james neal linda o'keefe

Oct 21, 2023

His last address was in San Jacinto, where his home on East Evans Street was just a few blocks away from North Mountain Middle School and Jose Antonio Estudillo Elementary. ", "I couldn't carry that burden in my heart of hating an individual even though he committed this horrible crime," she said. The detectives dogged this case. Police hoped that retelling the girl's story through the modern-day medium would help people from a different generation form an emotional attachment to the case. People in the city of Newport Beach have been following this case for literally 45 years, Spitzer said. O'Keefe was last seen alive on July 6, 1973, as she walked home from summer school, the Newport Beach Police Department said. Later he moved to Colorado, where he was living when he was arrested, he said. Newport Beach police in July released a sketch of a man, the possible suspect, based on DNA collected at the scene. ABC News' Jenna Harrison contributed to this report. Linda never made it home that afternoon., For 45 years, the Newport Beach Police Department continued to search for Lindas killer," Lewis said. He is being held in Colorado, and if he waives extradition, could be moved to California before the end of the week, officials said. Police also want to know if Neal could be linked to other crimes. Investigators said he used to live in Southern California in the 1970s and was known as James Albert Layton Jr at the time, although he later moved to Florida and changed his name. We never gave up.". Linda O'Keefe was last seen alive in Corona Del Mar, California, in July 1973. The investigation into the homicide remained cold for 45 years until Virginia-based Parabon NanoLabs used DNA to identify Neal as a suspect in the killing, leading to his arrest last month in Colorado. James Neal was arrested in February 2019 and charged with raping and killing Linda Ann OKeefe. 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The 11-year-old was taken while she walked back from school in California, with witnesses reporting Linda talking to a white male in a van. Colorado man charged in 1973 Orange County cold case dies awaiting trial But again, it's a reminder of what happened. 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A poster of James Alan Neal during the Newport Beach police and Orange County prosecutors news conference on Feb. 20, 2019. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Neal appears gaunt and stoic in a black-and white prison photo. My mom made it. 48 Hours: Lindas Story delves into the work put in to arrest James Neal in relation to Lindas rape and murder. Scott has also worked at newspapers in Utah, Colorado, North Carolina and Virginia covering everything from methamphetamine trafficking cops to hurricanes. James Neal (left) and Linda O'Keefe (right) (credit: CBS) The 72-year-old Neal was extradited to California from Colorado after he was charged with murder in the death of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe . When O'Keefe didn't return home right away, there was little concern at first. They dont understand me or why I am the way I am. ABC News' Kayna Whitworth contributed to this report. Then, after he was paroled again in August 1963, he was arrested a year later for burglary and sentenced to nine months in the Orange County jail. James Alan Neal, the 73-year-old charged in the 1973 cold case murder of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe, died on Wednesday at about 5:15 a.m. That's according to Orange County Sheriff's Department spokesperson Jaimee Blashaw in an NBC Los Angeles report. At the time, Linda attended summer school at Lincoln Intermediate School in Corona Del Mar, California. "The tweets extend the period of time that Linda's story can be out there for people to relate to," Manzella said in July. Neal, who was living at the YMCA in Santa Ana at the time, surrendered to police four days later and ratted out the other burglars. Generations of investigators worked on her case, said Lewis. Neal has been charged with one count of murder with the special circumstances of kidnapping and committing lewd and lascivious acts upon a child younger than 14, Spitzer said. Three weeks later, he pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary, was sentenced to 40 days in jail with credit for time served and placed on probation against McMillans recommendation that he should instead be sent to Vacaville Prison in Northern California. He was rushed to a local hospital about a month before that. James Alan Neal, 72, was picked up in Colorado on Tuesday and charged with the murder of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe in 1973. 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. Neal was arrested Tuesday "without incident" in Colorado Springs, Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis said at a news conference Wednesday. Last year, Spitzer said authorities used DNA thought to have been left by the killer and tracked down Neal using a public genealogy database. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. 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. Then, in 1974, he was sent back to prison in Colorado for a parole violation and released three years later. She had been strangled and was still wearing a blue-and-white floral print dress that her mother had sewn for her. Suspect in Linda O'Keefe cold-case homicide described as habitual Combining the latest in DNA technology with old-fashioned detective work led investigators to Neal, Lewis said. . Lindas story deeply touched the hearts of our community. Lindas story deeply touched the hearts of our community. James Neal, Linda O'Keefe Suspect: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know On the day Linda Ann O'Keefe died, it was a cooler-than-normal July morning in Newport . Colorado Man Arrested in 1973 Killing of 11-Year-Old Girl Featured in O'Keefe's parents have since died, Spitzer said, but her sisters have been notified about the arrest. WATCH LIVE: Retrial for Florida man Eric Robinson accused of brutal love triangle murder, Law&Crime Looks Ahead to 10 Remarkable Criminal Trials Scheduled for the First Half of 2023, 9 Shocking Times Defendants Testified at Trial, 10 Most Memorable Law&Crime Network Trials, Man busted after $3M worth of drugs mysteriously showed up to restaurant, Police officer who did not show up for work found shot to death in his house along with his newlywed wife, Justice for Katelyn. The novel investigative technique of genetic genealogy takes an unknown killer's DNA from a crime scene and identifies the suspect through his or her family members, who voluntarily submit their DNA to genealogy databases. Prosecutors are considering seeking the death penalty against Neal. James Neal, who was charged with sexually assaulting and killing Linda O'Keefe, died on Wednesday (Picture: AP) An man arrested for a series of cold case sex crimes against children died. That night, a woman who lives in the bluffs above Back Bay heard a voice scream, "Stop, youre hurting me," police said. This photo shows a poster of James Neal during a news conference at the Orange County District Attorney's office in Santa Ana, Calif., Feb. 20, 2019. It was our intention to see James Alan Neal stand trial and answer for the murder of Linda Ann OKeefe, Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis said. Her killer, James Alan Neel, was caught 45 years later, in February 2019, after. Police and prosecutors on Wednesday said they put Neal under surveillance and eventually got his DNA though they did not detail exactly how. Neal worked in construction at the time of the crime, officials said. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Linda O'Keefe. Feb. 20, 2019. Parabon used the DNA from the crime scene to predict the suspect's eye color, hair color and skin color. The next day she was found strangled, her. 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. After the slaying, Neal moved to Florida, where some sort of incident prompted him to change his name from James Albert Layton to James Alan Neal, authorities have said, declining to give specifics. "The hit on the genealogical DNA came back and hit in January so it was very recent," Spitzer said. As a result of surveillance and other traditional detective techniques, they were able to get additional DNA which resulted in the corroboration of the DNA from the victims body, to the DNA sample that the suspect left during a particular location during surveillance activities, the Orange County district attorney said after Neals arrest in February 2019. However, James was never brought to justice because he died of an unspecified illness on July 22, 2020. James Alan Neal was arrested in Monument in 2019. Man Accused Of Killing Newport Beach Girl Nearly 50 Years - CBS News James Alan Neal, the 73-year-old charged in the 1973 cold case murder of 11-year-oldLinda OKeefe, died on Wednesday at about 5:15 a.m. Thats according to Orange County Sheriffs Department spokesperson Jaimee Blashaw in an NBC Los Angeles report. James Alan Neal was born James Albert Layton Jr. in Chicago, Illinois, in July 1946. 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