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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 31 August 2012

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Rochelle Davis remembers a conversation she had with her friend, Eddie Alden, on the morning of Saturday, June 16.

The two were at his Clearlake barbershop, Custom Cut’s N Colors, chatting and laughing.

They had known each other since 1977, when Davis came to Clearlake. Alden’s father, Ed Hill, had been one of Davis’ first friends in the community.

The then-teenage Eddie was finding himself in trouble, and at one point stole Davis’ car and ended up doing jail time. From jail, he wrote her an apology letter and took responsibility for his actions.

“We’ve been friends ever since,” she said.

Alden, 44, had had some additional hard knocks since then, doing prison time for drug-related charges. But about 12 years ago, he returned to Lake County, opened his barbershop and devoted himself to being a good neighbor and community member.

“He came back to this town and completely turned his life around,” Davis said.

His muscular forearms were tattooed, he rode a Harley Davidson motorcycle. But, as friend Tee Stacy said, his appearance was misleading, with a tough exterior masking a tender heart.

“He was a leather-covered marshmallow,” she said.

He showed that softer side in his work.

Alden was known for consistent acts of generosity, always having fundraising jars in his salon for local charitable efforts or children’s school trips.

“He absolutely loved this community,” said Davis.

Alden proved talented when it came to working with children. He encouraged them, was interested in their activities and got them to hold still in the barber’s chair. The bargain: If they sat through the haircut, they got to sit on his motorcycle. It was a strategy that worked and gained him many devoted young fans.

Despite being busy in his shop, Alden was known for his willingness to share his time, including closing down in the middle of a day to go and cut the hair of a hospice patient who couldn’t get out of their home.

He told his friends and family, “I just can’t say no.”

Stacy said he cared about people, and would take time out of his busy schedule to speak to her and her husband, Jim, about their work as ordained ministers. She said Alden was proud that they were pursuing their work with the church.

Davis recalled that on that June morning, as they talked at his shop, he put his arm around her and said, “We’ve really changed our lives, haven’t we?”

Within 24 hours, that life he had worked so hard to change and to fill with meaning would take a horrifying turn.

Those closest to him said he was jumped outside of his W. 40th Street home late that night, receiving numerous kicks to the back of his head.

Police have not confirmed the extent of his injuries, only saying they were “severe.” Details of what turned out to be a fatal confrontation have not been released.

Following the assault, Alden was flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, where he was placed on life support, having slipped into a coma due to the traumatic brain injury he suffered.

For the next week, he remained in a coma, and was under a special security detail to protect him.

On Monday, June 25, Alden’s family took him off of life support. He had never regained consciousness.

Late last month, a group of his friends and family sat in the front room of his home, just feet away from where the attack happened, still stunned by his death, and wondering why no arrests had yet been made.

“People’s lives have been completely altered by this,” Stacy said.

The life interrupted

Stacy grew up with Alden, and remembered watching John Wayne movies with him and his grandfather on Saturday afternoons at his grandfather’s home on W. 40th Ave. When Alden returned to Clearlake, he would make that house his home.

Alden was commonly seen out in his yard, doing chores like chopping wood, or barbecuing, and waving friends in to join him for a meal.

It was this kind of generosity that would lead him to offer people down on their luck help, or even a place to stay.

Late last year he had given 35-year-old Sarah Felder a place to stay in the wake of her divorce. What had started out as just a few days’ stay lengthened into months.

His family said he was not romantically involved with Felder, who they said did not have a job. Rather, he was trying to help.

However, he was tiring of being caught up in the middle of Felder’s issues with child custody and other disagreements with her ex-husband. Three days before the attack, he asked her to leave, his family said.

“He was just fed up,” said Stacy.

On the day he was attacked – Saturday, June 16 – Alden followed his usual routine, closing his shop at 3 p.m.

He and Felder did some shopping, but he was reported to have been home most of the day.

Later that evening, his friend said he had planned to meet two men at a nearby church parking lot regarding issues that kept arising regarding Felder. He and Felder walked to the parking lot, no one was there, and they returned home.

Based on information his family and friends received from a witness, they believe Alden was unlocking his front door when he was jumped from behind by a male subject.

Alden was reportedly hit in the back of the head, causing him to strike the front of his head on the front door jamb. He fell to the ground, where the subject was reported to have kicked him in the back of the head repeatedly.

Alden’s family said they received information that the attack had happened at approximately 11:43 p.m.

Another of Alden’s friends, who asked not to be named in this article, said he spoke with Alden about 20 minutes after the fight. At that time, Alden was still conscious, and said he was going to take a shower.

