MAN CONVICTED AND SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR 1986 COLD CASE MURDER OF BUSINESS ASSOCIATE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Case # 15CF1206        

Date: October 20, 2017

MAN CONVICTED AND SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR 1986 COLD CASE MURDER OF BUSINESS ASSOCIATE

*Defendant was previously convicted by a jury of murdering a second business associate in Florida in 1987

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man was convicted and sentenced yesterday to 15 years to life in state prison for the 1986 cold case murder of a business associate in Orange County.

Circumstances of the Case:

• In 1986, White, then 29 years old, befriended 79-year-old Cedric Horn, a semi-retired dentist.
• White persuaded Horn to enter into business dealings with him.
• Sometime between March 7, 1986, and March 13, 1986, White murdered the victim.
• After the murder, White attempted to withdraw the victim’s money from a bank account.
• On April 7, 1986, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) began investigating the victim’s disappearance.
• OCSD discovered the victim’s car in Houston, Texas, and the passenger seat headrest was soaked in blood.
• A DNA profile was created from the evidence collected and matched the victim. The victim’s body was never recovered.
• On Dec. 12, 1987, the defendant was convicted by a jury of murdering another business associate in April 1987 in Florida and sentenced to serve 25 years to life in prison in a Florida prison facility.
• In 1988, following White’s murder conviction in Florida, law enforcement authorities in Florida contacted OCSD about discovering property in the defendant’s possession that belonged to Horn.
• The Orange County Cold Case Homicide Task Force (OCHTF) reopened the investigation in this case and discovered sufficient evidence to file charges against White for the murder.
• This case was investigated by OCHTF and OCSD.

Prosecutor: Senior Deputy District Attorney Keith Burke, Homicide Unit