Murderer Denied Parole

District Attorney Carla Rodriguez has announced that Bryon Tibbals, currently 60 years old and originally from Nevada, was denied parole on May 2, 2024.

District Attorney Carla Rodriguez stated, “We are appreciative of the Parole Board’s attention to detail in making their determination in this case. This inmate continues to present a danger to the public, and we are thankful the Board concurred with our recommendation to deny release at this time.”

Tibbals’ conviction followed his murder of a 36-year-old woman in Petaluma on the night of November 20, 1991. Tibbals, then 27 years old, met the victim at a bar. They ultimately left the bar together, traveling in a friend’s van. The next morning, the victim’s body was found in a dumpster behind businesses off Petaluma Boulevard. She had several blunt-force injuries to her head, any of which the coroner said could have been fatal by themselves. The victim’s injuries were determined to have been inflicted by a two-by-four board found at the scene. Based on the state of the victim’s body when found, as well as forensic evidence, it was also apparent she had been sexually assaulted. A thorough investigation, including DNA testing from the crime scene, eventually led to the arrest of Tibbals a few months after the murder. At the time of Tibbals’ arrest, he was living with a fiancé in Santa Clara County.

After trial, a jury convicted Tibbals of first-degree murder. The jury also found true a special allegation that Tibbals had committed the murder during the commission of a rape by a foreign object, as well as an enhancement for Tibbals’ use of a deadly weapon. Tibbals was also found guilty of rape. Following Tibbals’ convictions, the Court of Appeal made rulings that reversed and modified portions of the verdicts, and resulted in Tibbals being committed to prison with a sentence of 15 years to life for second degree murder.

Tibbals was first eligible for parole consideration in 2003. Tibbals has been denied parole several times over the past twenty years; the hearing on May 2, 2024 was his 9^th parole hearing. At the conclusion of the hearing the Parole Board again denied Tibbals parole, finding he continues to pose an unreasonable risk of danger to the public if he were to be released. Tibbals will be eligible for parole consideration again in three years. CDCR’s publicly available statistics show that through the first 3 months of 2024 following hearings like Mr. Tibbals’, the Parole Board has granted parole to 349 inmates, and denied parole to 643 inmates.

The parole hearing was attended by Deputy District Attorney Ashley Hendon. The Petaluma Police Department conducted the investigation underlying the case.