January 22, 2025
OAKLAND, CA — Chief Assistant District Attorney Royl Roberts announces that David Misch (63) received two consecutive 25-year to life sentences for the murders of Jennifer Duey and Michelle Xavier in 1986.
On December 19, 2024, a jury found Mr. Misch guilty of one count of first-degree murder for killing Jennifer Duey, and one count of first-degree murder for killing Michelle Xavier. The naked bodies of both women were found in a remote area in Fremont on February 2, 1986.
The evidence presented at the trial showed that DNA found under Jennifer Duey’s nails in 2001 belonged to Mr. Misch. In 2003, while serving a life sentence for a murder he committed in December of 1989, Mr. Misch claimed that he had seen the two young women being kidnapped at gunpoint and tried to save them. He used this as an explanation for the presence of his DNA in this case. Also presented as evidence was a partial license plate number written on one of the victim’s hands associated with Mr. Misch and his prior convictions.
To avoid being present during yesterday’s sentencing, Mr. Misch got himself removed from the court by disrupting the proceeding and singing while the victims’ impact statements were being read.
“David Misch’s behavior in court was not only reprehensible but a blatant display of no remorse for taking the lives of Jennifer Duey and Michelle Xavier,” said Chief Assistant District Attorney Royl Roberts. “The families of these two young women have been waiting nearly 40 years to receive justice for their tragic and senseless murders. Thanks to the jury and this conviction, Mr. Misch will be held accountable. I want to recognize the prosecution team for their professionalism and hard work on this very complex case, starting with Deputy District Attorney Allyson Donovan, Inspector Steve Riley, and Victim-Witness Advocate Lindsay Reynolds. We also recognize the Fremont Police Department for their investigative work on this case.
David Misch will begin serving two 25 years-to-life sentences (50 years) consecutively in state prison after he completes the 18 years-to-life sentence he is currently serving at Santa Rita Jail.
###
Contact: damedia@acgov.org
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office (DAO) is one of California’s largest prosecutors’ offices and is led by Alameda County’s first Black woman District Attorney Pamela Y. Price. Price brings her vision to this office to fairly administer justice in the pursuit of thriving, healthy, and safe communities for every person who steps foot in Alameda County, no matter their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, income, or zip code. Price has been recognized as one of the most progressive prosecutors through her forward-thinking, innovative strategies to interrupt cycles of violence and crime and bring change to a criminal justice system rooted in systemic racism. Follow Madam DA on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and @AlamedaCountyda on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.