California investigators linked a man’s DNA to the 1979 cold case murder of a teenage girl in Riverside.
On November 20, the Riverside County Regional Cold Case Homicide Team identified Lewis Randolph “Randy” Williamson, who died in 2014, as the suspect in Esther Gonzalez’s murder. On February 9, 1979, she was attacked and killed as she walked from her parents’ house in Beaumont to her sister’s home in Banning.
According to FOX News Digital, the next day, deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office found Esther Gonzalez’s body after an unidentified man, described as “argumentative,” called to report the discovery. The man, later identified as Williamson, claimed he did not know whether the victim was a man or a woman.
Five days after the report, detectives identified Williamson as the caller. Investigators asked him to take a polygraph test, and he agreed and passed.
After pursuing numerous leads, investigators submitted a semen sample from the crime scene to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
In 2023, the county cold case homicide team sent several pieces of evidence to Othram, Inc. to start a forensic investigative genetic genealogy investigation, hoping to generate new leads.
Jason Corey, the lead investigator for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, said the technique is a valuable enhancement to an investigator’s resources, according to CNN.
“I think it will be a great investigative tool moving forward in the future,” Corey said. “It will help do a lot of good and not only identify victims, but it will help point the investigators in a direction with their investigative leads that will help bring those suspects to justice.
Although Williamson passed away, the victim’s family told CNN they’re grateful for closure.
“We are very happy that we finally have closure,” her sister, Elizabeth Gonzalez, said.
“We are happy about it but, since the guy has died, a little sad that he won’t spend any time for her murder.”
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