A person who was cleared by a polygraph check for the rape and homicide of a teenage lady in 1979 has now been linked to the suspect with newfound DNA proof, authorities revealed.
17-year-old Esther Gonzalez had been strolling from her dwelling in Beaumont, Calif., to her sister’s home in Banning, about 85 miles east of Los Angeles, on Feb. 9, 1979, when she was attacked.
The next day, the teenager’s physique was discovered dumped in a snowpack off Freeway 243, with authorities figuring out she was raped after which bludgeoned to dying, in line with the Riverside County District Legal professional’s Workplace.
An unidentified man, described by deputies on the time as “argumentative,” discovered the physique and known as the Riverside County Sheriff’s Station, saying he didn’t know if it was a male or feminine.
The person, later recognized as Lewis Randolph “Randy” Williamson, was requested by sheriff’s investigators to take a polygraph check, which he agreed to and handed, clearing “him of any wrongdoing.”
The case went chilly for over 4 a long time with no different leads or witnesses.
Nevertheless, final week, the Riverside County District Legal professional’s Workplace mentioned in a press launch that the case had been solved utilizing forensic family tree, ending the over 45-year-long chilly case.
The chilly case murder staff of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Division renewed the investigation in 2023.
Utilizing the semen pattern discovered on Gonzalez’s physique 44 years prior and operating it by means of genetic family tree databases, investigators realized that Williamson had by no means been cleared by means of DNA testing as a result of the expertise didn’t exist when he handed the polygraph check in 1979.
Williamson died in Florida in 2014, however throughout his post-mortem, a blood pattern was taken, which the staff might use to check if his DNA was a match.
The pattern was despatched to the California Division of Simplyice with the help of the Broward County Sheriff’s Workplace.
The chilly case staff then confirmed that Williamson’s DNA matched the DNA recovered from Gonzalez’s physique.
The grasp investigator for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Workplace, Jason Corey, advised CNN that the homicide had been in Riverside County’s chilly case unit for the reason that unit’s launch about 5 years in the past, and a number of investigators have labored to unravel it.
“I can’t think about what it’s like for them,” Corey advised the outlet. “That entire household has simply been devastated over time. This can be a day in and day in, time out factor. I don’t assume that is one thing that ever obtained simpler for them as time went on.”
“I don’t know in the event you can say you’re glad that it’s achieved, as a result of it’s nonetheless, it’s nonetheless a horrible tragedy, however I hope it will probably carry them some closure,” he mentioned.
Corey shared that forensic family tree “might be an incredible investigative instrument transferring ahead sooner or later” to assist investigators generate leads for unsolved instances.
“It is going to assist do lots of good and never solely establish victims, however it can assist level the investigators in a route with their investigative leads that may assist carry these suspects to justice,” Corey advised the outlet.
The Riverside County Regional Chilly Case Murder Group encourages anybody who knew Williamson or could have details about the case or different potential victims to contact them at 951-955-277 or coldcaseunit@rivcoda.gov.
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