Two death metal bandmates who were involved in the infamous 1995 murder of 15-year-old Elyse Pahler have been granted parole and released after serving nearly 30 years behind bars.
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According to PEOPLE, Royce Casey and Jacob Delashmutt, and their accomplice Joseph Fiorella, killed Pahler as part of a “satanic ritual” in which they were “sacrificing a virgin to the devil.”
Although the three men, who were bandmates of a death metal group, allegedly discussed killing the female teen for months, Casey claimed at one point the trio carried out the murder “on a whim.”
All four attended Arroyo Grande High School in Arroyo Grande, California, together. Casey was 17, Delashmutt was 16, and Fiorella was 15 at the time.
Eight months after the murder, Casey confessed to a clergyman and led police to Pahler’s body.
All three men were charged with the kidnapping and murder of Pahler. Fiorella took a plea deal following a preliminary hearing and was sentenced to 26 years to life behind bars. They were placed in separate California prisons during their sentences.
Both Casey and Delashmutt entered a no-contest plea. They received sentences of 25 years to life. Delashmutt was released in July 2025, while Casey was released in August 2025.
Casey’s parole was granted with support from Pahler’s father. Delashmutt’s parole conditions include him having no contact with Pahler’s family, who have long believed he was the “ringleader” of the murder plans.
Meanwhile, Fiorella is up for parole in June 2026.
One of the Men Recalled Details About the Night Elyse Pahler Was Murdered
In a habeas corpus petition, Casey shared more details about the events leading up to the murder of Pahler.
On June 22, 1995, he and another friend encountered Delashmutt and Fiorella at a convenience store. There, the duo told him about their plan to kill Pahler the same day. Casey ditched his other friend and joined Delashmutt and Fiorella.
Casey further recalled the three death metal bandmates luring Pahler to a secluded eucalyptus grove. He pointed out that Pahler snuck out to go to a party with the trio. They stopped at the grove with the intent to smoke marijuana before heading out for the night.
After stating he had to urinate, Delashmutt took off his belt and began to strangle Pahler. For his part, Casey pinned Pahler’s hands to the ground behind her back. Fiorella then pulled out a “large, fixed-bladed hunting knife” and stabbed the girl “four, five, or six times” in the neck. He also stabbed her “one or two times” in the side of the neck.
Fiorella also handed the knife to Delashmutt, who stabbed Pahler in the back and neck area “four or five times.” Reacting to Pahler moaning in pain, Casey stomped her on the “back of the neck.”
“Afterward, we talked about if we would be rewarded by the devil for doing this,” Casey said in the petition. “We still looked at ourselves like this was our band. That was why we did it.”
Following the murder, the trio laid Pahler’s body face down and covered her body with leaves. They then buried her in a shallow grave approximately 1,000 feet from her home.
The case later inspired Diablo Cody’s 2009 horror film Jennifer’s Body, which starred Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried.