The tragic true story of murder–of justice given and justice taken away
Images of Simi Valley, California
The Story of THE FORSAKEN
In the quiet suburb of Simi Valley, California, in 1978, the unthinkable shattered a family forever. Twenty-four-year-old Rhonda Wicht and her four-year-old son, Donnie, were brutally slain in their own home—a place that should have been their sanctuary. Their lives were cut short in an act of unspeakable violence that left a community reeling, and a sister’s heart forever broken.
For nearly forty years, their accused killer sat behind bars—convicted, condemned, and written into history as the man responsible. But when he was exonerated in 2017, everything changed. The justice Shelley Hamilton had clung to was ripped away, leaving her not with closure, but with torment—the devastating belief that a guilty man had been set free, while her sister and nephew were left forsaken by the system that had once spoken for them.
The Forsaken is the story of darkness and betrayal—but also of resilience, love, and one woman’s refusal to let her sister and nephew be forgotten. Shelley’s voice echoes through these pages, a heartbroken reminder that sometimes, justice does not merely fail—it is undone. Her relentless pursuit is not only for Rhonda and Donnie, but for truth itself, even when the courts and public opinion are willing to turn away.
Shocking, deeply human, and profoundly moving, this book pulls readers into a decades-long struggle between memory and doubt, law and conscience. It is a reminder that behind every headline lies a devastated family… and that even against the tide of history, one woman’s love refuses to be silenced.
Alicia Doyle is an award-winning journalist with more than two decades of experience. Journalism is a powerful vocation that enables Alicia to make a difference by educating and inspiring readers. She believes The Pen is Mightier than the Sword, giving great power to the written word. With an affinity for human interest stories, she has written hundreds of thousands of articles about inspirational people, places, events and organizations that have a positive impact. Alicia specializes in Good News, encompassing stories about programs, efforts and people from all walks of life. This vision was reflected in a live talk radio segment, The Human Condition, which aired on The Judge Wyld Show on KAVD 103.1 FM in Colorado. Examples of the scope of her vocation include a man born without arms and legs who gives motivational talks, a 90-year-old skydiver, missionaries serving inmates in a third-world prison, and a World War II veteran who fought to bring thousands of soldiers missing in action back home.
To discover more about Alicia’s journey, books, and latest updates, visit her website :
● Los Angeles Times ● San Diego Union Tribune ● Los Angeles Daily News ● Ventura County Star ● The Malibu Times ● Ventura County Reporter ● Malibu to Palisades Magazine ● Conejo Valley Lifestyle Magazine ● Los Angeles Business Journal ● The Larchmont Chronicle ● Highya.com ● The Santa Clarita Signal
Nonprofit Organizations that Praise Alicia’s Work
● Special Olympics ● Simi Valley Council on Aging ● Brain Injury Center of Ventura County ● Military Order of the Purple Heart ● Cancer Support Community Valley/Ventura ● Center4Special Needs ● Boys & Girls Clubs of Ventura County ● Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County ● Make-A-Wish Foundation ● Ventura Buddhist Center ● United Parents ● Ventura Center for Spiritual Living ● Stagecoach Inn Museum ● Mary Health of the Sick Convalescent Home ● Ridone Inc. ● United Cerebral Palsy Los Angeles ● Cypress Place Senior Living ● SCAN Health Education Center ● Simi Valley Senior Center ● Ventura County Community Foundation ● Goebel Senior Adult Center ● Free Clinic of Simi Valley
Awards, Accolades & Accomplishments
● 2018 Alignable Small Business Person of the Year ● 2017 Certificate of Appreciation for Ongoing Service and Contributions to the Annual Ed Hunt Rehab Point for People with Disabilities ● 1999 Distinguished Community Service Award for Simi Valley and Moorpark ● 1991 First Place General Excellence Award Journalism Association of Community College California State Competition ● Certificate in Broadcast Journalism from UCLA
Alicia Doyle’s Other Books
Fighting Chance is written by Alicia Doyle, an award-winning journalist who discovered boxing at age twenty-eight in the late 1990s when she went on assignment at a boxing gym for at-risk youth called Kid Gloves. For two years, she simultaneously worked as a newspaper reporter while training and competing as a boxer, making her one of only a few hundred women in America who infiltrated this male-dominated sport. During her boxing career, she won two Golden Gloves championship titles and earned three wins by knockout – and her pro debut at age thirty in the year 2000 was named The California Female Fight of the Year. Fighting Chance offers an inside look at what’s considered the toughest sport known to man.
