Offender Record · OFF-2026-123
Michael Dee Mattson (photo from the Radford University biography)
Michael Dee Mattson
Also known as Michael Dee Golyer
Sex
Male
Race
White
Born
1953
Custody
Deceased
States
CA, UT, NV, OR
Custody
Deceased at San Quentin State Prison, Death Row
Custody record at the facility
Received by San Quentin April 14, 1980. Died of natural causes July 17, 2009 at outside hospital facility.
This record documents arrests, charges and convictions reported by courts, law enforcement agencies and news organizations. Every statement is tied to a cited source with an archived copy. A charge is an accusation, not proof of guilt; a person charged is presumed innocent unless convicted. Solve the Case does not allege that this person committed any offense beyond what the cited records state, and this record is not a suggestion that the person is connected to any unsolved case. How records are built, corrected and removed.
Summary of the record
Michael Dee Mattson was convicted of the kidnapping, rape, and murder of a 9-year-old girl on July 14, 1978 in Santa Fe Springs, California, and the kidnapping, rape, and murder of a 16-year-old girl on September 6, 1978 in Laguna Beach, California. He was also convicted of the kidnapping, rape, sodomy, and oral copulation of a 15-year-old girl. He was sentenced to death in California, and died of natural causes at San Quentin State Prison on July 17, 2009, after 29 years on death row.
Documented Arrests, Charges and Convictions
Dispositions are shown exactly as the cited records report them. Pending charges are updated when a court acts; a record with no remaining conviction or pending charge is removed from the site.
Offense date Aug 01, 1971, Oregon
Kidnapping and rape
Oregon/Nevada (1971) · Arrested 1971 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Two years imprisonment
Mattson forced the victim's brother from the car at knifepoint on August 1, 1971, then kidnapped, robbed, and raped the adult female victim in a wooded area off the freeway.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Mattson, Michael Dee; People v. Mattson (1990) 50 Cal.3d 826
Offense date Jul 14, 1978, Santa Fe Springs, California
First degree murder with special circumstances during rape of a child; kidnapping and rape with great bodily injury; lewd conduct with child under 14
Los Angeles County District Attorney · Los Angeles County Superior Court · Docket A445812 · California Penal Code §§ 187, 189, 261, 288 · Arrested Sep 21, 1978 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Death (first conviction, overturned 1984)
Mattson kidnapped 9-year-old Cheryl Gutierrez from curb outside Santa Fe Springs High School Community Swimming Pool on July 14, 1978. He drove her to Legg Lake in Whittier Narrows Recreation Area, raped her, and strangled her with his belt and fishing line. Her nude body was found July 15, 1978.
SourcesCondemned Inmate Dies; People v. Mattson (1984) 37 Cal.3d 85; People v. Mattson (1990) 50 Cal.3d 826; Michael Dee Mattson
Offense date Sep 06, 1978, Laguna Beach, California
First degree murder with special circumstances during kidnapping and rape; kidnapping; rape with great bodily injury
Los Angeles County District Attorney · Los Angeles County Superior Court · Docket A445812 · California Penal Code §§ 187, 189, 207, 261 · Arrested Sep 21, 1978 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Death (second conviction, affirmed May 3, 1990)
Mattson kidnapped 16-year-old Adele Corradini on September 6, 1978 while hitchhiking in Laguna Beach area. He drove her to secluded area near Duarte where he raped her three times, then strangled her with his hands. Believing her dead, he strangled her again with his belt to ensure death. He led investigators to her partially buried body at Vinedale Street in Duarte on November 9, 1978.
SourcesCondemned Inmate Dies; People v. Mattson (1984) 37 Cal.3d 85; People v. Mattson (1990) 50 Cal.3d 826; Michael Dee Mattson
Offense date Oct 03, 1978, North Las Vegas, Nevada
Kidnapping and rape of an adult (North Las Vegas, Nevada 1978)
North Las Vegas Police Department, Nevada · Arrested Sep 21, 1978 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Double life without parole plus 40 years; transferred to California
Mattson entered victim's car at parking lot of North Las Vegas Community College, demanded money at knifepoint, drove into desert and raped her. Victim escaped when he returned to the car.
SourcesPeople v. Mattson (1990) 50 Cal.3d 826; Michael Dee Mattson
Pattern and Background
Victim counts and the pattern of the offenses as stated by courts, agencies and the cited reporting. Suspected counts are what officials have said publicly, not a finding of this site.
2
Victims convicted
3
Victims confessed
0
Victims suspected
Active years
1978–1978
Victim profile
Young women, Children, Teenagers, Hitchhikers, Strangers
Stated motive
Sexual, Thrill
Range from home
regional
Confessed
Yes
Education
some high school
Marital history
Never married
Children
0
Military discharge
other than honorable
Died
2009-07-17 · natural
Places Lived, Worked and Frequented
Each place and date range comes from a cited record. Dates marked approximate are as reported. Know a place that is missing? Use Edit record under the photo; a moderator reviews it before it appears.
