August 27, 2020:One Santa Barbara Deputy, Five Violent Deaths, September 30, 2020:'Tarzan' Actor Ron Ely Sues Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office Over Family Deaths, October 6, 2020: District Attorney Finds Officer-Involved Shooting of Tarzan Actor's Son Justified. They did not find any weapons, but did find a metal garden hose tap splitter, a stack of playing cards, small rocks, a car key fob, an iPhone, crumpled papers, a bank card, a little plastic bag with a white powdery substance that later tested positive for cocaine, and a small plastic bottle labeled liquid vitamins, Banks wrote in his report. During his 16-year career with the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office, Deputy Rogers has been involved in two other fatal shootings. None of the deputies body cameras were turned on at the time. Follow Loading Kirsten. Whoops! She later said via email that if any new evidence is presented to her that she would absolutely carefully consider it., Sheriff Bill Brown did not mince words in his statement to the press following Thursday afternoons press conference, calling it undue pretrial publicity., Unlike the plaintiffs attorneys in this case, the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office and the County of Santa Barbara takes seriously our professional obligation to avoid undue pretrial publicity about this matter since it is currently in litigation, the statement read. to stop telling everyone that Cameron killed his mother.. It is our position his shooting and death was not the function of lawful police activity, he said. He said the issues of police brutality are an American issue and not just limited to race, and that people need to join together and create change. Its just not possible. District Attorney Joyce Dudley has blamed the omissions on equipment failure, saying the microphones worn by the deputies didnt capture those particular statements. Im here to tell you today that this is an American problem that we all have to join together to do something about, he said. They are taking that stance to cover their butts, DeWitt Lacy, attorney for Ron Ely and his daughters, Kirsten and Kaitland, told The Investigator. Mr. Burris said he doesnt accept that because malfunction is not justification to excuse the deputies conduct. 4,894 followers. We will respond to these allegations later, and at the appropriate place, the District Court., Dudley had no comment on the familys accusations other than to say she would carefully consider any new evidence that I am provided.. After a 40 dove release and a 1962 Rolls Royce departure, the couple held their extravagant reception at the Montecito Country Club where guests were entertained with violinists, dancers, a pianist, a magician, a jazz singer, and a comedy troupe. You're on the list. Kirsten Ely OfficialUSA.com Records Based on a transcript of a video recording provided by the Ely familysattorneys, Its pretty clear that even though there were a lot of statements made by the police there is no statement at all, none, where Cameron (Ely) saidhe had a gun, Burris said. His behavior was allowed to continue. It's epidemic and we need sweeping police reform! The Ely sisters said they cant help wonder if their mother could have been saved if the deputies had intervened sooner. And for ignoring a pattern and practice of civil rights violations that happened as a result of poorly trained deputies.. One year to the day after their brother Cameron Ely the son of Tarzan actor Ron Ely was shot 22 times by Santa Barbara Sheriffs deputies, Kirsten Ely and Kaitland Ely Sweet and their attorneys held a tearful news conference in the driveway of the familys Hope Ranch home to rebuke a new report by the District Attorneys Office that ruled the shooting a justifiable homicide. Click "Accept" to agree and continue. Santa Barbara Revels May Day Celebration! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Mr. Burris did not discuss the criminal components of the investigation that claim that Cameron stabbed his mother to death, but rather focused on the deception of Cameron that suggested he was lawfully killed by authorities. The. Sheriffs spokesperson Raquel Zick said the department could not comment on pending litigation. Is there something we should see or hear in the video? Local deputies later fatally shot the suspect, Valerie and Ron's 30-year-old son Cameron Ely, outside of the couple's Santa Barbara home, Joelle Goldstein is the Staff Editor of TV for PEOPLE Digital. Search by Name, Phone, Address, or Email. The sisters, who are both social media influencers, have yet to speak out about the tragedy but previously have spoken of their adoration for their parents on Instagram and in blog posts. Unlike the plaintiffs attorneys in this case, the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office and the County of Santa Barbara takes seriously our professional obligation to avoid undue pretrial publicity about this matter since it is currently in litigation, he said. This passion project has now garnered over 2.5. Ron Ely, 81, was home at the time of the killing, confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak after a recent stroke. You cant pick up one thing and not something else from a few feet away. The shooting occurred when Cameron and the deputies were standing within 10-12 feet of each other, Lacy said. They waited a year in agonizing confusion for some kind of update on the investigation. 