Fighting Chance is available on Amazon. For an autographed copy, please send Alicia an email.
At age 26 in the 1980s, Flo Trapani was an officer with the Simi Valley Police Department when few women in America were joining the ranks of law enforcement. Flo’s job as a cop made headlines, as she was one of only a handful of women on the force comprised mostly of men. But soon after she started the job, she learned she wasn’t welcome in this male-dominated profession. Her fellow officers and superiors conspired to remove her from their ranks—to the extent that she feared her life was in jeopardy—which forced her to take an early retirement. Now, nearly four decades later, Flo is ready to share this story of deceit, betrayal and heartache—and the acceptance and forgiveness that helped her move on.
“Back then, I couldn’t let it go because it felt like a dirty secret that I was forced to carry for years,” Flo said. “Today, I no longer feel I have to hold anything inside. What happened to me happened, and there’s nothing I can do to change the past. But I learned many life lessons from this experience that I can hopefully pass on to future generations, including my daughter and grandson—and all the women out there who might feel victimized or betrayed with no way out. I am here to tell you: there is always a way out. Just be true to yourself, and everything will fall into place.”
The Oath, written by award-winning journalist and author, Alicia Doyle, is a nonfiction novel about Flo Trapani’s first-hand account of her rise and fall to justice at the hands of her brothers in blue.
The Oath is available on Amazon. For an autographed copy, please email Alicia.
About The Co-Author
Behind every story lies another—the shared journey of those who bring truth and love into the light.
My name is Shelley Hamilton, and I am the co‑author of The Forsaken. I have spent more than eight years uncovering the truth behind a deeply personal and complex case that forever changed my family and community: the 1978 murders of my twenty‑four‑year‑old sister, Rhonda Hamilton Wicht, and her little boy, my four‑year‑old nephew, Donnie Wicht.
Writing a book has always been a dream of mine, and this project became a calling. My journey to co‑authoring The Forsaken began as a sister and an advocate determined to share who Rhonda and Donnie were—beyond the headlines and legal files.
Since the convicted killer’s release from prison in 2017, media attention has largely centered on his narrative as a “wrongfully convicted” man. Yet no media outlet ever focused on the lives of Rhonda and Donnie or revisited the original evidence that led to his conviction in 1980 for their murders.
Through my ongoing work and my blog, Justice for Rhonda and Donnie, I continue to tell the story the media has overlooked. In their effort to cast the convicted killer as the victim, the true victims—my sister and nephew—have too often been forgotten, and forsaken.
Partnering with my incredible author, Alicia Doyle, we’ve devoted ourselves to documenting the facts, confirming the timelines, and sharing the emotional truth that drives this story. The process has been challenging, emotional, and deeply transformative, reminding me why truth matters and how storytelling can be a powerful force for justice.
Alicia’s extraordinary gift for storytelling has turned my memories, heartbreak, and hope into something truly alive on these pages. With every read, I’m in awe of how she brings Rhonda and Donnie to life—as if she’d known and loved them as we did. Her words have given them a voice that echoes through every chapter. My greatest hope is that you, the reader, feel their presence too—and understand not only how deeply they are loved, but also the importance of truth itself. Within these pages, the facts and evidence that once led to the conviction of their murderer are finally told, giving clarity to a story too long overshadowed by misconception and deceit.
My hope is that The Forsaken not only informs readers, but also inspires them to keep asking hard questions and to never stop seeking truth—no matter how many years it takes.
