| For Immediate Release Case # 07WF2340 October 25, 2007 |
Contact: Farrah Emami Spokesperson Office: 714-347-8405 Cell: 714-323-4486 |
ORANGE COUNTY FUGITIVE ARRESTED IN CANADA FOR 1984 COLD CASE AFTER DNA LINKS HIM TO HUNTINGTON BEACH RAPE-HOMICIDE
SANTA ANA –An Orange County fugitive was arrested this week in Toronto, Canada for the 1984 murder of a Huntington Beach woman. Gerald Su Go, 51, is charged with murder with allegations for murder during the commission of rape, burglary, and robbery. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole. He was arrested on a warrant by Toronto Police on October 25, 2007 and will face extradition proceedings in Canada.
On November 14, 1984, Elizabeth Hoffschneider was found murdered in her Huntington Beach apartment on Parkside Lane. The murder was investigated and evidence was collected from the scene, but the case remained unsolved for 23 years.
The Huntington Beach Police Department (HBPD) began re-examining the case and was able to link Go to the murder through DNA after testing evidence from the crime scene using modern forensic technology at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department crime lab.
Go, a Canadian citizen, had been deported earlier this year after serving time for a prior criminal conviction. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office obtained a “Provisional Warrant,” which is required pursuant to the extradition agreement between Canada and the United States.
HBPD would like to recognize Detective Mike Reilly, who was involved in the renewed investigation into Hoffschneider’s murder. Detective Reilly was a rookie patrolman with the Huntington Beach Police Department in 1984, and was one of the first at the scene of the initial investigation.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Sonia Balleste of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
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