On Friday, July 15th, with the help of DNA evidence, police arrested 75-year-old Billy Ray Richardson of Texas after charging him with the murders of three women and one teenager. Three of the murders took place over forty years ago, in 1980, while the fourth one occurred in 1995.
Richardson was arrested in Fort Worth, Texas after police linked him with the murders of Kari Lenander and sisters Beverly and Debra Cruse in Los Angeles in 1980. He was also identified as Trina Wilson’s killer; her body was found in Inglewood, California in 1995. Prosecutors said that all the victims had been raped.
Authorities revealed that DNA evidence and other new clues led them to Richardson. Police didn’t elaborate on the new clues with which they were provided. As of now, police do not know whether the man’s victims knew him or not.
According to the New York Times, “The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Mr. Richardson was charged on Thursday with four counts of murder and related charges. As of Friday afternoon, he was in a jail in Tarrant County, Texas, awaiting extradition to Los Angeles. An arraignment date had not been set.”
George Gascón, the Los Angeles district attorney, said in a statement on Friday that he was thankful to everyone who helped lead authorities to Mr. Richardson and eventually to the alleged killer’s arrest.
During his statement, Gascón also sympathized with the families of the victims, hoping that this moment – for which they have waited years – will help bring them justice for the emotional pain they have suffered.
Ms. Lenander, who was murdered when she was 15, was found in a South Los Angeles neighborhood on July 26th, 1980. The Los Angeles Police Department said she was a victim of a sexually-motivated crime. Her case was reopened in 2001 and again in 2012, when a $50,000 reward was offered to anyone with information about Lenander’s murderer’s identity that might lead to the killer’s arrest and conviction. At the time (2012), the Los Angeles Police Department had some “significant leads” but needed a name, according to the New York Times.
According to The Los Angeles Times Magazine, Ms. Lenander and her best friend, 15-year-old Toni Garfield had been drinking while getting ready for a party on the night Lenander was killed. They went dancing and hitchhiked on their way back.
The two were picked up by a white man who said his name was Ken, and who claimed to be visiting L.A. from Canada. Ms. Garfield made it home safely, but Ms. Lenander wanted to “keep partying” with Ken, according to the magazine. They [Garfield and Lenander] last saw each other at about 10 p.m., five hours before Ms. Lenander’s body was found.
Detective Tim Marcia of the Los Angeles Police Department said there was a huge break in the case after DNA testing results showed that the race of the suspect was Black, not white, as everyone had assumed for years. It is still unknown how much this information helped identify Richardson, who is Black.
“That information limited the direction I needed to go,” Detective Marcia told the magazine. “Instead of having one big, whole pie, I got it down to a quarter of the pie.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, a few months prior to Ms. Lenander’s murder, the nude bodies of 25-year-old Beverly Cruse and 22-year-old Debra Cruse were found by their brother in a West Los Angeles apartment on March 5th, 1980.
Their brother explained his visit as a sign of concern, as he hadn’t heard from his sisters for several days. The prosecutor’s office reported that both young women had been shot in the head.
According to city records, Ms. Wilson’s body was found near an Inglewood park on December 31st, 1995, more than 15 years after the first three murders. The circumstances of her death still haven’t been made clear.
Just as Los Angeles did regarding Ms. Lenander, in 2012, Inglewood offered a reward—$25,000—for information about Ms. Wilson’s murderer’s identity that might lead to his arrest and conviction.
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/16/us/billy-richardson-cold-case-california.html
Richardson was arrested in Fort Worth, Texas after police linked him with the murders of Kari Lenander and sisters Beverly and Debra Cruse in Los Angeles in 1980. He was also identified as Trina Wilson’s killer; her body was found in Inglewood, California in 1995. Prosecutors said that all the victims had been raped.
Authorities revealed that DNA evidence and other new clues led them to Richardson. Police didn’t elaborate on the new clues with which they were provided. As of now, police do not know whether the man’s victims knew him or not.
According to the New York Times, “The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Mr. Richardson was charged on Thursday with four counts of murder and related charges. As of Friday afternoon, he was in a jail in Tarrant County, Texas, awaiting extradition to Los Angeles. An arraignment date had not been set.”
George Gascón, the Los Angeles district attorney, said in a statement on Friday that he was thankful to everyone who helped lead authorities to Mr. Richardson and eventually to the alleged killer’s arrest.
During his statement, Gascón also sympathized with the families of the victims, hoping that this moment – for which they have waited years – will help bring them justice for the emotional pain they have suffered.
Ms. Lenander, who was murdered when she was 15, was found in a South Los Angeles neighborhood on July 26th, 1980. The Los Angeles Police Department said she was a victim of a sexually-motivated crime. Her case was reopened in 2001 and again in 2012, when a $50,000 reward was offered to anyone with information about Lenander’s murderer’s identity that might lead to the killer’s arrest and conviction. At the time (2012), the Los Angeles Police Department had some “significant leads” but needed a name, according to the New York Times.
According to The Los Angeles Times Magazine, Ms. Lenander and her best friend, 15-year-old Toni Garfield had been drinking while getting ready for a party on the night Lenander was killed. They went dancing and hitchhiked on their way back.
The two were picked up by a white man who said his name was Ken, and who claimed to be visiting L.A. from Canada. Ms. Garfield made it home safely, but Ms. Lenander wanted to “keep partying” with Ken, according to the magazine. They [Garfield and Lenander] last saw each other at about 10 p.m., five hours before Ms. Lenander’s body was found.
Detective Tim Marcia of the Los Angeles Police Department said there was a huge break in the case after DNA testing results showed that the race of the suspect was Black, not white, as everyone had assumed for years. It is still unknown how much this information helped identify Richardson, who is Black.
“That information limited the direction I needed to go,” Detective Marcia told the magazine. “Instead of having one big, whole pie, I got it down to a quarter of the pie.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, a few months prior to Ms. Lenander’s murder, the nude bodies of 25-year-old Beverly Cruse and 22-year-old Debra Cruse were found by their brother in a West Los Angeles apartment on March 5th, 1980.
Their brother explained his visit as a sign of concern, as he hadn’t heard from his sisters for several days. The prosecutor’s office reported that both young women had been shot in the head.
According to city records, Ms. Wilson’s body was found near an Inglewood park on December 31st, 1995, more than 15 years after the first three murders. The circumstances of her death still haven’t been made clear.
Just as Los Angeles did regarding Ms. Lenander, in 2012, Inglewood offered a reward—$25,000—for information about Ms. Wilson’s murderer’s identity that might lead to his arrest and conviction.
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/16/us/billy-richardson-cold-case-california.html