Thank you for being part of this journey.
Contact
Email Alicia or Shelley with your questions or feedback. We welcome all messages and will respond as soon as possible.
The debut media feature for The Forsaken marks an exciting milestone in our journey. This first recognition by the press shines a spotlight on the powerful story behind the book and the dedication that went into bringing it to life. We’re honored to see growing media interest and look forward to sharing more coverage as The Forsaken moves closer to publication..
Over the past several months of dedicated work on The Forsaken, I haven’t taken the time to recognize the incredible people who have made this project possible.
It truly took a team to bring this book to life—each person contributing their unique expertise, dedication, and passion for sharing this tragic story. What began as a collaboration has grown into a circle of close, lifelong friends, and I want to take this moment to honor them.
Sam Perry: The love of my life and the one who first inspired this project. It was Sam who suggested writing a book and reached out to his longtime friend, Flo Trapani, after learning she had written about her experiences with the same police department that investigated Rhonda and Donnie’s murder.
Flo Trapani: Her friendship has become invaluable. I often call her our “Public Relations” powerhouse because of her unrelenting passion for sharing this story—opening her home for meetings, spreading the word, and offering steadfast encouragement. Her own book, The Oath, is a deeply moving account of her time as one of the first female officers in the Simi Valley Police Department. The harassment she faced was unimaginable, yet she has met every challenge with courage and grace. Flo is truly one of the bravest people I know.
Alicia Doyle: The gifted author behind The Forsaken, as well as The Oath and Fighting Chance. I can’t express enough how amazed I am by Alicia’s talent. When Sam and I first discussed writing a book, I couldn’t imagine how the years of information I’d gathered could ever be shaped into a readable story. Alicia’s extraordinary ability to turn emotions and memories into powerful words brought me to tears more than once. The Forsaken simply wouldn’t exist without her. Beyond her writing, Alicia has become more than a friend—she’s family. Her genuine warmth and ability to make people feel seen and understood during interviews have been invaluable to this project.
Robert Klamser: The original investigator who worked on Rhonda and Donnie’s murder case back in 1978. When the case was reopened, I reached out with countless questions, and Bob responded with patience, kindness, and honesty. Though initially hesitant to join the project, he saw that our purpose went beyond recounting evidence—we wanted to preserve who Rhonda and Donnie truly were. His contributions became invaluable to our work, and his friendship now means the world to me. By fate, Bob was also one of Flo’s supervisors during her time with Simi PD. When he discovered that her fellow officers had agreed not to back her up on patrol, he warned her to stay home—a decision that later drew the anger of her ex-husband, igniting decades of pain and retaliation that ultimately touched all our lives.
Together, this incredible group—affectionately known as The Justice Team—has become the heart of The Forsaken. For months, we’ve met every two weeks without fail, united by a shared mission: to bring truth, remembrance, and justice to this story.
But those meetings became far more than work sessions. They turned into moments of reflection and laughter—safe spaces where we shared not only updates about the book, but also our own emotions, memories, and hopes. Each person brought a unique strength that carried us through the most challenging parts of this journey. What began as a project slowly transformed into a bond built on trust, empathy, and mutual respect. The Justice Team has become family to me—people I can lean on, celebrate with, and forever share this journey with.
Coming Soon
Exciting news — The Forsaken has reached its next milestone!
The manuscript has been submitted to our attorney and is now just weeks away from heading to the publisher. We’re thrilled to be nearing the finish line! While we had hoped for an earlier release, additional stories came forward that we felt were too meaningful to leave out. Those important additions caused some delays, but have ultimately made the book stronger and more complete.
Stay tuned for updates! Visit our website to subscribe for news, follow our Facebook page for announcements, or email Alicia or Shelley with any questions.
Sneak Peek
With THE FORSAKEN’s publication just around the corner, I’m thrilled to pull back the curtain on a story that has lived in the shadows for far too long. Today, I’m honored to share a first look—an exclusive excerpt from the introduction—that captures the heartbreak, the mystery, and the haunting truth behind Rhonda and Donnie’s story.
