In 1980, three women and a teenage girl were dead, and their killer was never found. Now, the detectives found the murderer using DNA evidence.
Last Friday, authorities said that they found DNA evidence of the murderer in multiple unsolved murders dating to over 40 years ago. The convicted man was a 75-year-old man named Ray Richardson who lived in Texas. He was responsible for the murders of Kari Lenander, Beverly Cruse, and her sister, Debra Cruse in 1980 and Trina Wilson in 1995.
“I cannot imagine the pain that these [victims] families have endured,” Los Angeles district attorney, George Gascónaid said in a statement. “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.”
Sadly, the police have not been successful in reaching out to the victim’s family members so far.
The series of events that led to the arrest of Richardson started in 2001 when the case of the murder of Ms. Lenander was reopened. She was killed when she was 15 years old, and it was said to be a sexually motivated crime. In 2012, the Los Angeles police approved a $50,000 reward for information regarding the identification of the murderer. The police found out that, on the night of Ms. Lenarder’s murder, she and her friend, Toni Garfield, were getting ready for a party and drinking tequila. They went dancing and decided to hitchhike back home. They were picked up by a white man who dropped Garfield at her home but not Ms. Lenander. She was found dead five hours later.
However, once the police obtained the DNA profile which determined the race of the suspect, it turned out that the killer was black, not white.
“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.”
The authorities connected the murderer of Ms. Lenander to the murders of Beverly Cruse, and Debra Cruse whose bodies were found by their brother in 1980. 15 years later, Ms. Wilson was found near Inglewood Park on Dec. 31, 1995.
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/16/us/billy-richardson-cold-case-california.html
Last Friday, authorities said that they found DNA evidence of the murderer in multiple unsolved murders dating to over 40 years ago. The convicted man was a 75-year-old man named Ray Richardson who lived in Texas. He was responsible for the murders of Kari Lenander, Beverly Cruse, and her sister, Debra Cruse in 1980 and Trina Wilson in 1995.
“I cannot imagine the pain that these [victims] families have endured,” Los Angeles district attorney, George Gascónaid said in a statement. “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.”
Sadly, the police have not been successful in reaching out to the victim’s family members so far.
The series of events that led to the arrest of Richardson started in 2001 when the case of the murder of Ms. Lenander was reopened. She was killed when she was 15 years old, and it was said to be a sexually motivated crime. In 2012, the Los Angeles police approved a $50,000 reward for information regarding the identification of the murderer. The police found out that, on the night of Ms. Lenarder’s murder, she and her friend, Toni Garfield, were getting ready for a party and drinking tequila. They went dancing and decided to hitchhike back home. They were picked up by a white man who dropped Garfield at her home but not Ms. Lenander. She was found dead five hours later.
However, once the police obtained the DNA profile which determined the race of the suspect, it turned out that the killer was black, not white.
“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.”
The authorities connected the murderer of Ms. Lenander to the murders of Beverly Cruse, and Debra Cruse whose bodies were found by their brother in 1980. 15 years later, Ms. Wilson was found near Inglewood Park on Dec. 31, 1995.
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/16/us/billy-richardson-cold-case-california.html
