| For Immediate Release Case # 07CF3621November 5, 2007 |
Contact:
Susan Kang Schroeder |
FORENSIC TECHNOLOGY LINKS MAN TO
1964 MURDER OF HOTEL MANAGER
SANTA ANA – A 67-year-old man has been charged with murder for killing a hotel manager in 1964 after the cold case was linked to him using forensic technology. Charles Edward Faith, 67, of Phelan in San Bernardino, is charged with murder and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted. He is being held on $1 million bail and is tentatively scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow, Tuesday, November 6, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana. (Please be advised that if a new date and time arises, the District Attorney will send an amended advisory.)
On February 16, 1964, Faith is accused of murdering Christine Wariner in her room at the California Hotel in Santa Ana, where she worked as the hotel manager. He is accused of strangling the victim and bludgeoning her with a blunt force object. The victim, whose door was left ajar when Faith fled the scene, was discovered by a tenant who had gone to pay his rent. The victim was found nude with signs of a sexual assault. During the investigation, police collected evidence from the scene including a sexual assault kit and bloody fingerprints found above the door. The case went unsolved after police were unable to find a fingerprint match.
The Santa Ana Police Department cold case team began re-investigating the case and was able to link Faith to the crime through forensics using computer technology that did not exist in 1964. The defendant was arrested on November 1, 2007.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Larry Yellin of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
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