(07-13) 18:47 PDT NOVATO — The Mitchell Brothers family, which pushed all things X-rated into San Francisco’s social consciousness and was later rocked by fratricide, recorded a tragic new chapter with the arrest of one of the porn kings’ sons on charges of bludgeoning to death the mother of his young daughter.
James Raphael Mitchell of Pittsburg, the 27-year-old son of Jim Mitchell, allegedly beat Danielle Keller to death with a baseball bat Sunday evening at the home she shared with her mother in Novato, then fled with the couple’s daughter – who turned 1 year old that day.
With police around the state hunting for him, Mitchell was arrested just before midnight after he pulled off Interstate 80 in Citrus Heights (Sacramento County). His daughter, Samantha Mitchell, was unharmed.
Keller, 29, was found dead in her back yard just before 7 p.m. Sunday. A blood-soaked bat was found nearby, police said.
In addition to being Samantha’s birthday, Sunday was the second anniversary of the death of Jim Mitchell, who served prison time for killing his own brother and longtime business partner, Artie Mitchell.
"It’s kind of madness here," said Terence Hallinan, the former San Francisco district attorney who knew Jim Mitchell and is representing his son. "Nothing really makes sense."
Keller’s mother, Claudia Stevens, described her daughter as a dedicated mother who had decided to make a clean break from James Mitchell after two years of what she called abusive behavior.
"Thank God they caught him so he can be held accountable," Stevens said.
Mitchell was booked on suspicion of murder, child abduction and other charges. He is being held without bail and is scheduled to be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in Marin County Superior Court.
Keller met Mitchell at a San Francisco nightclub, said Stevens, and they quickly became a couple. Within a few months, Keller was pregnant.
The couple bought a home in Pittsburg, but Keller moved back in with her mother several months ago and filed a restraining order against Mitchell after a series of frightening incidents, Stevens said. Keller had sole custody of the couple’s daughter.
Stevens said Mitchell had violated the order once before, briefly holding her and her daughter hostage at the Novato home about a month ago. Police said the case had been forwarded to prosecutors.
Keller had been receiving counseling at the Marin Abused Women’s Services and joined the Novato Mothers’ Club while she looked for a job, her mother said.
‘He was bad news’
"She was moving on," said Gina Stahl-Ricco, 29, who went to Novato High School with Keller and baby-sat Samantha. "She knew he was bad news, and she was afraid of him. But she never expected this. You don’t think that could happen with someone you once loved."
Stevens said she will raise Samantha.
James Mitchell’s mother, Mary, said he had been distraught over not being able to see his daughter and had been enrolled in court-ordered anger management classes.
"He was trying to be a good father and he loved his child so much," she said. "He didn’t want to lose her, and that’s part of why it happened."
She added, "He was dangerous for one moment, and he went too far."
James Mitchell is listed on jail records as a theater owner. An employee of the Mitchell Brothers O’Farrell Theatre, the San Francisco porn venue founded in 1969 by Jim and Artie Mitchell, said James Mitchell was a beneficiary of a trust that owns the theater.
The Mitchell brothers produced a string of pornographic movies, including "Behind the Green Door," featuring Marilyn Chambers in 1972. But their outlandish partnership – recounted in books and a television movie – came to a tragic end.
Jim Mitchell was convicted of manslaughter and served three years in prison for kicking down the door of his brother’s Corte Madera home in February 1991 and shooting him to death. He said he had intended to confront Artie Mitchell over drug and alcohol abuse and that the situation had spun out of control.
Jim Mitchell died of a heart attack in July 2007 at his ranch in western Sonoma County at the age of 63. About 300 mourners came to his funeral, including former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.
James Mitchell took his father’s killing of his uncle hard, his mother said.
"I had him in therapy for years," she said. "That was a horrible, horrible event in his life."
E-mail the writers at dbulwa@sfchronicle.com and mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com.
So much pain and tragedy in the Mitchell family. It really saddens me. Now they’ve Lost their 27 year old…and the young woman? How could this happen?
His mother is defending him. I hate people like this. Shut your fucking mouth! Yeah he’s her son but he just murdered a child’s mother on her fucking birthday! And of course he couldn’t be allowed to see the baby. He’s insane and could turn on the child at at any moment!! It happens everyday.
That’s not part of why it happened. It happened because he’s a piece of shit who couldn’t control a woman that he was abusing. And no loving father beats and murders the mother of his child.
Unless he’s completely out of his mind banging his head against a padded wall, then he knew exactly what he was doing and was in control of his actions.
Maybe he was a Ramones fan…………
Maybe the family is cursed.
Not curse, just dysfuntional. Now passed down to the next generation.
If you look back at the history of violence in the Mitchell family…it’s Amazing !
i watched a movie recently, one of the guys was played by charlie sheen.. was that these brothers?
forget the name of the flick, but looked like it could be these guys..
you think perhaps he was angry that she took his son away? not trying to defend his actions but those bonds are stronger than anything..
It’s titled “Rated X” (2000), and stars Charlie Sheen and his brother Emilio Estevez as the Mitchell Brothers, Jim (played by Estevez) and Artie (played by Sheen).
Yep! Some people and famly’s are just bad… Like my kids two uncles were on death row, had there sentences overturned, then got out an bought used car lots and sold used cars and became millionares. When you get in a relationship, its always a good idea, to find out if the family has a violent history. My sons violent, but I was 17 when I met his dad, so its not my fault. And yes mean guys generally but not allways have mean kids. His dad did time for robing houses, he could break into a persons house and be standing over them while they were sleeping. But what really got him in trouble and he said they picked the wrong guy, was he muged an old lady when he was 17 and took her purse and did a year in juvi. Hey, I knew nothing of this till after I had his kid. I also didn’t find out until my son was two that he was related to the Irish mob, or what’s left of them. A fact I hate. Because after he tried to kill me and left only comming around 3 times, as soon as my kid turned 17, guess who started coming around? His dad! The family has a strong influence on my kids dad. And he writes him letters and there great friends now. But what can I do? I can’t diss his dad to him. And it is what it is. My kids violent but he doesn’t seem to think its a problem and does not want anymore counselling. So I asked him if the school was helping him be calmer? He said no! He told me: you have no idea how hard it is to be a guy? If I don’t turn around and punch a guy in the face, then he’ll think I’m a pussy and keep bothering me and the school just makes me want to be more violent. I said: you should just walk away and let it go, I’ve walked away from many fights. I definently believe violence passes down, it sucks. When your a mom, you don’t want your kid to grow up and hurt someone. I did inforce on my kid if he ever hit a woman, I’d hunt him down! My mother and me would feel real bad if he hurt someone. But you can only show your kids the way and hope they don’t make a stupid mistake. But what’s happened to this guys mother is the worst… I feel bad for her.
It’s titled “Rated X” (2000), and stars Charlie Sheen and his brother Emilio Estevez as the Mitchell Brothers, Jim (played by Estevez) and Artie (played by Sheen).
those bros were snuffing some coke in that film..
btw i turned it off when they were at the beach, i am guessing one of his sons drowned..
that movie was based on the book by the same title by David McCumber. Nina Hartley used to dance in the Mitchell Brothers’ O’Farrell room before she became a porn star.
Germy, I still have that book, great book, porn in those times was so different than todays. Them it was more like a underground art, now is just a line assembly industry.
here ya go rics quote me on this coz i just thought of it:
porn used to be filled with outlaws, now it’s just inlaws
Well, Germy porn still is filled with outlaws, but that is just not funny anymore.