| For Immediate Release Case # 07CF3396 October 15, 2007 |
Contact: Farrah Emami Spokesperson Office: 714-347-8405 Cell: 714-323-4486 |
BROTHER CHARGED WITH 1987 COLD CASE
MURDER OF HIS 9-YEAR-OLD SISTER
SANTA ANA – The older brother of a murdered 9-year-old girl has been charged with killing his little sister 20 years ago. Rosendo Lopez, 42, Santa Ana, is charged with one count of murder and faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison if convicted. He is being held on $1 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned today, Monday, October 15, 2007 at 1:30 p.m. at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.
On June 3, 1987, third-grader Patricia Lopez went missing from her elementary school in Santa Ana. Her body was discovered two days later in a storm drain along the Santa Ana Riverbed. She had suffered severe blunt force trauma to her head. The case was investigated and numerous witnesses were interviewed and evidence was collected and analyzed.
The case remained unsolved until the Santa Ana Police Department re-examined the case and tested evidence from the scene using forensic technology not available in 1987. Rosendo Lopez was linked to the crime through DNA.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Larry Yellin of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
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