James Alan Neal, 72, of Colorado was arrested in February after DNA evidence linked him to the murder of an 11-year-old schoolgirl, in 1973. On Wednesday prosecutors added five charges of child sex abuse, relating to two other alleged victims
A man accused of the 1973 sexual assault and murder of a schoolgirl has been charged with two new counts of child sex abuse - and prosecutors say they're 'absolutely' looking for other potential victims.
Last month, James Alan Neal, 72, of Colorado, was arrested after genealogical DNA linked him to the slaying of Linda O'Keefe, 11, who disappeared from Newport beach 46 years ago.
On Wednesday, Prosecutors added charges relating to two other child sexual assault victims in Riverside County, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer revealed.
Neal is currently charged with one count of first-degree murder while committing sexual assault upon a child, along with five counts of sexual assault on a child under 14.
Prosecutors say Neal performed at least three lewd acts on another child in Riverside County, between 1995 and 2000.
An additional two charges of sexual assault have been filed regarding a third victim dated between 2002 and 2004, court documents detail.
Linda O'Keefe (above) was last seen walking home from school on July 5, 1973. The following day, she was found dead in a grassy ditch in Newport Beach
At the time of Linda's death, Neal was known as James Alan George Layton. He later relocated to Florida and changed his name
And Spitzer says prosecutors aren't done yet, as his office is 'absolutely' looking into other possible criminal wrongdoing conducted by the defendant.
'While that evidence will be presented in court, there are now allegations of multiple sexual assault victims,' Spitzer said. 'And so, we do believe that Mr. Neal was involved in creating more victims beyond the murder of Linda O’Keefe.'
Linda O'Keefe was last seen walking home from school on July 5, 1973. The following day, she was found dead in a grassy ditch in Newport Beach's Back Bay.
Still draped in the blue and white floral dress her mother had embroidered for her, police determined O'Keefe had be raped and strangled.
For the next four-and-a-half decades, the case remained unsolved.
On the 45th anniversary of her disappearance, Newport Beach police launched a social media campaign, called '#LindasStory', hoping to breath new life in the investigation.
And last month they finally got their break, after generating a snapshot profile of the suspect using DNA evidence gathered at the crime scene.
'Linda’s death rocked the community and took root in the heart of the men and women of their police department,' said Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis. 'We never, ever forgot Linda’s story.'
Newport Beach Police took to Twitter last July to share a series of tweets in Linda's voice and announce a breakthrough in the case
At the time of the murder, a police bulletin (pictured) showed a sketch of person of interest. It yielded no leads
Linda was strangled to death police determined. Eye witnesses recalled seeing a turquoise van following her just hours before her body was found
At the time of Linda's death, Neal was known as James Alan George Layton. He later relocated to Florida and changed his name.
A girl and mother who last saw Linda alive as she walked home from summer school, told police at the time they saw a turquoise van parked nearby with its door ajar.
Another woman who lived near Back Bay where O'Keefe's body was found, said she heard a girl scream 'Stop, you're hurting me', just after 11pm the same day.
A sketch of the believed suspect was circulated at the time, but it generated no leads.
But in 2018, Newport Beach Police conferred with Parabon NanoLabs, a Virginia-based medical lab who specialize in genealogical DNA.
Using the evidence, Parabon were able to generate two composites - one showing the man in 1973, another now - of the suspect, calculating their gender, ancestry, freckles, skin tone and hair texture and color.
The only thing they failed to generate was the suspect's name. The DNA was religiously checked against convicted felon records to no avail.
However, Neal was eventually identified as a suspect in January after investigators linked the DNA to one listed on a database that scours for DNA profiles for close relatives of crime suspects.
The case was cold for decades then in July 2018 police hired a DNA technology company to make composite sketches using the killer's DNA to determine what he looked like
The age progression photos predicted what the killer would have looked like today
Neal was eventually identified as a suspect in January after investigators linked the DNA to one listed on a database that scours for DNA profiles for close relatives of crime suspect
For the next month, police tailed Neal in Colorado and secretly gathered more DNA evidence to strengthen their case.
The DNA gathered by authorities matched the sample found back in 1973.
'Through both traditional DNA and genealogical DNA, we have every opportunity in the world to solve so many of these cold cases that we never had hoped in the past of solving — and that’s a great thing for our community,' Spitzer said.
Linda's murder joins a number of cold cases that have been potentially solved through the use of modern DNA technology.
In August, Golden State Killer Joseph James DeAngelo was arrested for a dozen murders and 50 rapes that took place back in the late 70s and 80s, after investigators utilized the online genealogical sites Ancenstry.com and 23andMe.
'As the Orange County District Attorney, I am committed to protecting the community. My office will never forget about cold cases,' Spitzer declared.
'Our hearts go out to the victim and the victim’s family in this case, having to endure decades without answers. We will make sure that the defendant is fairly and justly held accountable in a court of law,' he added
Police also explain in chilling detail how a bicyclist found her body while he was looking for frogs among cattails
A woman who, lived near Back Bay where O'Keefe's body was found, say she heard a girl scream 'Stop, you're hurting me', just after 11pm on July 5. The scream is believed to be Linda's
Linda's parents died before investigators madetheir vital breakthrough. Instead, they shared the news of Neal's arrest with her two sisters
Tragically, Linda's parents both passed away before the vital breakthrough was made.
Instead, investigators shared the news of Neal's arrest with her two sisters.
If convicted of all charges, he faces a maximum sentence of 82 years without the possibility of parole, according to the DA's office.
Spitzer did explore the possibility of the death penalty, but determined it wasn't legally justified, he said.
Link hienalouca.com
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James Alan Neal, 72, of Colorado was arrested in February after DNA evidence linked him to the murder of an 11-year-old schoolgirl, in 1973. On Wednesday prosecutors added five charges of child sex abuse, relating to two other alleged victims
A man accused of the 1973 sexual assault and...
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Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
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