1973 killings of 2 California girls won’t lead to executions

Yuba County District Attorney Patrick McGrath, discusses the arrests made related to the 1973 killings of two California girls, at a news conference, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, in Marysville, Calif. Larry Don Patterson, 65, of Oklahoma, and William Lloyd Harbour, 65, of Olivehurst, Calif., were taken into custody, Tuesday, as suspects in the slayings of Valerie Janice Lane, 12, and Doris Karen Derryberry, 13, in Yuba County. At left, is Yuba County Sheriff Steven Durfor. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) Yuba County District Attorney Patrick McGrath, discusses the arrests made related to the 1973 killings of two California girls, at a news conference, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, in Marysville, Calif. Larry Don Patterson, 65, of Oklahoma, and William Lloyd Harbour, 65, of Olivehurst, Calif., were taken into custody, Tuesday, as suspects in the slayings of Valerie Janice Lane, 12, and Doris Karen Derryberry, 13, in Yuba County. At left, is Yuba County Sheriff Steven Durfor. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

By Associated Press September 15, 2016 3 min read

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Two men charged with murder in the 1973 shotgun slayings of two young girls can’t face the death penalty because it wasn’t an option when the girls were sexually assaulted and killed, a California prosecutor said.

William Lloyd Harbour and Larry don Patterson have been charged with six counts each stemming from the killings of 12-year-old Valerie Janice Lane and 13-year-old Doris Karen Derryberry, the Yuba County, California district attorney said.

The two men are 65-year-old cousins who both lived near the victims in Olivehurst, California, when they were killed nearly 43 years ago.

Harbour pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in California on Wednesday, said Deputy District Attorney John Vacek. Patterson was ordered held without bond in Oklahoma.

Patterson said he intends to waive extradition back to California to face charges in the deaths. The girls’ mothers first reported them missing as runaways on Nov. 12, 1973, after they failed to return home overnight from a shopping trip to a mall in nearby Linda.