On Friday, authorities said that DNA evidence played a significant role in Billy Ray Richardson’s arrest. Richardson was accused of killing three women and a teenager four decades ago but was never caught.
According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Richardson was charged on Thursday with four charges of murder and other felonies. As of Friday, Richardson was being held in a Tarrant County, Texas jail. His extradition arraignment date has not yet been scheduled.
“I cannot imagine the pain that these families have endured,” George Gascón, the Los Angeles district attorney, said. “Their loss is immeasurable. We hope that together we can bring justice to the families who have endured so much and have waited years for this moment.”
Kari Lenander’s murder, which occurred when she was 15 years old, was the focus of a reopened Los Angeles police investigation in 2001.
In 1980, Detective Tim Marcia found out that Ms. Lenander and her best friend, were alone at her friend’s house the night Ms. Lenander was killed. A $50,000 reward was established by the Los Angeles City Council in 2012 for any information that was connected to her murder.
Marcia was confused during the investigation. The pieces just did not match up, but everything came together after a DNA profile revealed the suspect’s race.
“That information limited the direction I needed to go,” Marcia told the Los Angeles Times magazine. “Instead of having one big, whole pie, I got it down to a quarter of the pie.”
Beverly Cruse, and Debra Cruse, were two other women killed by Richardson. They were discovered dead on March 5, 1980, by their brother in a West Los Angeles apartment. He informed the police that he had not heard from his sisters in a few days, so he decided to check on them, and that is when he found them.
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/16/us/billy-richardson-cold-case-california.html
According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Richardson was charged on Thursday with four charges of murder and other felonies. As of Friday, Richardson was being held in a Tarrant County, Texas jail. His extradition arraignment date has not yet been scheduled.
“I cannot imagine the pain that these families have endured,” George Gascón, the Los Angeles district attorney, said. “Their loss is immeasurable. We hope that together we can bring justice to the families who have endured so much and have waited years for this moment.”
Kari Lenander’s murder, which occurred when she was 15 years old, was the focus of a reopened Los Angeles police investigation in 2001.
In 1980, Detective Tim Marcia found out that Ms. Lenander and her best friend, were alone at her friend’s house the night Ms. Lenander was killed. A $50,000 reward was established by the Los Angeles City Council in 2012 for any information that was connected to her murder.
Marcia was confused during the investigation. The pieces just did not match up, but everything came together after a DNA profile revealed the suspect’s race.
“That information limited the direction I needed to go,” Marcia told the Los Angeles Times magazine. “Instead of having one big, whole pie, I got it down to a quarter of the pie.”
Beverly Cruse, and Debra Cruse, were two other women killed by Richardson. They were discovered dead on March 5, 1980, by their brother in a West Los Angeles apartment. He informed the police that he had not heard from his sisters in a few days, so he decided to check on them, and that is when he found them.
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/16/us/billy-richardson-cold-case-california.html
