76-year-old Texas man arrested in “horrific” California killings of 3 women and teen girl dating back to 1980

76-year-old Texas man arrested in “horrific” California killings of 3 women and teen girl dating back to 1980


A man has been arrested in Texas in reference to the Southern California slayings of three women and a teenage girl a long time in the past, police mentioned.

Billy Ray Richardson, 76, was arrested on Thursday by detectives from the Los Angeles and suburban Inglewood police departments with the help of the FBI and officers from Fort Worth Police Department’s operations and surveillance team.

Richardson was charged by Los Angeles County prosecutors with 4 counts of first-degree homicide with the particular circumstance of a number of homicide and homicide in the fee of rape, Los Angeles police said in an announcement.

The assertion mentioned investigative and forensic work over the a long time linked Richardson to the 1980 killings of Beverly Cruse, Debra Cruse and Kari Lenander in Los Angeles and the 1995 slaying of Trina Wilson in Inglewood.

Prosecutors said all 4 victims have been raped and that DNA proof linked Richardson to the crimes.

It was not instantly identified if Richardson had an lawyer to touch upon his behalf. He was in custody in Texas on Thursday awaiting extradition to Los Angeles, police mentioned.

Beverly Cruse, 25, and Debra Cruse, 22, have been sisters who have been discovered lifeless by their brother in Beverly’s residence on March 6, 1980, the Los Angeles Times (*3*), citing its story from that point. 

Prosecutors mentioned in an announcement Friday that every lady had been shot in the top thrice.

Leander was 15 when she was discovered strangled on a avenue on July 26, 1980, prosecutors mentioned. In 2012, police in Los Angeles offered a $50,000 reward for information main to an arrest in Leander’s homicide.

Wilson, 28, was slain on Dec. 31, 1995, at Inglewood’s North Park. Her throat had been slashed.

“I want to commend the tenacious and dedicated work of those who helped solve these horrific crimes,” District Attorney George Gascón mentioned in a statement. “I cannot imagine the pain that these families have endured. Their loss is immeasurable. We hope that together we can bring justice to the families who have endured so much and have waited years for this moment.”





story by The Texas Tribune Source link