Tag: Cold Case

Man, 70, Gets 5 Years to Life for National City Woman’s 1974 Stabbing Death

SAN DIEGO—A 70-year-old man who pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing a National City convenience store clerk almost 50 years ago was sentenced June 7 to five years to life in state prison. Carlin Edward Cornett pleaded guilty earlier this year to second-degree murder in the July 31, 1974, killing of 22-year-old Christy Ellen Bryant. Currently,…


Man Sentenced to 12 Years for Oceanside Woman’s 1994 Stabbing Death

VISTA, Calif.—A man arrested last year for the 1994 stabbing death of an Oceanside woman was sentenced this week to 12 years in state prison. Jesus “Jesse” Velazquez Ayala, 59, pleaded guilty earlier this month to a voluntary manslaughter count stemming from the killing of 54-year-old Dolores Rabaya. The victim was found inside her Edgehill…


Man Gets 25 to Life for Kidnap-Rape of 11-Year-Old Girl in Santa Ana

SANTA ANA, Calif.—A 42-year-old man was sentenced April 14 to 25 years to life in prison for kidnapping and raping an 11-year-old girl in Santa Ana 24 years ago. Jose Andres Plascencia was convicted Feb. 2 of kidnapping to commit a sex crime and five counts of rape, all felonies. Co-defendant Ismael Salgado, 43, is…


Alleged Serial Killer of Teen and 3 Women in 1980s Dies Before Trial

LOS ANGELES—A 76-year-old man who was allegedly linked by DNA evidence to the cold-case killings of a 15-year-old girl and three young women in Los Angeles and Inglewood dating back as far as 1980 has died while in custody. Superior Court Judge Armenui Amy Ashvanian announced March 10 that the court had received documentation that…


Orange County Man Faces 140 Years in Prison for 1990s’ Rapes

SANTA ANA, Calif.—A 57-year-old man was convicted Feb. 23 of raping a 9-year-old girl and a woman who was jogging in south Orange County in the 1990s, and sexually assaulting the 12-year-old daughter of his live-in girlfriend. Kevin Michael Konther, who is scheduled to be sentenced March 21, faces 140 years to life in prison….


OC Sheriff Uses New Forensic Tools to Revive 1993 Fatal Stabbing Investigation

SANTA ANA, Calif.—Orange County sheriff’s investigators are using new forensic tools to revive a 1993 cold case fatal stabbing investigation in Costa Mesa, authorities said Thursday. Investigators are hoping the new analysis of evidence will turn up leads in the Aug. 11, 1993, stabbing of 61-year-old Alan Jay Schwalbe. Deputies found the victim’s body in…


DNA Identifies Mystery Victim After 31 Years, Search for Killer Renewed

Thirty-one years after hunters found human bones in a shallow grave in rural Ohio, DNA unlocked the identity of the apparent homicide victim and renewed hope that the killer will be found. A remarkable blend of citizens’ cooperation, investigators’ determination, and technological advances revealed that the remains were not those of a woman, as initially…


Toronto Police Arrest Suspect in 1983 Cold Case Murders

Toronto police announced today they had arrested a suspect in the murder of two women in the city—cold cases from nearly 40 years ago—after DNA evidence linked the suspect to the deaths. Joseph George Sutherland, age 61, in a photo released by Toronto Police on Nov. 8, 2022. Joseph George Sutherland, age 61, was arrested…


Man Sentenced 15 Years to Life for Escondido Retiree’s 1986 Killing

SAN DIEGO—A 67-year-old man who pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing a retiree in Escondido more than 35 years ago was sentenced July 22 to 15 years to life in state prison. Nathan Eugene Mathis was arrested in April 2018 at his home in Ontario concerning the death of 75-year-old Richard Finney, who was stabbed about…


Tech Company CEO Charged in Decades-Old Murder of California Woman

A tech company executive was arrested in New York over the weekend in connection with the 30-year-old homicide cold case of Laurie Houts, according to prosecutors. John Kevin Woodward, 58, the chief executive officer of the online training company ReadyTech, was taken into custody on July 9 at John F. Kennedy airport after arriving from Amsterdam,…