Crime · Arcata, CA
Community Gathers in Arcata Forest to Remember Attack Victim Bill Spenceley
Family, friends, and neighbors gathered on Saturday along Trail #5 in the Arcata Community Forest to memorialize Bill Spenceley, a 75-year-old longtime Humboldt County resident who was found brutally attacked in the forest earlier this year and died last month. Spenceley had worked for 34 years at the Humboldt Community Access & Resource Center, helping people with developmental disabilities live independently, before his recent retirement. Suspect Shawn Kolpak pleaded not guilty; he was out on pretrial release at the time of the attack after being charged in a separate alleged assault involving a two-pound exercise weight just months prior. The next court date is set for January. Spenceley's sister Christine Peter said she plans to raise funds through a GoFundMe to hire a lobbyist addressing the pretrial release of people accused of violent offenses.