Clifford L. Linedecker - Death of a Model

The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you for your personal use only. You may not make this e-book publicly available in any way. Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the authors copyright, please notify the publisher at: us.macmillanusa.com/piracy.

Contents

Three men jumped out of the helicopter, and hurried toward a hump of soft dirt near the retaining wall. They took a quick look, then one of them turned and gave a thumbs-up sign to the passengers still in the helicopter. The pilot radioed the ground searchers that they had found the body.

Detective Bice was one of the first officers to reach the scene, and she squatted over the grave to scoop away a thin film of sand until she uncovered a flash of skin to further confirm a body was buried there. A few strands of golden blond hair, stiff with grime, were just below the dusty sprinkle of dirt at the top.

Dedication

To all the models and aspiring models out there: Good luck, have fun, be careful.

Acknowledgments

Books dealing with true events arent created solely through the efforts of authors, but require the cooperation and input of many people.

Two of the people I owe thanks to for their help with this book are John Coll Metcalfe, of the News-Pilot in San Pedro, California; and Greg Sowinski, a senior journalism student at Ohio State University and reporter for the campus newspaper, The Lantern.

Coll went that extra mile digging through a blizzard of court documents and filtering out the best for me during the rapidly developing legal proceedings in Los Angeles. He was also my eyes and ears in Los Angeles after I was required by a fast-approaching deadline to move from the role of active researcher to writer.

Greg conducted interviews and dug up vital information about Charles Rathbuns early life in and around Columbus, Ohio. His contacts and knowledge of the Columbus area were a great help, and he impressed me with his industry and innovativeness. I expect him to mold a fine career for himself in journalism.

Thanks also to the helpful folks with the Los Angeles Sheriffs Departments Media Relations Bureau who were courteous and helpful; the Lansing Public Library in Lansing, Michigan, for their efficient and cheerful assistance; and to many others who were quick to share information and insight into the story.

A special note of appreciation is due to Charles Spicer, my editor at St. Martins Press, for suggesting the book and for his confidence in me. Thanks also to my agent, Tony Seidl of T. D. Media, for his help in guiding me through the morass of contracts and other matters dealing with the business side of the project.

The account presented here is as true and factual as it is possible to make it, based on interviews, documents, personal observation, and other sources available to me. In order to smooth out the narrative and make the story more readable, slight changes have been made in the chronology of the murder suspects interrogation by police.

But no names have been changed, no conversation made up, and dates, places, and events are all presented here exactly as they occurred or were reported by participants and other witnesses.

Everybody should be lucky and have a daughter like that.

Mrs. Elaine Sobek, to:

Los Angeles Daily News

I always considered myself very fortunate because Chuck never used drugs and was never convicted of anything.

H. Robert Rathbun,

Father of suspect, to:

The Columbus Dispatch

Introduction

Its not uncommon to hear professional modeling described as the kind of job a girl would die for.

Obviously, the innocently expressed observation isnt meant to be taken literally.

But it can happen. It happened to Linda Elaine Sobek, a young woman who was as full of sunshine and as sparkling bright as the fine white sandy beaches that line the oceanside communities of Los Angeles Countys South Bay where she grew up, played, and built a rewarding career for herself as a successful cheesecake model.

Linda died a nasty death, and the ugliness followed her to the grave. At this writing the modern tragedy was still playing itself out in the criminal courts.

Her story as its recounted here isnt meant to frighten anyone away from considering a modeling career for themselves. Professional modeling, whether its pursued on the runways of the international fashion industry, hostessing at conventions and trade shows, or posing for magazine covers and calendar pinups can be wonderfully exciting and tremendously gratifying for any young woman.

Competing with peers in the demanding profession can build self-esteem, sophistication, and grace as well as dazzling financial rewards. Modeling is hard work, however, and physical beauty alone, or as Linda said in classic politically correct phraseologybeing genetically giftedisnt enough to ensure success.

Good models must be ambitious, industrious, disciplined, and equipped with good common sense if they expect to make a living for themselves in the demanding trade. Linda Sobek had all of those qualities.

She was also sufficiently experienced and knowledgeable to be cautious; but a last-minute photo shoot cost the lovely blond model her life.

Like Linda, Charles Edgar Rathbun was a native of Los Angeles County who also built a successful career for himself in a glamorous profession. Rathbun became a photographer, specializing in pictures of new cars and trucksoften using lovely young female models in bikinis or cutoffs and tops as eye-catching props.

The talented shutterbug had an enviable ability to elevate automobile and cheesecake photography to a fine art. His romantic life was less rewarding.

His personality was about as different from Lindas as it could be. He was temperamental, often outspokenly critical of the models he worked with, and given to loud outbursts of anger. He was also a decade older than the California beauty and spent his teenage and early adult years in the Midwest. Finally when he returned to his roots in the Golden State he carried along an embarrassing secret, a long-ago brush with the law.

Linda was loving and outgoing. She made new friends easily, diligently cultivated old friendships, and treasured her relationship with her family. If she had doubts or criticisms of someone, she was most likely to keep the negative thoughts to herself or to confine them to the privacy of her diary.

She was a Golden Girl, but even Golden Girls have flaws, and Lindas desperate desire for others to return the love she gave so openly created troubling ripples in the otherwise mirror-smooth quiescence of her life. Despite all her friends and professional success, there were times when she could be as vulnerable as a wounded fawn.

Yet, when her path crossed with that of Charles Rathbun, the consequence was a lethal episode of violence and tragedy. The lives of the temperamental freelance photographer and the charming beach bunny and body model became inextricably and forever linked.

PROLOGUE

N OVEMBER 16, 1995

Linda Sobek was the kind of daughter who was every parents dream.

She was picture pretty, and in fact the shapely blue-eyed blonde was so attractive that she had forged a successful career for herself as a calendar and swimsuit model.

The twenty-seven-year-old womans beauty was more than skin-deep, however, and family, friends, and other acquaintances agreed she was as lovely inside as outside. Kindness and consideration for others, along with a sunny, upbeat disposition, were linchpins of her character and personality.