Scott Schwebke is an investigative reporter for the Orange County Register and the Southern California News Group. He was on parole from Colorado's prison system when Linda Ann O'Keefe was killed. Linda was last seen talking to a stranger in a van, Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis said Wednesday. Helicopters, police Jeeps and search parties scoured the area looking for signs of O'Keefe. "It didn't necessarily lead to the identification (of the suspect)," he said. . Through the tireless efforts of generations of our investigators, we hope we have been able to bring a measure of closure to Lindas family, friends, and loved ones., Orange County District AttorneyTodd Spitzerput Neals death in more bitter terms, saying the new development robbed the OKeefe family of the justice they so deserve and deprives the law enforcement officers of the satisfaction that they finally got their culprit.. David K. Li is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital. Neal became a suspect in the slaying through "genealogical DNA," Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said. Linda Ann O'Keefe cold case: Before James Neal's arrest, he had a James Alan Neal, 72, was picked up in Colorado Springs on Tuesday and charged with the murder of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe, Newport Beach police and Orange County prosecutors said. 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. Her parents checked with friends and searched the neighborhood and the path she took home to no avail, Lewis said. ), First published on March 29, 2019 / 6:44 PM. Records reveal Neal was arrested on Sept. 9, 1973, in Marion County, Florida, on a fraud charge for writing a bad check and unauthorized use of a vehicle. ', " As 'Linda' noted in the tweets in July, her case would generate numerous theories and a sketch of a 'person of interest' but ultimately grow cold.". 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. That I'll be found a couple hundred yards from her home. 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, Spitzer said. A man has been arrested through DNA and genetic genealogy in the decades-old cold case killing of 11-year-old Linda Ann OKeefe, who was strangled to death in Southern California in 1973, authorities 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. 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Linda O'Keefe. Last year, Spitzer said authorities used DNA thought to have been left by the killer and tracked down Neal using a public genealogy database. [Mugshot via Newport Beach Police Department], Have a tip we should know? Parabon used the DNA from the crime scene to predict the suspect's eye color, hair color and skin color. Her body was found strangled in a ditch the next day. On one hand, we were grateful that we could have that conversation and provide some closure.". Linda O'Keefe was last seen alive in Corona Del Mar, California, in July 1973. SANTA ANA, CA Officials in California say James Alan Neal, who was arrested last year in Monument for the rape and murder of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe, has died. However, James was never brought to justice because he died of an unspecified illness on July 22, 2020. 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 . Paul Bersebach/The Orange County Register via AP. Authorities did not provide details on Neal's illness. "Linda's face and her memory has been with us since the day this happened," he said. The DNA sample from her dress was entered into the CODIS system in 2001 but came up empty, he said. James Neal, 72, who lived in Southern California and worked in construction in the 1970s, was arrested this week in Colorado, where he had been living, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said at a Wednesday news conference. Using details from the investigator's decades-old case files, police relayed O'Keefe's last hours, as well as her family's frantic search for her, as if they were unfolding in real time, as The Washington Post's Meagan Flynn reported: "At 6:42 p.m., six hours since her mother had last heard from her, O'Keefe's parents reported her missing to the Newport Beach Police Department, convinced by then O'Keefe was not simply running off with friends to retaliate for not getting a ride. The burglary that landed Neal behind bars in 1966 occurred a year earlier when he and two accomplices broke into a Santa Ana business, stealing $44.97 in cash and a portable television set valued at $90, Orange County Superior Court records show. After a move to California in 1956, James started getting into trouble. ", Borgeson said, if she gets a chance to speak to Neal, she would "let him know that I've been praying for him.". The following morning, O'Keefe's body was found in a ditch. "Just before midnight, 'a lady in the bluffs above Back Bay hears a female voice outside, screaming "Stop, you're hurting me," ' the police tweeted in O'Keefe's name. It was our intention to see James Alan Neal stand trial and answer for the murder of Linda Ann OKeefe. / CBS Colorado. Through the tireless efforts of generations of our investigators, we hope we have been able to bring a measure of closure to Lindas family, friends, and loved ones.. "I want to know if there are any other victims.". Investigators identified Neal as a suspect using genealogical DNA. The police department last year also "live-tweeted" O'Keefe's story from her perspective, narrating the final day of her life in real-time, exactly 45 years later. [emailprotected]. 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. "Our hearts go out to the victim and the victim's family in this case, having to endure decades without answers. Today, we have a new message to share, and we are giving Linda a voice once more. It was our intention to see James Alan Neal stand trial and answer for the murder of Linda An OKeefe, Newport Beach police Chief Jon Lewis said. About a month later, the police brought additional charges of sexual assault against a child younger than 14. OKeefes 1973 rape and murder went unsolved for decades. She doesn't know that I'm missing. Two years later, he began burglarizing homes for fun, according to McMillan. The lead bringing officials to Neal came after these sketches were released, authorities said Wednesday. Her friend later told police a turquoise van stopped next to O'Keefe a few times as she walked. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Watch: Aurora Dazzles Ladakh Skies As Geomagnetic Storm Hits Earth, This website follows the DNPA Code of Ethics. But that day, she was dropped off. ", "I couldn't carry that burden in my heart of hating an individual even though he committed this horrible crime," she said.
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