Det. Tim Alvarado told Lake County News that the information police had confirmed that Alden was conscious briefly after the fight.

Police were dispatched to the home at 12:27 a.m. Sunday, July 17. Alvarado said that someone else – not Alden – had called 911, and when police arrived they found Alden unconscious.

A landing zone was set up nearby, with a REACH air ambulance flying Alden to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

Approximately $1,800 in cash that he had on his person disappeared after the attack, his family said.

Felder was allowed to go with Alden to the hospital. After she was caught yelling in his hospital room, Alden’s family had Felder removed.

The day after Alden was attacked, his sister, Angela Beatty, went to his home to open it for police.

She said police blocked off the area around the home, which they searched for about two hours before leaving with several small paper bags filled with items. She said they did not search his shop.

Beatty said authorities also had the Department of Fish and Game come up and pick up the small pet alligator her brother had kept in an aquarium in the front room.

Community members held a prayer vigil for Alden. Later, after he died, an estimated 300 people attended his memorial. His family held a fundraiser to pay for it.

“He mattered. My heart is broken, I miss my friend,” said Stacy. “People aren't supposed to get away with murder.”

On Saturday, Aug. 11, Beatty reopened her brother’s shop, now titled “Hair By Angel.”

She had the building – located at 14656 Lakeshore Drive – repainted in orange and black, Harley Davidson colors, she said.

When asked why she chose to reopen the business, Beatty said, “I did it for my brother.”

Police, district attorney continue work on the case

While Alden’s family and friends say they’re impatient to see those responsible for Alden’s death brought to justice, officials with the Clearlake Police Department and the Lake County District Attorney’s Office told Lake County News that they are continuing their investigations.

Alvarado said his part of the investigation was moving forward, and that he had been doing additional followup per the District Attorney’s Office’s request. He said there were new developments that he was working on in the case.

He said the investigation is focusing on one suspect, who he did not name.

“It’s a pretty basic situation,” he said.

Alvarado said the rumors being passed around the community of a larger group of people attacking Alden are false but they continue to go around town “like crazy.” He also emphasized that Alden was not shot.

While Alden’s family and friends voiced their desire for more information on what path the investigation had been taking, Alvarado said investigators have to keep certain details confidential.

“We’re not putting out everything we’re doing every step of the way,” he said. “If everybody knew a lot of our cards, they’re going to play to it like crazy.”

Alvarado said he’s tried to keep Alden’s family informed of how the investigation is progressing.

He said he welcomes additional information from any community members who wish to come forward; anyone with information regarding the case can contact him at 707-994-8251.

One of the challenges for investigators is getting Alden’s final autopsy report in hand, Alvarado said.

Autopsies for Lake County are handled by the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office, which Alvarado said has about 16 cases lined up ahead of Alden’s.

He said Sacramento County officials did complete the actual autopsy and gave him some of their preliminary findings.

“But we’re going to need the actual full coroner’s case before the DA’s office will really go forward on it,” he said.

Alvarado had at one point anticipated that it could be several months before the report was ready, but Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff said they are hoping to have the autopsy results within a few weeks.

Once the report is in hand and the additional investigation the District Attorney’s Office wanted is complete, Hinchcliff said he will meet with Alvarado and District Attorney Don Anderson to determine if any other work – such as additional interviews with potential witnesses – is needed before making a charging decision.

“The way things occurred, there’s a lot of issues in this case,” he said.

Hinchcliff said they will need to consider if they can prove murder, voluntary or involuntary manslaughter, or anything at all with the suspect who is the focus of the investigation.

“There’s just a lot involved with this,” he said. “There’s conflicting information we getting, there’s gaps in things, there’s potential self-defense issues that we’re investigating.”

Hinchcliff said he realized that these cases always appear clear cut to family members. However, he said the law requires prosecutors to be able to prove to 12 jurors beyond a reasonable doubt that a person is guilty of a crime, and meeting that evidentiary burden isn’t always easy.

He said he’s talked to one of Alden’s sisters and promised not to make a final charging decision in the case without speaking first to his family.

“Bottom line, we haven’t made any decision and it’s still being investigated and assessed to see what criminal charges we have that we can prosecute, if any,” said Hinchcliff.

While they wait, Alden’s friends and family have worked to keep his memory alive.

They frequently post about him on Facebook, create photo and video tributes, discuss the case and deal with the tangled, painful emotions that come with the sudden loss of a person who died far too soon.

“I just want to see justice,” said Stacy. “Eddie deserves that. Any human deserves that.”

Stacy said his family also deserves to see justice for him.

So does the community, added Davis.

“This was a life that mattered,” Davis said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .