Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Diplomacy or Submission? The Zionist Grip on US Political Power and Trump’s Uneasy Alliance With Netanyahu

1 day ago

Fresno Suspect Caught After Jumping Out of Second-Floor Window, 2 Others Arrested

2 days ago

Tesla Has Applied to Arizona for Robotaxi Service Certification, State Transport Department Says

2 days ago

Evacuations Ongoing as San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Scorches Tens of Thousands of Acres

2 days ago

US Senate to Vote on Trump Aid, Broadcasting Cuts as Deadline Looms

2 days ago

US Health Department Widens Immigrant Benefit Restrictions

2 days ago

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Stabbing That Left Man Critically Injured

2 days ago

Madera County Authorities Seek Next of Kin for North Fork Man

2 days ago

Froot Loops Maker WK Kellogg Agrees to $3.1 Billion Deal From Italy’s Ferrero

2 days ago

China Signals Willingness to Sell Fighter Jets as Iran Eyes J-10 Aircraft

2 days ago
He Buried Fresno Man Alive. DA Urges Newsom to Deny Parole.
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 6 years ago on
November 26, 2019

Share

Gov. Jerry Brown twice blocked parole for the killer of a developmentally disabled Fresno man who was buried alive in 1980.
Now the state Parole Board again has granted a parole date for David Weidert, who murdered 20-year-old Michael Morganti to cover up a $500 burglary Weidert committed.
Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp, along with members of the victim’s family, are urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to block Weidert’s release.

Portrait of Fresno County DA Lisa Smittcamp
— Fresno County DA Lisa Smittcamp

December Decision Expected

Newsom is expected to decide early next month whether to overturn — as Brown did — the Parole Board’s decision to free Weidert.
In a letter to the governor, Smittcamp stated that Weidert continues to pose “an unreasonable risk of danger to the safety of the community” and should remain in prison serving his life sentence.
Smittcamp also spoke in the letter about evidence indicating Weidert is playing the Parole Board with his answers. She wrote that Weidert had tailored his answers to capitalize on legislation affecting parole decisions, such as Senate Bill 261.
The bill requires the board to consider the hallmark features of youth crime, including impulsivity. During parole suitability hearings, Weidert has stated that the murder was an impulsive act.
Testimony at trial, however, indicated that Morganti’s murder was planned and the deadly attack took about 45 minutes.

How Weidert Murdered Morganti

Weidert, who was 17 at the time, and an accomplice drove Morganti to the foothills outside of Clovis. Suspecting something bad was about to happen to him, Morganti pleaded for his life and promised not to testify against Weidert.

“As Michael hopelessly tried to resist, inmate Weidert said, ‘You son of a bitch, die, die. This son of a bitch won’t die.” — Fresno County DA Lisa Smittcamp 
However, Weidert ordered his victim to dig a hole and get in it. When Morganti complied, they struck him in the head with a baseball bat at least five times — critically injuring him.
In her letter to Newsom, the district attorney spells out the bone-chilling details of Morganti’s last living moments and Weidert’s sadistic acts.
“Weidert next stabbed Michael in the back near his spine, before he and his accomplice covered Michael with dirt. Barely clinging to life, Michael reached his hand from beneath the dirt covering his grave and grabbed Weidert’s leg. Michael pulled his head and upper torso above the dirt, but Weidert forced his head back down. Then Weidert and his accomplice tried to strangle Michael with the wire they had used to bind his hands behind his back.
“As Michael hopelessly tried to resist, inmate Weidert said, ‘You son of a bitch, die, die. This son of a bitch won’t die.”

Morganti Buried Alive and Died of Suffocation

According to the autopsy report, Morganti eventually died from suffocation — not from being strangled with wire but from the dirt in his mouth and lungs.
Smittcamp also opposed Weidert’s parole in 2015 and 2018. This is what she wrote to Brown in 2015:
“This inmate, who had no substance abuse issues, who had no issues of mental impairment, who had a job, a truck, an apartment, who had friends, who had a family, who did not kill out of jealousy or true emotional disability … but who killed purely to permanently silence a witness to a simple burglary, should not be entitled to parole consideration using the passage of time as a major factor to his benefit.”

