McClish found guilty of double murder

More than five years after the crime, Michael McClish has been found guilty of the murder of Joanna “Asha” Veil and her unborn child. The trial by jury lasted nearly eight weeks, and the jury spent more than a week deliberating the charges.
The verdict was read Tuesday, Dec. 6.
McClish, a former Ben Lomond resident who is serving a sentence of 18 years, 8 months in jail for a separate 2007 sexual assault conviction, was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Veil and second-degree murder in the death of her unborn child.
Judge Paul Burdick read the jury’s decision at the Santa Cruz County courthouse following the trial that began in mid-October.
“We’re disappointed in the verdict,” McClish’s attorney, Tom Walraff, said. “The jury obviously worked hard, but we disagree with the verdict.”
The court will meet Tuesday, Dec. 13, to set up a date for the sentencing. McClish faces 25 years-to-life in prison for first-degree murder and 15 years-to-life for second-degree murder. The double murder will likely mean the sentence will be without the chance of parole.
“I knew there was a possibility that the jury would reach this verdict, but it was still hard to hear it,” said Kathy Conroy, McClish’s sister.
Close to a dozen friends and relatives of McClish were in the courtroom to hear the verdict.
“There are unanswered questions that I still have that were not answered during the trial, that may never be answered,” Conroy said. “I have put my life on hold for the last five years, and I need to move on. So in that way, the end of the trial has given me closure.”
Conroy and a group of family members and close friends have kept in contact with McClish through letters and visits to prison since he was arrested.
“We will still be involved in Michael’s life,” Conroy said.
In the courtroom, McClish was clean-shaven and dressed in a light blue dress shirt and tie and sat with his head held up, following the reading of the verdict. Two Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies handcuffed McClish and led him away to change into an orange-and-white prison jumpsuit before returning to the courtroom.
Walraff said he will likely file an appeal on McClish’s behalf. Separately, the attorney said he would discuss with McClish whether he should file for a retrial, but Walraff declined to say on what grounds.
Jeff Rosell, the assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case, met reporters outside the courtroom.
“Asha Veil and her unborn child were brutally murdered by Michael McClish,” Rosell said. “We waited a long time to have Michael McClish held responsible. But today, a conscientious jury that listened to all the evidence and deliberated made the determination that he was responsible for the death and the murder of Asha Veil and her baby. And the penalty for Michael McClish is life without the possibility of parole. And that will make sure he doesn’t harm anyone ever again.”
Rosell credited the close cooperation among the sheriff’s office, the Santa Cruz District Attorney’s Office and the California Department of Justice for gathering the evidence in the case. He also praised sheriff’s Detective Robert Gidding, who discovered bloody foxtail weeds in McClish’s truck, and Sgt. Ian Patrick for his work on the case.
The trial ended more than five years after Veil’s body was found Sept. 12, 2006, in a remote location off Love Creek Road in Ben Lomond.
After Veil did not show up to work at Ben Lomond Market on Sept. 9, 2006, some co-workers posted fliers and called the sheriff’s office. Her car was found nearby, and her body was discovered by a woman walking her dog Sept. 12.
Two years later, authorities announced that they had arrested McClish as the primary suspect. At the time, he was imprisoned for a separate sexual assault conviction.
The trial might have hinged on several pieces of evidence:
**There were no witnesses to the murder but blood found on foxtails in McClish’s truck matched Veil’s blood. Foxtails were also found on Veil’s clothing. The prosecution mentioned this afterward as a key to the case.
**Veil was beaten and a noose was placed around her neck. She was more than seven months pregnant at the time and, according to witness testimony, was planning to confront McClish about the possibility that the baby might be his.
**DNA test evidence has since determined that the unborn child was fathered not by McClish, but by Veil’s husband, Richard Veil.
**McClish asked several women to lie about his whereabouts the day of the crime.
**The murder weapons and a tarp that wrapped Veil’s body were never found.