Nickey Stane pleads guilty in Fresno State student death

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Nickey Stane, the man accused of the 1996 murder of Debbie Dorian, has pleaded guilty, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office said.

The DA says Stane faces 12 charges related to the murder of Dorian and eight additional charges of sexual assault in Tulare County from 1999 to 2002.

On Thursday, the DA’s office says Stane pleaded guilty to Dorian’s murder, and accepted people’s offer to plea to sheet, waive appellate rights and a maximum of life without possibility of parole.

In 1996, Dorian, who was a 22-year-old student at Fresno State, was found dead in her apartment. The discovery was made by her father, who took the stand to retell the events of Aug. 22, 1996, in December 2023.

Stane’s sentencing is scheduled for June 12.