A Southern California man was charged Thursday with killing two ladies in 1981 after DNA proof linked him to the crimes, prosecutors introduced Thursday.
Tony Garcia, 68, of Oxnard appeared in courtroom however his arraignment was continued to Feb. 23, the Ventura County District Lawyer’s Workplace mentioned in a press release.
It wasn’t instantly clear whether or not he had an lawyer to talk on his behalf.
Garcia, a Navy veteran and former martial arts trainer, is accused of kidnapping, raping and strangling Rachel Zendejas, 20, in Camarillo in January 1981 and strangling 21-year-old Lisa Gondek in Oxnard in December 1981.
Zendejas was discovered useless in a carport in Camarillo, authorities mentioned.
Oxnard Police Chief Jason Benitez mentioned Gondek was discovered after a reported condominium fireplace.
“Personnel responded to the scene and extinguished the blaze, however they situated Lisa’s deceased physique within the bathtub, within the toilet,” he mentioned at a information convention Thursday.
Oxnard and Camarillo are each in Ventura County.
Garcia lived for many years only some miles away from the crime scenes till he lastly was linked to the killings, authorities mentioned.
“The very fact is, this suspect has been hiding in plain sight, for over 40 years,” Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff mentioned.
In 2004, investigators decided that the identical individual killed the ladies however couldn’t discover a DNA match in a legislation enforcement database.
Authorities mentioned Garcia turned a suspect in 2019 after chilly case investigators turned to genealogical DNA, which compares crime scene DNA with industrial databases that may embrace profiles submitted by kinfolk of the killer.
Garcia is charged with two counts of homicide with particular allegations that they have been a number of killings and that one concerned kidnapping and rape.
The District Lawyer’s Workplace hasn’t determined whether or not to hunt the dying penalty or life in jail with out parole.
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