Ridgecrest remembers Katie Pham: Our only consolation would be for justice to be served
A crowd of hundreds gathered Thursday night at Petroglyph Park in Ridgecrest to remember Katie Pham.
Friends and family members spilled out from under a large shade structure, holding flameless tea lights and listening as people shared stories of a smart, spirited and caring young woman who was slain last week.
Katie’s father Tom Pham remembered a little girl who loved horses, archery and later cheerleading.
He described his daughter as “strong and stubborn and fearless” and held up a butterfly necklace that said “fearless.” He found the necklace while cleaning out Katie’s apartment with her grandmother.
Ridgecrest Daily Independent
Daniel Gunnarsson, 20, has been charged with murder and mutilating a corpse in the death of a Ridgecrest woman.
Both charges, if convicted, could land him in prison forever.
Gunnarsson was arraigned Thursday after he was arrested Tuesday night. Prosecutors, by law, have 48 hours to arraign a suspect for set them free.
He is being held without bail and will be in court soon for a formal arraignment where he will likely be assigned an attorney.
The woman, whose identity hasn t been released by deputies, was found dead around 10:58 a.m. Tuesday on Skylark Avenue.
It’s unclear how she died, although she was discovered with trauma to the body, sheriff s officials said. The charge of mutilating a corpse was added after police investigated the death more.