The genealogical hit came in January, officials said. Borgeson said she also prayed for Neal's family as his arrest was announced. Linda O'Keefe. Then, in 1974, he was sent back to prison in Colorado for a parole violation and released three years later. Records reveal Neal was arrested on Sept. 9, 1973, in Marion County, Florida, on a fraud charge for writing a bad check and unauthorized use of a vehicle. Scott Schwebke is an investigative reporter for the Orange County Register and the Southern California News Group. Photo Source. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer announced the arrest of James Alan Neal in the 1973 murder of 11-year-old Linda Ann O'Keefe during a press conderence on Wednesday, February 20, 2019. Police were tight-lipped about exactly how they solved the case but said they received a lead in January that prompted them to begin investigating Neal, who had been living in Orange County at the time of O'Keefe's killing but had since moved to Colorado. IE 11 is not supported. Please see the press release for more information. On the day Linda disappeared, she was last seen talking to a stranger in a van, Lewis said. "I'm sure they're going through a lot of grieving of their own.". Scott has also worked at newspapers in Utah, Colorado, North Carolina and Virginia covering everything from methamphetamine trafficking cops to hurricanes. "I never really thought that they would actually ever find the individual responsible," Cindy Borgeson, a sister of Linda OKeefe, told ABC News. A man has been arrested through DNA and genetic genealogy in the decades-old cold case killing of 11-year-old Linda Ann OKeefe, who was strangled to death in Southern California in 1973, authorities said. The arrest seemed to signal an end to an infamous cold case that had both haunted and motivated "generations of investigators" at the Newport Beach Police Department, Lewis said. Neal was living in Monument at the time of his arrest and was extradited to Orange County, California, where he has remained since. Authorities suspect that Neal, while on parole in the Colorado case, snatched OKeefe, who lived in Corona del Mar, from the street on July 6, 1973, as she walked home from summer school. DNA leads to arrest in half century-old cold case murder of 11-year-old 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. It is not clear if Neal, 72, will waive extradition, Spitzer said. James Alan Neal, who was 73, was taken to an area hospital on May 25 due to an undisclosed illness, said Jaimee Blashaw of the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Paul Bersebach/The Orange County Register via AP. Linda O'Keefe fue asesinada en 1973 mientras caminaba a casa desde la escuela. Last year, Spitzer said authorities used DNA thought to have been left by the killer and tracked down Neal using a public genealogy database. Nothing he said made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Neal was pronounced dead at. So, if youre curious to know more about James and what happened to him after his arrest, weve got you covered. Photo Source. First tweet from Newport Beach Police Department. Newport Beach police said last year they were taking a fresh look at the slaying of Linda O'Keefe, who lived in the Corona del Mar neighborhood and was last seen alive July 6, 1973, as she walked home from summer school. "It didn't necessarily lead to the identification (of the suspect)," he said. This undated booking photo provided by the El Paso County, Colo., Sheriff's Office shows James Neal. Investigators identified Neal as a suspect using genealogical DNA. Neal told McMillan he was the second of three children, never got along with his siblings, rebelled against his parents and was an emotionally disturbed child. All my life up to this day has been going in circles, Neal said. "We want as many sets of eyes on that sketch as possible, so somebody can recognize the face of a killer so we can get justice.". 48 Hours: Lindas Story delves into the work put in to arrest James Neal in relation to Lindas rape and murder. James Neal es el sospechoso del caso de Linda O'Keefe: 5 Datos Shortly after Lindas murder, investigators recovered DNA evidence from her remains, Spitzer said. We will make sure that the defendant is fairly and justly held accountable in a court of law.". Now a Suspect Has Been Arrested, JonBent Ramsey's Father Is Optimistic DNA Advances Will Catch Daughter's Killer, Slams Boulder Police, DNA Taken from Truck's Door Handle in Washington Leads to Arrest 34 Years After Wisconsin Mom's Killing, Pa. Newport Beach police released this undated image of Linda O'Keefe in an effort to get assistance from the public to help solve her murder in Southern California in July 1973. He was released from the penitentiary in July 1971. He is awaiting extradition from Colorado Springs to Orange County. On the day Linda Ann O'Keefe died, it was a cooler-than-normal July morning in Newport Beach, California. In July 1973, 11-year-old Linda Ann O'Keefe was murdered. "Her picture hangs in our detective division, where our folks see it every day as a reminder of her and why we continue to pursue these cases.". "But it created an awareness . The genealogical hit came in January, officials said. The following morning, O'Keefe's body was found in a ditch. Having spent two years living in England including Liverpool, he is an avid Beatles fan and memorabilia collector. Neal was arrested on February 19, 2019 in Monument, Colorado where he had been living with his family for three years. Parabon used the DNA from the crime scene to predict the suspect's eye color, hair color and skin color. For more than 45 years the case went cold -- until DNA was submitted to an ancestry website. About a month later, the police brought additional charges of sexual assault against a child younger than 14. Phone calls to Newport Beach police were not returned, but the Orange County District Attorneys Office said it is seeking other potential victims of Neal. He was rushed to a local hospital about a month before that. In August 1969, he was convicted of fraud in Denver and sentenced to three to 10 year at Colorados Territorial Correctional Facility. Composite sketch of the driver. He was paroled in July 1961 but returned to the Youth Authority in October 1962. Photo Source. 'She listens, but hears nothing more. 1966 probation report describes man suspected of killing 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe Murder Defendant James Alan Neal Is Dead | Law & Crime James Alan Neal, 73, was an inmate at the maximum-security Theo Lacy jail in Orange for the 1973 sexual assault and strangling death of Linda O'Keefe, 11. Later he moved to Colorado, where he was living when he was arrested, he said. