The murderer of three women and a teenage girl in California from over four decades ago was finally arrested. Authorities said last Friday that they used DNA evidence from 1980 to make the arrest of the 75-year old man in Texas.
Detectives from the police departments of Los Angeles and Inglewood, California traveled to Fort Worth, Texas to arrest Billy Ray Richardson, whom the police linked to 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.
A 2010 profile by The Los Angeles Times Magazine stated that Ms. Lenander and her best friend, 15-year-old Toni Garfield, were alone at Ms. Garfield’s house the night Ms. Lenander was killed, getting ready for a party and consuming tequila. The girls made the decision to go dancing and hitchhiked home.
A man who claimed to be Ken and to be visiting from Canada picked them up. Ms. Lenander told the magazine that she planned to “keep partying” with Ken after Ms. Garfield was dropped off at her house. The girls separated at about 10 p.m., and Ms. Lenander’s body was found about five hours later.
Cold case detectives in Los Angeles reopened their investigation into Ms. Lenander’s murder in 2001. She was 15 at the time of her death. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, her body was discovered on July 26, 1980, in a South Los Angeles neighborhood.
A $50,000 reward was authorized by the Los Angeles City Council in 2012 for information that would result in the capture and conviction of those responsible for her murder. Later, Detective Tim Marcia of the Los Angeles Police Department stated that investigators had some “significant leads” about the murder at a news conference.
DNA evidence aided a connection of the crimes to Mr. Richardson, though the authorities did not elaborate on what new evidence had led to him.
According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Mr. Richardson was alleged of four counts of murder on Thursday. He was being held in a jail in Tarrant County as of Friday afternoon while he awaited extradition to Los Angeles.
George Gascón, the district attorney for Los Angeles, expressed his gratitude for those whose efforts had resulted in the arrest in a statement on Friday. “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.”
Detectives from the police departments of Los Angeles and Inglewood, California traveled to Fort Worth, Texas to arrest Billy Ray Richardson, whom the police linked to 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.
A 2010 profile by The Los Angeles Times Magazine stated that Ms. Lenander and her best friend, 15-year-old Toni Garfield, were alone at Ms. Garfield’s house the night Ms. Lenander was killed, getting ready for a party and consuming tequila. The girls made the decision to go dancing and hitchhiked home.
A man who claimed to be Ken and to be visiting from Canada picked them up. Ms. Lenander told the magazine that she planned to “keep partying” with Ken after Ms. Garfield was dropped off at her house. The girls separated at about 10 p.m., and Ms. Lenander’s body was found about five hours later.
Cold case detectives in Los Angeles reopened their investigation into Ms. Lenander’s murder in 2001. She was 15 at the time of her death. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, her body was discovered on July 26, 1980, in a South Los Angeles neighborhood.
A $50,000 reward was authorized by the Los Angeles City Council in 2012 for information that would result in the capture and conviction of those responsible for her murder. Later, Detective Tim Marcia of the Los Angeles Police Department stated that investigators had some “significant leads” about the murder at a news conference.
DNA evidence aided a connection of the crimes to Mr. Richardson, though the authorities did not elaborate on what new evidence had led to him.
According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Mr. Richardson was alleged of four counts of murder on Thursday. He was being held in a jail in Tarrant County as of Friday afternoon while he awaited extradition to Los Angeles.
George Gascón, the district attorney for Los Angeles, expressed his gratitude for those whose efforts had resulted in the arrest in a statement on Friday. “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.”
