Murder, Salinas Style: Book One

Murder has long been part of the history of the City of Salinas. From the deaths of innocent children to the horrible and savage mutilation of wives, shop owners and neighbors, Salinas has been rocked by the horror of dozens of murders in the years since the city fathers voted to hire the first police chief in 1903. In addition to being home to one of the first known female serial killers, Salinas has long fought a reputation of being the gang murder capital of California. The truth is that Salinas has had more victims of murders in non gang- related cases than its residents perhaps would want to know. In Murder, Salinas Style: Book One, the stories of fifty-four murder victims are told. None of the stories, nor the people in them are gang- related. The frightening details of each of the crimes are told through the eyes of the police detectives who worked the cases and the newspaper articles that told only part of the story. Many of the murderers were caught and stood trial, but in some cases the murders remain unsolved. It is hoped this book will remind the citizens of Salinas of the many victims who go unremembered and perhaps jog the memory of a witness who might help solve one of the cold cases that remain open today.

Born in Salinas, Lisa Eisemann attended Santa Catalina School before receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology at San Jose State and continuing in a graduate program at U.C. Berkeley in Forensic Criminalistics.

A licensed private investigator for many years, Lisa Eisemann met husband Joe Gunter during a murder investigation. Gunter was the lead homicide detective for the Salinas Police Department and Eisemann was the defense investigator on the case. Both were experts in crime scene processing and gangs and found a common interest in finding the truth in the cases they worked. Eisemann’s grandmother had been the first female police officer for Salinas and was the subject of her first book, The First Police Woman, A History of the Salinas Police Department. The writing of the complete history of the department was responsible for the discovery of past murders of interest and led to the idea for a series of books covering the many murders that have taken place in Salinas since 1903 when the police department was formally authorized.

Eisemann also owns The Salinas School of Dance and is the director of the Spirit of Salinas Irish Dance Company. With her team of dancers, she has traveled to Ireland to compete in world level competitions and teaches and performs throughout central California. Eisemann and Gunter continue to live and work in Salinas with their daughter, Terrin, who plans a career in law enforcement as a canine officer or as a forensic pathologist.