The Past is Prologue
In Fact, It is Not Even Past
Welcome to Past Shadows. A site for mystery, wonderment, archaeological discovery and more.
This web site is devoted to the research and writings of local historian and anthropologist Richard L. Carrico. I think that through careful consideration of oral traditions, along with archaeological and historical information, we can come to a better understanding of the past. And it is a long past, extending back more than 13,000 years in Southern California.
Richard is a retired instructor in the Department of American Indian Studies at San Diego State University and an instructor through Oasis and Osher programs. He is the author of seven books, the author of chapters in four other books, and has published articles in more than fifteen academic journals.
Richard's special interests are precontact indigenous cultures of San Diego County and northern Baja California, the Spanish colonial period in the same region, and land tenure in San Diego County. In the more modern period his interests revolve around true crime and criminal behavior.
Upcoming Lectures, Tours, and Events. Richard's new books the true crime BOUND TO DIE and the history of the San Diego Presidio, EL PRESIDIO DE SAN DIEGO: EXCAVATING SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA'S LOST CITY, are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and at local bookstores. Get your copy and bring it to one of the many SIGNINGS listed below.
In addition to the in-person presentations and book signings listed below, Richard is heard talking about Monsters on the Loose on the DarkRadio podcast and on the famous True Murder podcast.He can be heard discussing his new book El Presidio de San Diego on a history podcast (details later). Tune in via your favorite podcast network.
His true crime books, Bound to Die and Monsters on the Loose, are climbing up the charts on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble. If you cannot make one of the signings listed below--go online. Think of your true crime friends and what a splendid gift this book would be!
Monsters on the Loose was awarded a 2nd place in a national book competition. Bound to Die was released on September 14, 2026 and is up for a couple of awards.
AND Richard's in-progress true crime book Murder in 4/4 Time: Spade Cooley, Country Western Murderer, won first place in a major international competition.
UPCOMING LECTURES AND BOOK SIGNINGS
November 14, 2026 11:00 to 4:00 : Mershops North County Escondido. Richard and 30 other local authors will be within the main mall signing books and handing out swag. Come on by.
November 19, 2026 7:00 to 8:30: Ocean Beach Historical Society 1984 Sunset Cliffs Boulevard. Richard will present a powerpoint full of images portraying the life and deaths of three young Southern California women at the hands of a serial rapist and killer as depicted in his brand new book, Bound to Die (WildBlue Press 2026). Richard will be available after the presentation to sign books and talk about writing.
TBA: Several presentation and book signings for Bound to Die are in the works. Stay tuned.
Check the Oasis Continuing Education website for upcoming lectures at the Rancho Bernardo and La Mesa campuses.
Places to Go and to Experience. Andale!
Come up to Warner Springs. The Resort is not open but you can take an exhilarating hike to Eagle Rock or walk a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail or taste some great wine at Sierra Roble, Hawk Watch, and Shadow Mountain wineries, and tour (on weekends) the historic Warner-Carrillo Ranch House, or check in at the gate and hike through the Los Coyotes Indian Reservation to the highest peak in San Diego County. Visit the "Mission " Santa Ysabel, actually an outpost of Mission San Diego and the scene of a lot of back-country history. And of course, there is Dudley's bakery at Santa Ysabel.
What to do in Ramona? A topic for the near future. But the Ramona Pioneer Society has re-opened the remodeled Guy B. Woodward Museum and grounds. And, of course, there are lots of wineries in the area-especially try one of the wineries in the Highland Valley area.
THE BRUTAL DEATH OF THE "HAPPY GIRL"
Just before noon, on Sunday April 19, 1931, twenty-nine-year-old Antonio Espinoza Martinez of Lemon Grove pulled off of Mission Gorge Road and parked his automobile in a flat area at the base of Black Mountain within what is now Mission Trails Regional Park. Martinez was a day laborer born in Mexicali and lived in a neighborhood described as having a “Mexican population with no paved streets or addresses.”
During the day, the wooded area was a local picnic spot for families and the nearby canyons were often hiked by Boy Scouts and urban hikers known as the Sunset Hikers. In the evenings, however, it hosted a different clientele—a younger party crowd toasting with illegal liquor. A few years before then San Diego State College began the ritual of marking the upper hillside with a large white S. Initially formed by clearing brush and applying lime and whitewash to the ground, the S became more permanent when a local paint store donated gallons of white paint. Large rocks were collected and placed in the form of an S and for decades, the controversial symbol became a landmark. Some years the glowing light from road flares held by college fraternity boys illuminated at night the S. Over time, Black Mountain, also known as Cowles Mountain, also came to be known as S Mountain.
Mr. Martinez, his wife Margaret and their two young boys walked towards a favorite picnic spot and the shade of old oaks. If Martinez carried a newspaper with him, the investigation of the murder of Virginia Brooks was still news. It was a cool morning with the daytime high expected to reach around 68 degrees.
But before Mr. Martinez could unload the wicker picnic basket from his vehicle, he made a gruesome discovery, one that he later said he never forgot. Amongst the gnarled oak trees and low brush on the canyon floor, was a nearly nude young woman hanging from a tree limb with the shoes on her feet barely scraping the ground. Hurrying his family away from the scene, Martinez drove to the nearest pay phone and contacted the La Mesa Chief of Police, C. H. Mercer who called Chester Gunn, the San Diego County Coroner. The sad saga of the death of seventeen-year-old Louise Teuber had begun.
The March 15, 2023 San Diego Reader carries a version of this chapter from Monsters on the Loose. Go to this website link for sandiegoreader.com/news/2023/mar/15/cover-unsolved-murders-long-ago-2-louise-teuber
Richard's new book tells the story of the people, the cultures, and the history of Alta California's first European settlement. Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, the Julian Bookhouse, and other retailers. You may also order signed copies of Richard's books by contacting him at rcarrico@sdsu.edu or through this website.
Stories of Our People: Our Past
Frederick Grand's Wine Cellar in Arkansas Canyon
You can read about the history of San Diego County wines in Richard Carrico's book A History of Wines and Wine Making in San Diego County. Second Edition and newly revised with more illustrations and text.
Monsters on the Loose
In 1931 the nearly nude body of 17 year old Louise Teuber was found hanging from an oak tree in Mission Trails Regional Park. Read about her mysterious unsolved death and those of two other young women that same year in Richard's award winning true crime book. The book was released late in 2023 and is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and elsewhere. He may have solved one of the murders.
A History of the Native Americans in San Diego County
Now in its fourth printing Strangers in a Stolen Land is a vivid and well documented history of the indigenous people of our area. This text is used in several university level classes and should be of interest to those who want to know more about the First People of our region.
Bound to Die
The True Crime Story of Three Young Women Who End up Bound and Murdered in Our Deserts.
Three Young Women. One Serial Killer. 1950s Southern California. Justice Served.
2025 Finalist Award for Murder in 4/4 Time: Spade Cooley Country Western Murderer (Tentative Publication: October 2027)
No Spaniard ever "landed" at Spanish Landing near Harbor Island?
San Diego County Has the most American Indian Reservations of Any County in the U. S.?
Or That the Current Mission San Diego is Not the Original nor is it on the Original Location of Alta California's First Mission?
Many of Our Local Placenames are Derived From Kumeyaay Words, Such as Jamul, Cuyamaca, Guatay, and Many, Many Others.
Hot Springs Mountain (pictured with snow in the previous section) is the Tallest Mountain in San Diego County (by 8 feet).
Contact us
Use the form to the left or send an email or write. Books can be ordered using the form.
E-mail: recuerdosresearch@gmail.com
Address: PO Box 387 Warner Springs, CA 92087