1 review of Elysium of Santa Barbara "There are genuinely no words to describe how utterly fantastic Elysium is. Unlike the plaintiffs attorneys in this case, the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office and the County of Santa Barbara takes seriously our professional obligation to avoid undue pretrial publicity about this matter since it is currently in litigation, he said. A video-recorder contradicted the deputys story about the suspect aiming his car at him. Thank you for blessing me with endless love and support. Mental illness is a serious issue in society today. Defendant deputies are heard instructing decedent Cameron to keep his hands up, according to the lawsuit. Shooting Victims Identified as Girl Who Was 'the Next Gabby Douglas' and Woman Out for a Drive, All About Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli's Son Wolfgang Van Halen, 7 People Killed in Half Moon Bay in California's Second Mass Shooting This Week: 'Our Hearts Are Broken', Uber Driver Fatally Stabbed by Passenger in New Orleans, Suspect Allegedly Confessed to Attack, Idaho Murders Timeline: Everything to Know About the Case, Alec Baldwin to Face Involuntary Manslaughter Charges in'Rust'Shooting Death of Halyna Hutchins, Who Is Brittany Bell? They knew it., Though Cameron suffered obvious stab wounds at some point that evening the gashes were noted by both deputies and paramedics at the scene they were only listed as general injuries in his autopsy report, Lacy claimed. You cannot be shot on 360 degrees of your body in under three seconds if all the shooters are standing in one position. a new report by the District Attorneys Office, attempting to surrender to the four deputies with his hands raised, Wife and Son Killed in Tarzan Actor's Hope Ranch Home, Officers Identified in Shooting of Unarmed Hope Ranch Murder Suspect, One Santa Barbara Deputy, Five Violent Deaths, 'Tarzan' Actor Ron Ely Sues Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office Over Family Deaths, District Attorney Finds Officer-Involved Shooting of Tarzan Actor's Son Justified, A Series of Lies: Ely Family Denounces DA for Clearing Deputies in Fatal Shooting, Chemical Spill Response to State Street Marshall's. The attorneys have also taken issue surrounding the medical treatment, claiming that Valerie was left unattended for more than 45 minutes, with deputies stepping over her body like she wasnt even there, and that both the bodies were left at the scene overnight before being removed. We just needed someone to try., The fact that one of the involved deputies Deputy Jeremy Rogers was part of two other fatal shootings and a wrong-way car accident that, in total, claimed four lives and cost Santa Barbara taxpayers $4.8 million in lawsuits also gives Lacy serious cause for concern. A mediation in the Ely case last month failed to produce a settlement, and, consequently, a trial is scheduled to begin on Feb. 22 in the federal District Court in Los Angeles. Loading Simulated Diamond Eternity Band Round 5x5mm Fabulous Engagement BAND Ring Exquisite RING FULL Of Stone Ring Victorian Style S925 w 18KGP . We will note that he was shot over 22 times. Valerie Ely Stabbed to Death by Son Feet Away from Tarzan's Ron Ely Mr. Lacy said that because the Coroners Bureau did not appropriately probe the trajectory of the bullet wounds that the illustration cannot be 100% certain.. Two others suffered spinal and head injuries, and one remains confined to a wheelchair. Former Miss Florida Valerie Ely Stabbed to Death by Son Just - Yahoo They point to an audio recording of the incident that directly contradicts the deputies statements and the District Attorneys report, which relied solely on an internal Sheriffs Office investigation. Ely family challenging Santa Barbara Sheriff's report on 2019 fatal 483 posts. Deputies attempted to gain verbal control of the suspect; however, he presented a threat to them. My world. {"requests":{"event":"https:\/\/www.noozhawk.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/newspack-popups\/includes\/..\/api\/campaigns\/index.php"},"triggers":{"trackPageview":{"on":"visible","request":"event","visibilitySpec":{"selector":"#c9f7","visiblePercentageMin":50,"totalTimeMin":250,"continuousTimeMin":100},"extraUrlParams":{"popup_id":"id_234460","cid":"CLIENT_ID(newspack-cid)"}},"formSubmitSuccess":{"on":"amp-form-submit-success","request":"event","selector":"#c9f7 .wp-block-jetpack-mailchimp form","extraUrlParams":{"popup_id":"id_234460","cid":"CLIENT_ID(newspack-cid)","mailing_list_status":"subscribed","email":"${formFields[email]}","esp":"mailchimp"}}}} 'Tarzan' actor Ron Ely sues sheriffs over deaths of wife and son There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. In defense of the threat posed by the suspect, several deputies fired their service weapons at the suspect, fatally wounding him.. With her sister, Kirsten, looking on, Kaitland Ely, left, reads a note to her mother, Valerie, and brother, Cameron, during a news conference in October 2020 at the Ely family's Hope Ranch estate in Santa Barbara. Kaitland, 32, had similar sentiments about their mom, writing an appreciative post for Valerie in honor of Mothers Day in 2017. He illustrated how three of the main points made in the District Attorneys report to portray Cameron as a threat to the deputies that they ordered him to the ground, that he