2 decades after Rex Krebs killed her sister, woman is helping make SLO bridge safer
More than two decades after Cal Poly student Rachel Newhouse was abducted by serial killer Rex Krebs from San Luis Obispo’s Jennifer Street Bridge, the city is taking extra safety measures near the site.
In recent months, the city of San Luis Obispo installed a security camera system on the bridge at the request of the murdered woman’s sister, Irvine resident Ashley Newhouse.
The surveillance device is one of three separate security camera systems installed in the Railroad Square area this year for monitoring the area.
Two additional camera systems were set up in response to increased nighttime activity at a designated safe parking zone for homeless residents near the San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum, according to city officials.
“I have visited the bridge several times over the past 22 years and have always been bothered by the lack of security cameras,” Ashley Newhouse wrote in an email. “The Jennifer Street Bridge is a heavily trafficked footbridge, adjacent to an Amtrak station, known for its transient population, and it’s very dark at night.
“The presence of cameras are an effective deterrent and help facilitate law enforcement when crime does occur.”
Cal Poly student abducted from SLO bridge by serial killer
Krebs abducted Cal Poly student Rachel Newhouse on the Jennifer Street Bridge, which connects San Luis Obispo’s Railroad District to neighborhoods off on upper Johnson Avenue, on the night of Nov. 12, 1998, as she walked home alone from a downtown San Luis Obispo nightclub.
It is believed that Krebs spotted Newhouse, then 21, in his truck as she approached the bridge, drove ahead and climbed the stairs.
Donning a Halloween mask, Krebs attacked Newhouse once she reached the top, striking her in the head with his fists and dragging her down the stairs.
Krebs then took Newhouse to his truck and drove to an A-frame structure near his Davis Canyon Road home, a remote area behind Avila Beach, where he sexually assaulted and murdered her.
At the Jennifer Street Bridge, blood was found pooled at the top of the stairs trailing down the steps.
Another woman, Cuesta College student Aundria Crawford, went missing in March 1999. Evidence from her Branch Street apartment indicated the 20-year-old had been violently abducted from her home.
SLO County parole agent recalls hunt for women’s killer
Retired San Luis Obispo County parole officer David Zaragoza, who supervised Krebs as part of his caseload, helped crack the case of Crawford and Newhouse’s disappearances.
Krebs had been previously sentenced for home invasion sexual assaults he’d committed in Oceano and Arroyo Grande, serving half of a 20-year sentence at Soledad State Prison before he was released in 1997.
After Crawford was abducted, Zaragoza visited Krebs at his Davis Canyon Road home in March 1999 and found him with a brace wrapped around his rib cage.
Krebs said he’d fallen off a retaining wall and into a wood pile, which struck Zaragoza immediately as suspicious.
“He had no injuries that would be consistent with that type of fall,” Zaragoza told The Tribune on Monday.
Subsequent searches of Kreb’s residence unearthed evidence that linked Krebs to the missing women — such as Aundria Crawford’s missing 8-ball key chain and blood in a storage area positively identified as Newhouse’s.
After Krebs’ arrest, San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office investigator Larry Hobson interviewed Krebs over the course of days, ultimately obtaining his confession to kidnapping and killing both women.
Krebs was convicted in 2001 of murdering Newhouse and Crawford. He’s currently incarcerated in San Quentin State Prison, where he is sentenced to death.
Zaragoza said he still feels for the families of Newhouse and Crawford.
“I can’t even imagine how horrific it would be to deal with something like this, losing someone of that age with their whole life ahead of them,” said Zaragoza, who teaches criminal justice at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo. “It never goes way. It’s just hard to think about.
City installs security cameras at bridge, parking site
A plaque honoring Crawford and Newhouse can be found at the Jennifer Street Bridge.
The city installed security cameras near the Jennifer Street Bridge and the Railroad Square safe parking lot in late February in advance of the opening of the parking site to unhoused residents, according to San Luis Obispo city officials.
The city uses public surveillance cameras at a variety of locations citywide “to deter crimes, create a greater sense of safety and security, and record footage that can be used in criminal investigations when crimes occur,” Whitney Szentesi, city public communications manager, wrote in an email. “We appreciated (Ashley Newhouse) reaching out to us last year with her suggestion.”
Each of the camera systems costs about $9,000.
CARES ACT funding paid for the devices at the safe parking site, while city Public Safety Capital Improvement Project funds paid for the bridge camera, Szentesi wrote.
“I’m convinced that Rachel’s case could have been solved much sooner, possibly even prevented, if a camera had been on that bridge,” Ashley Newhouse told The Tribune. “Furthermore, if Krebs would have been caught sooner with the assistance of video surveillance then Aundria’s life could have been spared.”
“Unfortunately, in 1998, cameras were not as prevalent as they are today,” she added. “Now that we have these resources, it would be irresponsible not to use them.”
Rachel Newhouse’s sister: ‘Safety of the city is paramount’
Two decades after her sister’s death, Newhouse told The Tribune that “San Luis Obispo holds a very special place in my heart and always will.”
“The safety of the city is paramount and if I have the ability to create change in a positive direction, then I’m going to,” she wrote. “I cannot change what happened to my sister on that bridge, but I can help prevent it from happening to anyone else. This is for SLO and for Rachel because I strongly believe the only way to overcome evil is with good.”
According to Ashley Newhouse, it’s important to remember that “just because cameras are present, this does not mean we still don’t have the duty to remain vigilant and make wise choices.”
About a year ago, Newhouse revisited the Jennifer Street Bridge accompanied by Zaragoza and another law enforcement official, and retraced what they believed to be Rachel Newhouse’s final steps.
“I’m so very grateful to the city of San Luis Obispo for honoring my request and I hope it helps to preserve the safety and security of this unique community we all so love,” Ashley Newhouse wrote.
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