Convicted hitman faces charges in drunk-driving death of woman in North Bay
A man convicted in a murder-for-hire scheme in Fortuna in the early 1990s is facing manslaughter charges in the recent death of a Humboldt County investigator with the public defender’s office, according to the Solano County District Attorney’s Office.
Stephen Chiara, 48, of Fairfield, is facing four counts, including vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving without a license and DUI causing bodily injury. Three of the counts are felonies.
He was arraigned last week and will return to court for further arraignment June 5, according to Monica Martinez, an administrative secretary with the DA’s office.
In March, Chiara was the driver of a Harley Davidson motorcycle that crashed on Interstate 80 in the Fairfield area when, “for unknown reasons, the driver was unable to maintain control of the motorcycle and both the driver and the female passenger were ejected from the motorcycle,” a Solano County area CHP report states.
According to the charging documents, Chiara was under the influence of both alcohol and an unspecified drug at the time of the crash.
Both the driver and his passenger Mary “Max” Hadley were taken to NorthBay Medical Center in Fairfield with major injuries. Hadley succumbed to her injuries at the medical center.
Hadley, identified as a resident of both Eureka and Fairfield by Solano County law enforcement officials, worked in the Humboldt County Public Defender’s Office, according to Transparent California.
“We are all very saddened by her death,” Public Defender Marek Reavis said in an email to the Times-Standard.
Chiara was on parole, according to the California Department of Corrections. As part of his recent charges, a petition for the revocation of his parole has been filed. The petition, filed by Solano County District Attorney Krishna Abrams, claims he violated the terms of his parole for failing to abstain from alcohol, driving without a license and failing to “obey all laws.”
Chiara’s June 5 court appearance will also address that petition, court records indicate. The petition, dated May 23, notes the court “finds probable cause to support revocation and preliminarily revokes supervision.”
In 1991, Chiara, then 20, was arrested in connection with the death of a Fortuna woman, Mary Kesser, after he was found hiding with a sawed-off shotgun in a closet at a residence close to Kesser’s Fortuna home, according to Times-Standard reporting from the time. Kesser was found “beaten and stabbed with a heavy, sharp object,” the Times-Standard reported in November 1991. Chiara was reportedly hired by Kesser’s husband who sought to kill her for insurance money, the Times-Standard reported. He was convicted in January 1993.
He was paroled to the San Francisco Bay Area in July 2018, according to California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
As of Wednesday, Chiara was still receiving medical care as a result of the March 27 crash, the Solano County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Daniel Pratt said.
Ruth Schneider can be reached at 707-441-0520.