announced he had a gun, and that the deputies commanded him to remain on the ground when he reportedly started to lunge cannot be heard at all. Thank you for encouraging me to believe in fairytales YOU are a modern day fairytale:) Thank you for existing. She deserved SO MUCH better from the SBSO. Kirsten Ely - Address & Phone Number | Whitepages They seem to have all the style and affectations and expectations of power that the Trumps give off. Im here to tell you today that this is an American problem that we all have to join together to do something about, he said. Confused circumstances. Things were even worse than we imagined, Kirsten said. Edhat Celebrates 20th Anniversary with Santa Barbara Community! There was no weapon of any kind, and so the justification for that just seems unjustified., However, an investigative report from the Sheriffs Departments investigation byDetective Matthew Banks stated that CameronElytold deputies he had a gun and he bent forward at the waist, quickly moved his hands toward his waist, and yelled, I have a gun!. Scott Roder, a forensic specialist working with Lacys team, said Dudleys attempt to explain away the missing sound as a technical issue just doesnt make sense. They dont want to investigate because it was easier to blame it on Cameron.. She was also a former flight attendant and even won Miss Airlines International, a beauty pageant for flight attendants and other airline employees, in 1980, according to The Miami News. Cameron Ely, 30, was suspected of murdering his mother, Valerie Ely, 62, on the night of Oct. 15, 2019. Kaitland Ely Welcome to the world through my "Sweet Southern California" bright eyes. They emptied Elys pockets to check for weapons and found none. When they arrived at . Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), https://www.independent.com/2020/10/15/a-series-of-lies-%e2%80%95-ely-family-denounces-da-for-clearing-deputies-in-fatal-shooting/, a new report by the District Attorneys Office, attempting to surrender to the four deputies with his hands raised, Get the top stories in your inbox by signing up for our daily newsletter, Indy Today, County Settles Bryan Carreo Wrongful-Death Lawsuit for $850,000, Santa Barbara Sheriffs Files: A Body Slam, a Broken Back, and a $950,000 Payday, Tarzan Actor Ron Ely Sues Santa Barbara Sheriffs Office over Family Deaths. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Trying to accommodate Deputy Rogers cruiser, which was allegedly going too slow, a driver, who had three passengers in his own vehicle, swerved and drove head-on into the wrong-way driver coming the other way. Lacy challenged that assertion, noting other dialogue is clearly audible just before and right after the shooting. Even if she'd expired by the time they arrived, the decent and right thing to do would have been to properly determine that was so. Keep up with Noozhawk's daily news coverage, delivered at 4:15 a.m. right to your inbox. There is no statement at all that said to get on the ground. We want a jury to see and hear the evidence and let them decide the proper amount, said Mr. Lacy. Son of Tarzan actor Ron Ely was killed by Santa Barbara sheriffs in a Prior to joining PEOPLE, Joelle was employed at The Hollywood Reporter, where she was co-nominated at the 2019 GLAAD Media Awards for Outstanding Magazine Article for feature cover story. The pain our family has felt is so immense that we are constantly living in a nightmare that we cant wake up from, she said. Cameron, who was unarmed when he was killed, was the prime suspect in the stabbing death of the siblings mother, Valerie, earlier that evening on October 15, 2019. Sheriffs Office 2022 Recap Shows Overall Decrease in Crime Across Santa Barbara County, Battle of the Books Brings Together Young Bookworms, Antibiotic Study Finds Superbug-Fighting Drugs Already in Pharmacies, Santa Barbara COVID Cases Remain at Moderate to Low Levels, Santa Barbara Meets Restaurants Halfway with $2 Parklet Rate, Former Santa Barbara County Probation Supervisor Pleads Guilty to Massive Embezzling Scheme, Clowns, A**holes, Woke Poison Solvang Leader Vents Over LGBTQ Issues, Gender Discrimination, Retaliation Alleged Against City of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Vows to Take On Illegal Vacation Rentals, Amid the Cannabis Glut, Growers Are Pulling Out of Santa Barbara County, Mothers Day Brunch at Hilton Santa Barbara. DeWitt M. Lacy, a civil rights attorney with the Law Offices of John L. Burris, which is representing the Ely family, shows the Evidence Rooms digital reconstruction of the shooing of Cameron Ely at a press conference in front of the Ely family home in Hope Ranch on Thursday. What should she expect from folks we call our heroes?, Valerie suffered from a stab wound to her lung, Lacy said. Cameron Ely, 30, was shot and killed by Santa Barbara sheriffs in October 2019; He had stabbed to death his mother Valerie, 62, and was wandering the estate . | Credit: Daniel Dreifuss. | Credit: Daniel Dreifuss, Even if the deputies had good reason to believe Cameron had murdered his mother, Burris went on, they werent legally allowed to shoot him if he didnt pose an immediate threat to their lives. A spokesperson with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office (SBCSO) tells PEOPLE that officers responded to a 911 call placed at the Elys' home at 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday.