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On Thursday, a California man inLos Angeleswas found guilty of raping and murdering two of his women in the 1980s.
His Horace Van Vaultz Jr., 67, described by prosecutors as a "sexually motivated serial killer," died on July 16 of her Selena Keough, 21. was convicted by a jury of first degree murder against , 1981, June 9, 1986, with her 22-year-old Mary Duggan and her City News Service reported.
After deliberating his three hours, a jury of nine men and three women found Vaultz guilty of murder,with allegations of rape of a woman and special circumstances involving sodomy. found guilty.
Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman told the jury, "The defendant chose these victims [and] the defendant is sitting here because he is a serial killer.
Hawaiian, 75, arrested in 1982 on suspicion of rape and murder for stabbing 15-year-old girl 59 times : Officer
Horace Van Vaultz Jr. was found guilty of first-degree murder for the deaths of two women. in the 1980s. (Burbank Police)
Keef was found dead by strangulation in a bush near an apartment complex inMontclair, San Bernardino. The county in which her body was found. Duggan was suffocated and her body was found in the trunk of a car in a Burbank parking lot.
In closing arguments, Silberman argued that the "sexually motivated murders" were "committed by the same serial killer between 1981 and 1986," and that his DNA was linked to both victims. Both claimed Vaultz was responsible because it was found on or both of them. The CNS reports that she was partially or completely naked at the time of her death.
According to the report, Silberman said the "massive amount of evidence" pointed to "only the defendants."
Los Angeles Police Vehicle (Los Angeles Police Department Dept.)
Vaultz, aex-Marine, testified on his own behalf and denied wrongdoing.
"My semen means I could have had sex with the person. It doesn't mean I killed them," he said during the trial. , CNS reported.
When questioned about his DNA evidence, he reiterated that he did not kill women.
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Vaultz charged with pair of 1983 rape and unsolved murders Damon Lamont Hobdy claimed that no charges were filed. "I will not prove" that his client murdered the woman, CNS reported.
"If the evidence shows him not guilty, which is certain, do your duty," Hobdy told the jury.
Both The murder of a woman went sober for decades as no modern DNA evidence was available at the time.
Vaultz's indictment marks the first time Los Angeles County has used genetic genealogy in an investigation, with detectives accessing commercial DNA databases and using his DNA from relatives to Identified former Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacy. he said before
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Prosecutor said no current DNA evidence was available at the time, which could not be retrialed, but was used as "pattern evidence" for the current prosecution.
Lowe's body was found in 1986 in Ventura County, strangled and left in a garbage pile.
Keef's sister, Sabrina Prude, told reporters that she was grateful that she continued. investigation and judgment.
"I am extremely grateful to everyone who has helped me get this far," said her Plourde, he reported to CNS. "You think for years that nobody cares."
"Even if you're missing someone, they care about their family and don't forget," she said. Added.
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November, Burbank Vaultz was arrested during a traffic stop by police in 2019. He was wanted for the murders of Keough and Duggan.
He faces life in prison with no possibility of parole. , a sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 19.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.