Current:Home > Scams73-year-old ex-trucker faces 3 murder charges in 1977 California strangulations -Infinite Edge Capital
73-year-old ex-trucker faces 3 murder charges in 1977 California strangulations
View
Date:2025-04-16 19:32:59
The suspected killer in three Southern California cold cases from 1977 has been identified as 73-year-old man and investigators believe there may be more victims, Ventura County authorities announced last week.
Warren Luther Alexander, 73, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of three women in Ventura County, District Attorney Erik Nasarenko told reporters at a Thursday news conference.
"We do believe there are additional victims both locally and in other states," Nasarenko said.
Alexander, a former long-haul truck driver who grew up in Southern California, is accused of strangling Kimberly Carol Fritz, Lorraine Ann Rodriguez and Velvet Ann Sanchez, sex workers who were killed and found across Ventura County 47 years ago.
Alexander was extradited to California from North Carolina where he was being held on separate cold-case murder charges.
Here's what we know.
Murder suspect linked to case by DNA
Fritz was 18 when she died in Port Hueneme May 29, 1977. Sanchez, 31, died in Oxnard Sept. 8, 1977.
Rodriguez, 21, was found dead by sheriff's deputies Dec. 27, 1977. She was discovered in an unincorporated area of the Oxnard Plains near the Laguna Road Bridge, DA's office spokesman Joey Buttitta said.
Evidence shows Alexander picked up all three for commercial sex, Nasarenko said. He added they frequented a shopping center in Oxnard and nearby hotels.
In February 2023, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Cold Case Unit and Oxnard and Port Hueneme police departments began to re-examine the women's murders. DNA evidence had been collected from each crime scene and victim.
Nasarenko credited advances in DNA technology and a match with Alexander's DNA profile through a national database in 2023 as the breakthroughs that led to Alexander's arrest.
Cold case suspect may be linked to fourth victim
Investigators are looking closely at the strangulation death of Cassandra Lee Miller, who was found dead Oct. 1, 1975, at the Surfside Motel in Port Hueneme, according to Narasenko.
"We are continuing to investigate whether that 1975 case is connected with the 1977 murders," Nasarenko said.
As early as February 1978, authorities shared the belief that all four deaths — the three Alexander is charged with and Miller's — had been connected.
"In my opinion, they're all by the same person except the last one," said Dr. Robert Kornblum, the coroner-medical examiner at the time to a Ventura County Star reporter. Referring to Rodriguez, he said some of the evidence in her death was different than the other women's.
The District Attorney's Office, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office and Oxnard and Port Hueneme police departments are working with the FBI "to see where patterns emerge and hopefully solve additional crimes," Nasarenko said.
Murder suspect grew up in area
Alexander grew up in Oxnard in the 1950s and '60s and attended high school through his sophomore year.
"He was a cab driver and electrician with the Marine Corps. He returned to Oxnard in the 1970s," Nasarenko said.
Alexander worked as a long-haul, cross-country truck driver from the 1970s through the early 1990s, the district attorney added.
Alexander lived in Diamondhead, Mississippi before facing murder charges stemming from a 1992 cold case in Surry County, North Carolina that also involved strangulation of a woman, this one left on the side of a highway, Nasarenko said.
What's next in the court proceedings?
The district attorney said he will not seek the death penalty for Alexander because doing so would require more time. Instead, Nasarenko said he's seeking life in prison without the possibility of parole.
"Witnesses are aging," he said.
The need to proceed efficiently and quickly is also why Surry County, despite its own murder charges, agreed to California Gov. Gavin Newsom's extradition request, Nasarenko said.
Alexander's arraignment began Wednesday morning in Ventura County Superior Court and was continued to 9 a.m. Aug. 21. He is being held in Ventura County Jail without bail.
veryGood! (669)
Related
- This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
- Colorado man found dead at Grand Canyon is 15th fatality there this year, NPS says
- Head of state children’s cabinet named New Mexico’s new public education secretary
- Shop Lands’ End 40% Sitewide Sale & Score $24 Fleeces, $15 Tanks & More Chic Fall Styles
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- Jana Duggar Details Picking Out “Stunning” Dress and Venue for Wedding to Stephen Wissmann
- What can you do when leaders are tolerant of demeaning workplace behavior? Ask HR
- Southwest Airlines under pressure from a big shareholder shakes up its board
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- When heat hurts: ER doctors treat heatstroke, contact burns on Phoenix's hottest days
Ranking
- A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
- Diddy ordered to pay $100M in default judgment for alleged sexual assault
- Manhunt continues for Joseph Couch, Kentucky man accused of I-75 shooting rampage
- SpaceX launch: Polaris Dawn crew looks to make history with civilian spacewalk
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- Huddle Up to Learn How Olivia Culpo and Christian McCaffrey Became Supportive Teammates
- What can you do when leaders are tolerant of demeaning workplace behavior? Ask HR
- Travis Kelce Reacts to Jason Kelce’s ESPN Debut Exactly as a Brother Would
Recommendation
$73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
Jennifer Coolidge Shares How She Honestly Embraces Aging
West Virginia governor to call on lawmakers to consider child care and tax proposals this month
1 Day Left! Extra 25% Off Nordstrom Clearance + Up to 74% Off Madewell, Free People, Good American & More
Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
Texas school districts say upgrades to the state’s student data reporting system could hurt funding
North Carolina House Rep. Jeffrey Elmore resigning before term ends
SpaceX launch: Polaris Dawn crew looks to make history with civilian spacewalk