Ladies have been raped, discovered lifeless by their youngsters within the ‘70s, CA cops say. Suspect recognized
A long time after two Northern California girls have been raped and killed, DNA has helped establish a suspect, police say.
Fred Bernard Farnham, who died in 2007, was recognized as a suspect within the chilly case killing of Nellie Hicks in 1972 and Theresa Pica in 1979, the Newark Police Division and Hayward Police Division mentioned in Feb. 8 information releases.
“Forty-five years is a long time,” Hayward Police Chief Bryan Matthews mentioned at a information convention posted by CBS Information. “It’s been a very long time for generations of investigators who’ve labored on this case, and it’s been a very long time for the households of the victims and our neighborhood as they’ve waited for solutions.”
Hicks’s case
In Could 1972, “Mrs. Hicks was brutally attacked inside her Newark house as members of the family have been asleep,” Newark Capt. Jolie Macias mentioned at a information convention.
The suspect doubtless entered the house by way of a again door, police mentioned.
After the assault, Hicks’s son discovered her lifeless inside their house, police mentioned.
The 59-year-old had been sexually assaulted and died from blunt power trauma, in accordance with police.
DNA was collected from an post-mortem, police mentioned.
Nonetheless, as DNA expertise didn’t exist on the time, the case went chilly regardless of many years of investigation, in accordance with police.
In 1979, an officer with the Hayward police division reached out to Newark police, Macias mentioned. That they had a rape and homicide case with “a discernible sample of suspect habits.”
Pica’s case
Nearly precisely seven years after Hicks was discovered lifeless, Pica, 48, was discovered lifeless by her three youngsters inside her Hayward house, a mere 12 miles north of Newark, on Could 21, 1979, police mentioned.
“The scene was disturbing to say the least,” Matthews mentioned.
Pica had been sexually assaulted after which killed, police mentioned.
The suspect doubtless entered the house by way of an open window or unlocked door, in accordance with police.
As with Hicks’s case, DNA was collected however no expertise existed to check it, police mentioned.
Although there have been no leads within the case, it at all times shared the identical suspect as Hicks’s case, in accordance with Macias.
Genetic family tree results in ID
As soon as the Mixed DNA Index System, the FBI’s legal justice database, was established, police despatched the suspect’s DNA profile for testing, Othram Inc., the forensic genetic family tree firm that helped with the case, mentioned in a Feb. 8 information launch.
Even nonetheless, there have been no hits, and the instances remained chilly, the corporate mentioned.
Hayward police turned their investigative efforts to forensic genetic family tree in 2021, in accordance with the corporate.
Genetic genealogy makes use of DNA testing coupled with “conventional genealogical strategies” to create “household historical past profiles,” in accordance with the Library of Congress. With genealogical DNA testing, researchers can decide if and the way individuals are biologically associated.
After getting samples from police, Othram mentioned it created a “complete DNA profile” for the suspect.
This profile was turned over to investigators who labored with the FBI to establish the suspect by way of genetic family tree, the corporate mentioned.
These efforts led police to establish Farnham because the suspect in each Hicks’s and Pica’s instances, police mentioned.
“Immediately is really about these households and the resiliency over the previous 50 plus years,” Macias mentioned.
Pica’s daughter, Jan Whelan, 62, informed the San Francisco Chronicle, that whereas it was a “good factor” to be taught the suspect’s identification in any case these years, it additionally “it triggered everything once more.”
“For many of my life, I blamed myself as a result of I wasn’t in a position to cease what occurred, and only a few years in the past I used to be in a position to lastly inform myself that there was nothing I might do,” Whelan informed the newspaper. “However it nonetheless hurts. Now this may assist deliver me closure.”
Hicks’s son who discovered her lifeless inside their house died simply three months shy of her case being solved, in accordance with Macias.
One other son, David Hicks, now 76, informed the San Francisco Chronicle that whereas her demise is “nonetheless arduous” that “it means every thing and makes your coronary heart really feel implausible that they lastly know who did it.”
Nonetheless presumably extra victims
Farnham died in an Oregon hospital on the age of 73, in accordance with police.
He had “a number of prior rape convictions” for which he served jail time for, police mentioned.
If he have been nonetheless alive, he can be thought-about “a serial sexual/murder offender,” in accordance with police.
Police mentioned they consider Farnham might have had further victims.
Any regulation enforcement businesses that will have related instances are requested to contact police at 510-293-7176.
Newark is about 40 miles southeast of San Francisco, whereas Hayward is about 30 miles southeast.
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