CA
Southern Oaks, California
approx. 1973 – 1978 · La Mirada area; returned after release from Nevada prison
Los Angeles, California
Apr 14, 1980 – Jul 17, 2009 · San Quentin State Prison, Death Row
NV
Nevada
approx. 1971 – 1973 · Nevada state prison for 1971 rape/kidnapping/robbery conviction
Ely, Nevada
Sep 21, 1978 – Sep 21, 1978 · Arrested by Nevada police; vehicle tracked from Los Angeles area
North Las Vegas, Nevada
Sep 25, 1978 – 1978 · North Las Vegas jail pending California trial
OR
Oregon
approx. 1970 – 1971 · United States Army; stationed in Oregon; went AWOL · army
UT
Utah
approx. 1953 – 1959
Timeline
Jul 23, 1953
Michael Dee Mattson born July 23, 1953 in Utah.
1971
Mattson received a two-year prison sentence for the 1971 Oregon kidnapping and rape.
1971
Mattson entered the Army, stationed in Oregon, then went AWOL.
Aug 01, 1971
Mattson kidnapped, robbed, and raped an adult female victim in Oregon on August 1, 1971, forcing her brother from the car at knifepoint.
1973
Mattson returned to Southern California after serving two years in Nevada prison.
Jul 14, 1978
Mattson kidnapped 9-year-old Cheryl Gutierrez outside Santa Fe Springs High School Community Swimming Pool and murdered her.
Jul 15, 1978
Cheryl Gutierrez's nude body discovered in Legg Lake area of Whittier Narrows Recreation Area.
Sep 06, 1978
Mattson kidnapped 16-year-old Adele Jean Corradini while hitchhiking in Laguna Beach and murdered her.
Sep 10, 1978
Mattson kidnapped a 15-year-old girl at gunpoint in parking lot near North Las Vegas Community College and sexually assaulted her; she escaped.
Sep 21, 1978
Mattson arrested in Ely, Nevada for the murders and sexual assaults.
Oct 03, 1978
Mattson confessed to the rape of the North Las Vegas Community College victim during interrogation on October 3, 1978.
Nov 08, 1978
Mattson confessed to kidnapping, raping, and murdering Cheryl Gutierrez and Adele Corradini on November 8, 1978.
Nov 09, 1978
Body of Adele Jean Corradini found in wooded area in Duarte, two months after her abduction.
Jul 1979
Mattson arraigned and entered plea of not guilty to 13 counts including rape, sodomy, kidnapping, and murder.
Jan 1980
Mattson convicted of rape and kidnapping of a North Las Vegas adult victim (Sonia L.) in January 1980.
Apr 10, 1980
Mattson sentenced to death in Los Angeles County for the murders of Cheryl Gutierrez and Adele Corradini.
Apr 14, 1980
Mattson received by San Quentin State Prison on death row.
Oct 22, 1984
California Supreme Court reversed Mattson's first death sentence conviction, holding his confessions were obtained in violation of constitutional rights.
Dec 10, 1985
Mattson retried in Norwalk Supreme Court for his murders.
Feb 07, 1986
Mattson sentenced to death in the gas chamber following his second trial and conviction.
May 03, 1990
California Supreme Court affirmed Mattson's second death sentence conviction in People v. Mattson, 50 Cal.3d 826.
Nov 28, 2007
Mattson's habeas corpus appeal denied, paving his way to the gas chamber.
Jul 17, 2009
Michael Dee Mattson died of natural causes at an outside hospital facility near San Quentin State Prison after 29 years on death row.
Sources
Solve the Case is never the original source. Each item below is the public record a statement on this page rests on, with an archived copy where one exists.
Court record · Casemine ·
Comment on PEOPLE v. MATTSON: Penal Code Section 1538.5 and Confession Admissibility“Michael Dee Mattson was convicted on multiple counts, including murder, kidnapping, and rape, following the admission of confessions that he contended were obtained unlawfully.”
Other · Radford University, Department of Psychology ·
Radford University serial killer biography: Mattson, Michael Dee“Michael Dee Mattson, born July 23, 1953 in Utah; convicted of kidnapping, rape, and murder of three victims; sentenced to death; died in prison July 17, 2009 of natural causes.”
News report · Las Vegas Review-Journal ·
Zoo chief, former officer remembers 'instant evil' of rapist-murderer“Mattson agreed to a plea bargain that meant double life without parole plus 40 years, but also a transfer to California for his next trial, which in 1980 resulted in a death sentence.”
News report · Murderpedia ·
Michael Dee Mattson“Mattson was sentenced to death on February 7, 1986 and died in prison on July 17, 2009. He confessed to kidnapping, raping and killing a 9-year-old girl and a 16-year-old girl, and kidnapping and raping a 15-year-old girl.”
News report · San Quentin News ·
Condemned Inmate Dies“Condemned inmate Michael Dee Mattson, 55, who was on California's death row for the kidnappings, rapes and murders of two Los Angeles County girls, ages 9 and 16, was pronounced dead of natural causes at an outside hospital facility July 17, 2009.”
Court record · Supreme Court of California ·
People v. Mattson (1990) 50 Cal.3d 826“On May 3, 1990, the Supreme Court of California affirmed Michael Dee Mattson's convictions for the murders of Cheryl G. and Adele C., rejecting appeals based on Fifth and Sixth Amendment violations.”
Court record · Supreme Court of California ·
People v. Mattson (1984) 37 Cal.3d 85“Defendant was convicted of the wilful, deliberate and premeditated first degree murders of Cheryl G. and Adele C.; conviction reversed October 22, 1984.”
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