TCDA Statement on Nickey Stane Guilty Plea

Yesterday in Fresno County, former Visalia resident Nickey Duane Stane, age 58, pleaded guilty to the 1996 murder of Fresno State student Debbie Dorian and the sexual assaults of multiple women in Visalia from 1999 to 2002.

In 2009, with the assistance of the Visalia Police Department, TCDA prosecutors filed a “John Doe” complaint against a DNA profile suspected of violently sexually assaulting four women in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s in Visalia. Through the use of new DNA technologies, Stane was identified as a suspect in the Fresno homicide and Tulare County assaults in late 2019. Watch the 2019 press conference here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEiUzyr97s4. In January 2020, the cases were consolidated to be tried in Fresno County.

“We are pleased at this resolution and express our gratitude, our admiration, and our utmost respect to the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office for securing a just outcome for these victims and their families,” said Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward. “I am incredibly proud of TCDA staff who assisted Fresno in delivering justice. Together, we have once again sent a message of hope to any victim or family who has not had the doorway to justice open for them. We as an office look forward to next month’s sentencing.”

Stane faces life in prison without the possibility of parole at sentencing on June 12, 2025, in Fresno County. Further inquiries should be directed to the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office.

Media inquiries can be directed to the Office of the District Attorney, County of Tulare Communications Director Stuart Anderson (559) 636-5494