Chico Man Gets 15-to-Life for Redding Woman's Murder, Body Still Missing

A Siskiyou County judge sentenced 67-year-old Chico resident Erick Eugene Card to 15 years to life in state prison for the second-degree murder of Danielle Renee Bisnell, a 27-year-old Redding woman who vanished in the early hours of December 8, 2019, and whose body has never been found. A jury convicted Card on July 9, capping a case built almost entirely on circumstantial evidence, bleach stains, and blood traces found inside his van rather than a recovered victim.

Bisnell had left home to run errands on December 7, 2019, and spoke with her boyfriend by phone around 2 a.m. the next morning, telling him she was almost home, according to Action News Now. She never arrived, and her boyfriend later reported her missing. Surveillance footage placed her at a 7-Eleven convenience store at 1860 Eureka Way in Redding around 2 a.m. that morning, according to Siskiyou News, which reported the footage pinpointed the exact site where Bisnell met Card. Her car was later found with groceries still inside, per the same account.

According to Action News Now, Card arrived at the same convenience store driving a light-colored Ford Freestar van, and Bisnell — who investigators say expected him to take her home — walked toward the vehicle and got into the passenger seat. Card then reportedly moved the van to a secluded portion of the parking lot before driving away with her still seated inside. An acquaintance later identified Card as the driver and identified Bisnell as the passenger, the outlet reports.

A Van's Long, Strange Route Through Two States

Cell records and vehicle tracking described by Action News Now show Card's van traveling north from Redding through Siskiyou County into Oregon during December 8 and 9, 2019, arriving near Yreka around 8 p.m. on December 10 before continuing south back toward California. Card reportedly told detectives he stayed in Oregon only a few hours and dropped Bisnell back in Redding, but investigators say he gave inconsistent accounts of both his time in Oregon and where he ultimately left her.

Bisnell's cell phone showed activity until 1 a.m. on December 11, 2019, then went silent, and her account has shown no activity since. She has not contacted her family or friends, nor touched her bank account, in the years since her disappearance. Investigators noted she was in a vulnerable state when she encountered Card, and case records compiled by The Charley Project indicate he had a documented history of befriending women in emotional distress or under the influence of substances.

Bleach, Blood and a Van Found in Oregon

Redding Police Department detectives, who led a years-long investigation spanning California and Oregon, located Card's van in Lebanon, Oregon in January 2020. Investigators found a strong odor of bleach inside, along with a large bleach stain on the rear carpet, which had no rear seats installed. A decomposition-detection dog alerted to the bleached carpet, and forensic testing later found a damp area with red-brown staining beneath it. Blood matching Bisnell was found on the front passenger seat armrest and in carpet fibers near the bleached area, per Action News Now.

The investigation ultimately drew in federal resources from the FBI and assistance from the Linn County Sheriff's Office in Oregon, reflecting the multi-jurisdictional scope required to build a homicide case without a body, according to Linn County Sheriff's Office records. Card was arrested at his Chico residence on October 10, 2023, in a joint operation between the Redding Police Department and Chico Police Department, nearly four years after Bisnell disappeared, according to the Shasta County Sheriff's Office. He was formally charged with second-degree murder on October 29, 2024, and extradited to Siskiyou County to face trial.

Prosecutor Cites Lack of Evidence Behind Murder Charge

Siskiyou County District Attorney Kirk Andrus said second-degree murder was the sole charge filed because authorities had little information about how Bisnell actually died, according to Action News Now's reporting on the case. Andrus said revealing the location of Bisnell's remains would be Card's only realistic path forward for seeking release from prison, a statement that aligns with California parole regulations allowing the Board of Parole Hearings to weigh an inmate's refusal to disclose a victim's remains against their suitability for release, per California Code of Regulations Title 15 Section 2281. Under Penal Code Section 190, Card's second-degree murder conviction requires him to serve at least 15 calendar years before he can even apply for parole consideration, according to Justia Law.

Assistant District Attorney Melissa Whetstine told Card directly that the government remains eager to receive any information about Bisnell's remains, Action News Now reported. The Siskiyou County District Attorney's Office says it remains focused on locating her body even after the criminal case has closed.

Judge Calls Killing Pure Evil

At sentencing, Judge Bender called Bisnell's death sad and tragic and described her as special and loved and everything to her family, according to the outlet's account of the hearing. The judge called Card's actions pure evil and asked him directly, “Can we get her back to her family, Mr. Card?” Bisnell was reportedly killed on her son's birthday, a date her son now refuses to celebrate because it reminds him of his mother's death.

The nonprofit Nor-Cal Alliance For The Missing has offered a $2,500 reward and set up anonymous tip channels to help locate Bisnell's remains, and the organization continues urging the public to come forward with information. According to California Department of Justice missing persons records, Bisnell was 5-foot-1 and 146 pounds with green eyes and strawberry blonde hair when she vanished, and was last seen wearing a leopard print sweater and black leggings.

Part of a Broader Pattern in Northern California

Card's conviction adds to a string of difficult homicide and missing-persons cases winding through Northern California's rural courts in recent months. Siskiyou County prosecutors secured another homicide conviction in a Seiad Valley killing tracked to Sacramento earlier this month, while Shasta County has separately turned to forensic genetic genealogy to identify long-unrecovered remains, including a 2025 case that matched skeletal remains found in Redding to a woman missing since 2013. Those cases illustrate how advancing DNA technology and dogged multi-agency cooperation are increasingly cracking open cold cases across the region, even when the physical evidence starts out thin.

For now, Bisnell's family is left with a conviction but no grave to visit. Andrus's office says the search for her remains continues, and under state parole rules, Card's own willingness to help find her may ultimately determine whether he ever leaves prison.