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Then her mother made that call that every parent dreads and told police her daughter was missing, he said. A native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., he was previously a breaking news and multimedia reporter for the Ogden, Utah, Standard-Examiner. In addition to the count of murder while committing lewd acts on a child, Neal was also accused of lewd acts against two other girls under the age of 14 in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It was not clear from records if he was convicted for those offenses. It was July 6, 1973, a Friday. James Neal (left) and Linda O'Keefe (right) (credit: CBS). O'Keefe then called her mother from the school office, and her mother told her she was busy sewing and that she should walk home, police said. He said he was glad he had all that stuff behind him but never mentioned what he had done, Malecki recalled. She loved animals, playing the piano, and painting. Its coming: Dark details revealed after man charged with 2011 murder of fiancee, Man known as Compassion Guy, praised for selflessness, stabbed in violent and senseless attack at California park, Jan. 6 QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley is no longer behind bars but still wants prison sentence vacated, Newport Beach police launched a new PR campaign in 2018, Lori Vallow Daybell Trial: Live Updates from Day 14 of Shocking Testimony, Gruesome Evidence, 'This was not a random act': Person of interest in custody after Detroit neurosurgeon found shot in head and wrapped in blanket, Following early morning 911 call, 87-year-old man found dead with pistol in bed after shooting 86-year-old woman: Cops, The Week Ahead: Psychic sentencing, stepson killer, and 'doomsday cult', Murder case 'refused' against couple who allegedly smothered newborn and threw her away in trash bag, Preschool teacher reportedly arrested for murder during the childrens naptime, Serial killer sentenced in cold case murder of law librarian strangled to death with scarf, Phony doctor treated thousands including cancer patients without medical license: DA, I hope she gets beat up in jail: Mom and boyfriend wont ever get out of prison after unimaginable torture murder of 10-year-old Anthony Avalos, College professor wanted to rape 7-year-old girl, promised to bring her favorite chocolate bar and The Little Mermaid doll: FBI. . OKeefe, 11, was abducted on July 6, 1973, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. "It is bittersweet to hear that, yes, this case has been resolved. At the time of the murder, Neal was using the name James Allen George Layton, prosecutors said. A day later, her body was found in a ditch, and she had been sexually assaulted. O'Keefe, who was seven years younger than Borgeson, was "an old soul" with a "go with the flow" personality, Borgeson said. for me personally. Using details from the investigator's decades-old case files, police relayed O'Keefe's last hours, as well as her family's frantic search for her, as if they were unfolding in real time, as The Washington Post's Meagan Flynn reported: "At 6:42 p.m., six hours since her mother had last heard from her, O'Keefe's parents reported her missing to the Newport Beach Police Department, convinced by then O'Keefe was not simply running off with friends to retaliate for not getting a ride. Through the tireless efforts of generations of our investigators, we hope we have been able to bring a measure of closure to Lindas family, friends, and loved ones.. He worked odd jobs as a cook, factory worker, a floral delivery person, etc., but could never consistently hold down a job. Their mother "carried that guilt the rest of her life," Borgeson said. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. He has also accompanied police on undercover drug buys and also provided an award winning, eyewitness account of the execution of a North Carolina death row inmate. "I'm astonished at what they were able to accomplish," Borgeson, 64, said. Neal currently lives in Colorado, but investigators were able to confirm that he lived in California in the 1970s, when Linda was murdered, Spitzer said. (Newport Beach Police Department) James Alan Neal, 73, who. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Linda O'Keefe: DNA Leads to Arrest in 1973 Murder of Calif. Girl Through the tireless efforts of generations of our investigators, we hope we have been able to bring a measure of closure to Lindas family, friends, and loved ones., Orange County District AttorneyTodd Spitzerput Neals death in more bitter terms, saying the new development robbed the OKeefe family of the justice they so deserve and deprives the law enforcement officers of the satisfaction that they finally got their culprit.. Linda O'Keefe. Authorities did not elaborate on his death but said he was not exhibiting Covid-19 symptoms. Newport Beach police released this undated image of Linda O'Keefe in an effort to get assistance from the public to help solve her murder in Southern California in July 1973. James Alan Neal, 73, was transferred to a local hospital May 25 for treatment of an illness and died there at about 5:15 a.m. Wednesday, according to Orange County sheriff's officials. "He seemed like a good guy," Neal's landlord, Michael Thulson,. Colorado Man Arrested in 1973 Killing of 11-Year-Old Girl Featured in SANTA ANA, CA Officials in California say James Alan Neal, who was arrested last year in Monument for the rape and murder of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe, has died. 'Serial child sex predator' dies in police custody before he faces Shes really good at sewing, and we dont have a lot of money for fancy store outfits anyhow. #LindasStory pic.twitter.com/9sucqJsnGg, Newport Beach Police (@NewportBeachPD) July 6, 2018. PRESS RELEASE: Linda OKeefe Homicide https://t.co/sSg9rjwXgH, Starting tomorrow at 7:45 am, #LindasStory will be told here, through our Twitter account. The DNA sample from her dress was entered into the CODIS system in 2001 but came up empty, he said. Suspect in 1973 California rape and murder dies before trial | 9news.com Reportedly, Colorado resident James Alan Neal was arrested in 2019 after a DNA report linked him to Linda O'Keefe's 1973 cold murder case.
What Is School Spirit In Common App, Feysand Baby Fanfiction, Robin Schmidt Obituary, Mobile Home Parks In Monroe, Wa, Guy Hovis Daughter, Articles J