'Pain Never Ends' For Oceanside Murder Victim's Family

OCEANSIDE, CA — The United States has one of the world's most complex justice systems designed to hold the guilty accountable while exonerating the innocent. But for all of our efforts to achieve justice, our system is fraught with loopholes that allow the guilty to keep hurting and inflicting pain on their victims and families.

The case of Eric Marum illustrates just how much pain and fear victims' families must endure and no matter how much they seek closure the wounds are continually reopened.

On October 16, 2005, Oceanside resident Nicole Sinkule was asleep in her bed when her estranged boyfriend, Eric Marum, entered her bedroom and struck her with a claw hammer more than a dozen times.

Marum pleaded guilty in February 2007 to murdering the 25-year-old Sinkule, and received a sentence of 16 years to life in prison. In November 2021, two members of the California Board of Parole granted him a recommendation for parole, in his second attempt to shorten his sentence at Folsom State Prison, after an unsuccessful parole bid in 2019.

After an outpouring of support from the public and a spotlight story on Nancy Grace, the parole was denied by Governor Newsom.

In a four-page statement, Newsom outlined the facts of the case, the defendant's attitudes and actions before, during and his subsequent years in prison and concluded...

I have considered the evidence in the record that is relevant to whether Mr. Marum is currently dangerous. When considered as a whole, I find the evidence shows that he currently poses an unreasonable danger to society if released from prison at this time. Therefore, I reverse the decision to parole Mr. Marum.
Decision Date: March 29, 2022
GAVIN NEWSOM
Governor, State of California

While most of us would consider the matter closed and assume the family would be able to find peace, the Sinkule family has been forced to remain vigilant and to expect the worst. Nicole's family can't get closure, can't put this tragic past behind them, and are forced to relive the worst tragedy a parent can endure over and over again.

Less than three months after he was denied parole, Marum's attorneys again took legal action by filing a habeas corpus petition. A writ of habeas corpus is an archaic legal remedy that was long used to safeguard individual freedom against arbitrary executive power. It is used to bring a prisoner or other detainee (e.g. institutionalized mental patient) before the court to determine if the person's imprisonment or detention is lawful.

However, in Marum's case, there is no doubt about his guilt or that he has put his victim's family in a position of constant vigilance to see justice is served. This begs the question, in our determination to protect the innocent in our quest for justice, are we allowing and even enabling the guilty to further abuse their victims?

While the habeas corpus filing was denied and did not succeed in releasing Maurm, it did succeed in reopening the wounds of Nicole Sinkule's family.

The Patch reached out to Nicole's parents, Claudia and Glenn Sinkule to find out how they are holding up after all these years of remaining vigilant.

Patch: I'm very sorry you're having to go through this never-ending ordeal. Does it seem that protecting victims' rights are taking a back seat and allowing criminals to take advantage of our justice system?

Claudia Sinkule: You know we almost can't blame him for taking advantage of this system. But just hearing that he was pursuing this new challenge after such a short time since the parole denial was shocking.

Glenn: It was a shock. We even found out by accident, nobody notified us and even the D.A. didn't know because the habeas corpus filing went to federal court.

Claudia: I did talk to our D.A. and he said he found out that Marum appealed it after the governor denied him parole. So he took it to a higher court. But if he thinks he didn't do anything wrong, who did this then? Who killed Nicole if he didn't do it? I think his habeas corpus filing shows he is not really remorseful, he just says remorseful things because he thinks that will help him get out. But filing something like this just seems like the act of a man that doesn't seem very repentant.

Patch: So what does this mean for your family? Do you ever get to take time just to heal when you're constantly having to have that emotional scab ripped off every few months?

Claudia: No we don't. Our trauma therapist has been trying to talk Glenn and me into just going away. But it doesn't stop. It doesn't, you know, when you're haunted by this and you know that his family has money and is paying a lawyer to continually seek his release.

Patch: Knowing that he has resources and is actively pursuing every angle, what is your family doing about this?

Claudia: We just continue to get the word out there and keep Nicole's name out there. October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. So we're going to kick off the month with a new campaign and I'm going to put a new petition online and we're going to get fliers made up with a picture of Marum and Nicole's picture and it says Help Keep My Murderer In Prison. We have to prepare for May 2023 because that's when he's going up for parole again.

This October, the Nicole Sinkule Foundation will be part of the victims rights campaign and will be holding its annual candlelight vigil service here in Oceanside. This horrible crime happened in our city and we need to support the family and their continued quest for justice for their daughter Nicole. Everyone is encouraged to go to their Facebook page and sign up to receive updates and reminders.

Visit the Nicole Sinkule Foundation Facebook page.

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