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. In July, on the 45th anniversary of O'Keefe's death, the Newport Beach Police Department "live-tweeted" Linda's story - in her voice, from the perspective of her last day - in the hope of raising awareness about her cold case and shaking forth any new clues about her killer. Investigators would later learn that the girl had last been seen at an intersection, talking to a stranger in a turquoise van. James Alan Neal was arrested February 19, 2019, in connection to her death, prosecutors announced at a press conference.. Investigators identified Neal as a suspect using genealogical DNA. 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. For an optimal experience visit our site on . On Tuesday, nearly 46 years after O'Keefe's life ended, authorities arrested a man they say is suspected of being her killer: a 72-year-old living in Colorado named James Neal. DNA recovered from O'Keefe shortly after her death was put into the Combined DNA Index System the law enforcement database known as CODIS but there was no hit, said Spitzer. McMillan remained skeptical. "Our hearts go out to the victim and the victim's family in this case, having to endure decades without answers. After Lindas death, Neal moved to Florida, where he changed his name to James Alan George Leyton, Spitzer said. Teacher 52 Years Later, Hiding in Plain Sight: DNA Allegedly Links Calif. Karate Instructor to 1981 Rapes, Murders of 2 Women, 2 Women Were Found Slain, Sexually Assaulted Within Months of Each Other in 1983: How DNA Led to Arrest, Teen Was Killed with Ax After Meeting Man on Phone Chat Line in 1998. 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 in the seaside community of Newport Beach. Based on a witness statement, it was believed a man in a van kidnapped Linda. Spitzer refused to elaborate on how they were able to track down Neal and identify him as a suspect after 45 years, but he said police had received a "pointer notification through genealogical DNA" - perhaps suggesting that authorities had come upon DNA from someone related to Neal that would have implicated him as a possible match. ORANGE COUNTY, Colo. (KKTV) - The suspect in a decades-old cold case died Wednesday while awaiting trial. The brown-haired, blue-eyed 11-year-old got a ride to summer school - about half a mile away - but had to walk home in the afternoon. But again, it's a reminder of what happened. As part of an effort to renew interest in the case, the Newport Beach Police Department used their Twitter account to recount the story of Lindas life, mysterious disappearance and death. James Neal had been living in California at the time of the girl's murder but had since moved to Colorado. Armed with DNA and a family tree, police arrested a Colorado man in connection to the 1973 slaying of a Southern California girl, authorities said Wednesday. O'Keefe was a schoolgirl from California who went missing on July 6, 1973, and was found dead the next morning. Scott has also worked at newspapers in Utah, Colorado, North Carolina and Virginia covering everything from methamphetamine trafficking cops to hurricanes. 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 paroled in July 1961 but returned to the Youth Authority in October 1962. An man arrested for a series of cold case sex crimes against children died while in police custody, officials said. Both of O'Keefe's parents have since died, but the girl was survived by two sisters, whom police had contacted with updates about Neal's arrest. 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. 1 dead, 1 rescued by firefighters after speeding car crashed into tree in Colorado Springs, Voice of the consumer: Looking for a job? Composite sketch of the driver. He also teamed up with reporter Joe Nelson in 2019 on Bad Apples, an award winning investigation that exposed years of sex abuse cover up in the Redlands Unified School District. A true-crime retelling of Linda O'Keefe's 1973 abduction & killing led police to James Alan Neal, ID'd through DNA as the primary suspect. Linda O'Keefe. James was in and out of prison throughout his younger life, with arrest records in California, Florida, and Colorado between 1959 and 1974. Neal was arrested Tuesday "without incident" in Colorado Springs, Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis said at a news conference Wednesday. Nothing he said made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Combining the latest in DNA technology with old-fashioned detective work led investigators to Neal, Lewis said. The Twitter campaign did not lead to the suspect's identification, but it did create an emphasis on the case and opened doors for the case to be pursued with renewed efforts, officials said. 