(CNN)A 75-year-old man was arrested last week for raping and murdering a teenage girl in 1982 indicted for the crime. In California, officials announced Tuesday after DNA linked him to the scene.
According to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, on the night of September 2, 1982, 15-year-old Karen was found dead when her boyfriend left her near a bus stop in Sunnyvale, California. Stitt was last seen by her boyfriend. The teen saw Karen walking towards the stop and left because he was worried that he would get into trouble with his parents because he was coming home late, according to the criminal complaint.
The girl's body was found the next morning near a cinder block wall about 100 yards from the stop. Investigators determined that she had been sexually assaulted and stabbed 59 times. The road was closed for decades until the information led to investigators.
Ramirez will appear in court in Maui on Wednesday and will not fight extradition to send him to California for arraignment, court officials said. I have not been able to identify an attorney.
According to the complaint, investigators determined the deaths of Ramirez and Stitt by comparing his DNA samples of Ramirez's children with his DNA evidence found at Stitt's murder scene. could relate.
It allowed investigators to create his DNA profile for an unknown male suspect in 2000 using his DNA from blood and other samples found at the scene. It began with the help of advances in DNA analysis, the complaint says. DNA analysis was able to officially rule out Stitt's boyfriend as a suspect, but the profile did not match any of the available DNA databases, the complaint said.
Until Detective Matthew Hutchison gets information in 2021, he is a potential suspect. The complaint said it began investigating Ramirez and his brother as individuals, eventually catching up with Gary Ramirez.No reasons were given that led to the information about Ramirez's family.
Earlier this year, using DNA samples obtained from Ramirez's children, the lab had "very strong statistical support" that the DNA found at the crime scene belonged to Ramirez. concluded, the complaint said.
The operation to arrest Ramirez was a "month-long planned and coordinated effort" between law enforcement and federal officials in Santa Clara County, Maui, district attorney said. The agency said it was funded in large part through a U.S. Department of Justice grant the Department of Justice gave to the District Attorney's Office to help investigate and prosecute the unsolved case.