These words mark the beginning of a journey through loss, resilience, and revelation—one that forever changed not only their family, but everyone it touched. As the release date nears, stay close… the full story is one you’ll never forget.
INTRODUCTION
“For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.” – Psalm 37:28
The rain began as a mist that morning in Newhall, the kind of reluctant drizzle that darkens stone and softens the silence of a cemetery. Eternal Valley Memorial Park, with its winding paths and solemn gardens, felt less like a resting place and more like a repository for stories that no one alive was meant to carry. I had come there searching—not just for a gravesite, but for courage. Beneath a pine whose needles wept with the weight of rain, two names waited for me: Rhonda Wicht, twenty-four, and her four-year-old son, Donnie.
Mother and child, bound in death as they had been in life—placed in the same casket after their murders in 1978. She, strangled with a rope wound three times around her neck; he, smothered with a t-shirt by a hand that likely belonged to someone they trusted. Their final breaths stolen, their futures erased.
It had been years since I last wrote about violent crime. As a reporter, I had covered horrors before, but nothing that pierced me so deeply, nothing that insisted I step closer when all I wanted was distance. This story did not arrive by assignment or curiosity—it found me through Shelley Hamilton, Rhonda’s sister and Donnie’s aunt. She reached out, desperate, determined, bearing a grief that decades had not dulled.
A man had already been convicted of the crime. He spent thirty-nine years behind bars before his release in 2017, walking free into the spotlight of vindication with a twenty-one million dollar settlement for what the courts called “wrongful imprisonment.”
To some, he became a symbol of injustice corrected. To Shelley, however, he was something more menacing: either a guilty man unshackled or the living proof that Rhonda and Donnie’s real killer still walks among us.
The case spirals outward in confounding directions—hero cops, controversial exonerations, the deafening roar of media praise for the man released. Lost in that noise, though, are the voices we should have never forgotten: Rhonda and Donnie. Their names, their faces, their memories have been buried beneath legal arguments and headlines that glorify everything but them.
And so Shelley asked me to tell their story. Not the story of the exonerated, not the self-anointed heroes—but of Rhonda and Donnie, whose lives ended too soon and whose absence has carved wounds into everyone who loved them.
I agreed, though the weight of it terrified me. Journalism teaches objectivity, the steady hand, the exacting eye; but who can remain neutral when confronted with the fingernail torn from a young woman in her final struggle, or the unbearable image of a boy gasping beneath the hand of someone he knew?
Still, I went. Rain dripping from the pines, mud clinging to their stone until I brushed it clean with my palm. I stood before Rhonda and Donnie and did the only thing I could—I spoke to them. I introduced myself as though they could hear, explained that I carried Shelley’s faith in me, confessed my dread at the enormity of what lay ahead. “Guide me,” I whispered. “I cannot do this without you.”
When I left, I carried no comfort, only a fierce clarity. At home, when I spread before me the photographs Shelley had entrusted—images of a smiling young woman and her golden-haired boy—I understood the true assignment. Not merely to retell the grotesque facts of one night in 1978, but to breathe back into history what was stolen: their humanity. In that moment, the work began; chapters unfolded, voices emerged, and yet one haunting question remained unresolved, crushing in its simplicity: If the man convicted is innocent, then who killed Rhonda and Donnie? And why does no one still seek him?
I often wonder what they might have become. Rhonda—a radiant college student whose resilience hinted at a bright and determined future. Donnie—a four-year-old with blue eyes and the kind of grin that convinces you the world is still good. Their potential, obliterated. Their legacy, distorted by a system that celebrates warriors of justice while discarding its most fragile victims.
The truth is, the killer did more than end their lives. He severed timelines, destroyed possibilities, and set off shockwaves that will reverberate through their family, their community, and now through me—until their story is finally told.
Stay tuned for updates on the book’s release, or subscribe to receive updates directly to your email.