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe was kidnapped on her way back from home in July 1973. Neal was arrested last year and charged with the sex assault and murder of 11-year-old Linda Ann OKeefe, who was abducted while walking home from school in the summer of 1973. OKeefes 1973 rape and murder went unsolved for decades. "I'm sure they're going through a lot of grieving of their own.". Teen Was Murdered After Coming Home from Grocery Store in 1975, Coffee Cup Leads to Arrest, Calif. Her killer, James Alan Neel, was caught 45 years later, in February 2019, after. She had been strangled and was still wearing a blue-and-white floral print dress that her mother had sewn for her. He left California after the alleged killing and went to Florida where he changed his name, officials said. O'Keefe vanished in July of 1973 while walking home from summer school. He had a connection to southern California, which has been corroborated, he 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. Linda Ann O'Keefe was the middle child in a family of five. An eight-page report prepared by McMillan offers for the first time clues about what may have driven his criminal behavior. But when night fell and her whereabouts were still unknown, her parents called police and desperately combed the neighborhood, to no avail. "Technology has caught up with the law," Spitzer said Wednesday. "I'm astonished at what they were able to accomplish," Borgeson, 64, said. Anyone who may have any information on this unsolved crime is asked to call the Newport Beach Police Cold Case Tip Line at 949-644-3669. for me personally. 1966 probation report describes man suspected, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), 1966 probation report describes man suspected of killing 11-year-old Linda OKeefe as emotionally disturbed, Whats new: Loma Villas apartments sell for $21.5M to investor, 4 dead in Mojave Desert community after shooting report, El Chapo sons send Mexico cartels cheap fentanyl into US, Sacramento Snapshot: Cities would need to include homeless-serving housing in state plans under new bill, after DNA analysis identified him as a suspect, Police hope vintage photo of man accused of murdering 11-year-old in 1973 will bring witnesses forward, Man charged with killing 11-year-old Linda OKeefe in 1973 cold-case murder in Newport Beach, How DNA and old-fashioned police work led to arrest in 1973 cold-case murder of 11-year-old Linda OKeefe, Newport Beach Police will use Twitter to tell story of 11-year-old homicide victim on 45th anniversary of her unsolved murder, Orange County restaurants shut down by health inspectors (April 20-27), More land sliding at Casa Romantica; residents evacuated, trains halted through San Clemente, Orange County Artist of the Year winners announced, Then and Now: Photos of Casa Romantica show damage caused by landside, Fire at Barnes & Noble in Orange disrupts book-signing event, The DMV says permission to drive is based on ability, but older drivers are scrutinized more, OC Marine who volunteered in Ukraine, survived rocket attack: I would do it again, Cold, drizzly week ahead for Southern California, A look at Orange Countys baseball teams and the CIF-SS playoffs, Joe Bidens re-election bid is off to a bad start, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. 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. He was apprehended in February after DNA analysis identified him as a suspect in OKeefes slaying. James Alan Neal fue arrestado el 19 de febrero de 2019, en relacin con su muerte, segn anunciaron los fiscales en una conferencia de prensa. OKeefe, 11, was abducted on July 6, 1973, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Neal was pronounced dead at. Please see the press release for more information. He was always getting into fights and was always afraid to tell anyone how I really felt. . March 29, 2019 / 6:44 PM Linda never made it home that afternoon., For 45 years, the Newport Beach Police Department continued to search for Lindas killer," Lewis said. James Neal, 72, was arrested in Colorado Springs, Colo., and charged with murder with special circumstances in the death of Linda O'Keefe, who was found strangled in 1973, a case that has long shaken the seaside community of Newport Beach, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said. 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. "My office will never forget about cold cases," Spitzer said in a statement. James Alan Neal, 73, died on Wednesday at a hospital where he had been transferred in May to be treated for an illness, according to the Orange County Sheriffs Office. Her parents checked with friends and searched the neighborhood and the path she took home to no avail, Lewis said. . A woman later told police she saw O'Keefe standing next to a turquoise van and talking to the driver -- a white man in his mid-20s or early 30s. The community made sure that justice would be secured, he said. 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 . The next day she was found strangled, her. Linda Ann O'Keefe's killing in 1973 in Newport Beach, California went unsolved for more than four decades. 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. James Alan Neal, 73, was an inmate at the maximum-security Theo Lacy jail in Orange for the 1973 sexual assault and strangling death of Linda O'Keefe, 11. Newport Beach police in July released a sketch of a man, the possible suspect, based on DNA collected at the scene.
