The Los Angeles Police Department arrested Billy Ray Richardson on July 14 in Fort Worth, Texas for the murders of Kari Lenander, Beverly Cruse, and her sister, Debra Cruse, in 1980 in Los Angeles, as well as Trina Wilson in 1995 in Inglewood.
Officials said DNA evidence helped link the murders to him, leading to the arrest of the 75-year-old man. Authorities, however, did not elaborate on what new evidence led to him. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Richardson was charged on Thursday with four counts of murder. As of Friday, he was in a jail in Tarrant County in Texas, awaiting extradition to LA.
George Gascón, the Los Angeles district attorney, said in a statement on Friday that he was thankful for those whose work had led to the arrest. “I cannot imagine the pain that these families have endured,” he 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.”
In 2001, detectives in LA reopened an investigation into the 1980 murder of Kari Lenander, who was 15 when she was killed. Her body was found in a South Los Angeles neighborhood on July 26, 1980, according to the LAPD.
At a news conference in 2012, Detective Tim Marcia of the Los Angeles Police Department said investigators had some “significant leads” about the murder. “But we need a name,” he said.
Detective Marcia said there was a big break in the case in the mid-2000s after a DNA profile determined the race of the suspect. A private lab indicated that her killer was Black, when many always believed Lenander had been killed by a white man. It was unclear how much of a role that test played in identifying Richardson, who is Black.
A few months before Ms. Lenander’s murder, the naked bodies of Beverly Cruse, 25, and Debra Cruse, 22, were found on March 5, 1980, by their brother in a West Los Angeles apartment, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Ms. Wilson was found near an Inglewood park on Dec. 31, 1995, more than 15 years after from the previous murders. The circumstances of her death were not clear on Friday.
Link to article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/16/us/billy-richardson-cold-case-california.html
Officials said DNA evidence helped link the murders to him, leading to the arrest of the 75-year-old man. Authorities, however, did not elaborate on what new evidence led to him. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Richardson was charged on Thursday with four counts of murder. As of Friday, he was in a jail in Tarrant County in Texas, awaiting extradition to LA.
George Gascón, the Los Angeles district attorney, said in a statement on Friday that he was thankful for those whose work had led to the arrest. “I cannot imagine the pain that these families have endured,” he 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.”
In 2001, detectives in LA reopened an investigation into the 1980 murder of Kari Lenander, who was 15 when she was killed. Her body was found in a South Los Angeles neighborhood on July 26, 1980, according to the LAPD.
At a news conference in 2012, Detective Tim Marcia of the Los Angeles Police Department said investigators had some “significant leads” about the murder. “But we need a name,” he said.
Detective Marcia said there was a big break in the case in the mid-2000s after a DNA profile determined the race of the suspect. A private lab indicated that her killer was Black, when many always believed Lenander had been killed by a white man. It was unclear how much of a role that test played in identifying Richardson, who is Black.
A few months before Ms. Lenander’s murder, the naked bodies of Beverly Cruse, 25, and Debra Cruse, 22, were found on March 5, 1980, by their brother in a West Los Angeles apartment, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Ms. Wilson was found near an Inglewood park on Dec. 31, 1995, more than 15 years after from the previous murders. The circumstances of her death were not clear on Friday.
Link to article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/16/us/billy-richardson-cold-case-california.html