Watch From 2015: Perea Asks That Weidert Remain in Prison

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Frazier Defends $894K Pay as Nonprofit Loses $1.1M, Blames City for Financial Struggles

DON'T MISS

Key Events in the Air India Crash Investigation

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police to Target Speeding in Saturday Traffic Operation

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Man Sentenced for Fatal DUI Crash That Took Mother, Daughter’s Lives

DON'T MISS

US Judge Grants Trump Admin Request to Scrap Biden-Era Medical Debt Rule

DON'T MISS

Madera County Authorities Searching for Felony Theft Suspect

DON'T MISS

Fallout Over Handling of Epstein Case Erupts Into the Open

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Billy Ray Maldonaldo

DON'T MISS

One California Worker Dead, Hundreds Arrested After Cannabis Farm Raid

DON'T MISS

Musk’s xAI Seeks up to $200 Billion Valuation in Next Fundraising, FT Reports

UP NEXT

Madera County Authorities Searching for Felony Theft Suspect

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Billy Ray Maldonaldo

UP NEXT

One California Worker Dead, Hundreds Arrested After Cannabis Farm Raid

UP NEXT

Skydance in Early Talks to Acquire The Free Press, NYT Reports

UP NEXT

Madera Hospital in Full Swing With New Permanent CEO

UP NEXT

Which Fresno State Faculty Projects Are CSU’s AI Challenge Winners?

UP NEXT

Paving, Power, and Politics: Measure C Committee Faces Shakeup

UP NEXT

Zohran Mamdani Jolted Progressives. Can California Candidates Replicate His Success?

UP NEXT

State Department Starts Firing More Than 1,350 Workers

UP NEXT

Clovis Man Killed in Fresno County Crash After Running Stop Sign

Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

Frazier Defends $894K Pay as Nonprofit Loses $1.1M, Blames City for Financial Struggles

21 hours ago

Key Events in the Air India Crash Investigation

21 hours ago

Fresno Police to Target Speeding in Saturday Traffic Operation

21 hours ago

Tulare County Man Sentenced for Fatal DUI Crash That Took Mother, Daughter’s Lives

22 hours ago

US Judge Grants Trump Admin Request to Scrap Biden-Era Medical Debt Rule

22 hours ago

Madera County Authorities Searching for Felony Theft Suspect

22 hours ago

Fallout Over Handling of Epstein Case Erupts Into the Open

23 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Billy Ray Maldonaldo

23 hours ago

One California Worker Dead, Hundreds Arrested After Cannabis Farm Raid

23 hours ago

Musk’s xAI Seeks up to $200 Billion Valuation in Next Fundraising, FT Reports

24 hours ago

Clovis Police Say Teen Changed Clothes, Hid After Reckless Riding Pursuit

A teenage boy was arrested Friday after leading Clovis police on a 10-minute pursuit while riding an electric motorcycle, authorities said. ...

2 minutes ago

2 minutes ago

Clovis Police Say Teen Changed Clothes, Hid After Reckless Riding Pursuit

A Palestinian man from the Katoo family, with his son, mourns beside the body of his other son, who was killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid near a distribution point in Rafah, according to medics, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, July 12, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
7 minutes ago

Gaza Truce Talks Faltering Over Withdrawal, 17 Reported Killed in Latest Shooting Near Aid

After losing both of his owners, a 5-year-old cattle dog named Ozzy found a second chance at happiness thanks to a local rescue group and a loving foster home. (Mell's Mutts)
5 hours ago

Fresno Dog Left Behind After Owners Die Months Apart, Now Needs a Home

21 hours ago

Frazier Defends $894K Pay as Nonprofit Loses $1.1M, Blames City for Financial Struggles

People gather near a damaged building and trees as firefighters work at the site where an Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
21 hours ago

Key Events in the Air India Crash Investigation

Fresno police will hold a traffic enforcement operation Saturday, July 12, 2025, focused on speeding and other violations, which could lead to DUI arrests. (Fresno PD)
21 hours ago

Fresno Police to Target Speeding in Saturday Traffic Operation

Blake Benham was sentenced to 23 years and 8 months in prison for a 2023 DUI crash in Dinuba that killed two women and seriously injured two others. (Tulare County SO)
22 hours ago

Tulare County Man Sentenced for Fatal DUI Crash That Took Mother, Daughter’s Lives

Solar panels at the background as U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a visit to Vernon Electric Cooperative in Westby, Wisconsin, U.S., September 5, 2024. (Reuters File)
22 hours ago

US Judge Grants Trump Admin Request to Scrap Biden-Era Medical Debt Rule

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend