Crime & Safety Suspect Arrested In 1973 Newport Beach Murder A murder suspect has been arrested in connection with an unsolved 1973 murder in Newport Beach, authorities announced Tuesday. Reply NEWPORT BEACH, CA — Investigators announced the arrest of a suspect in a 1973 Newport Beach cold case murder Tuesday. Officials declined to release details of the murder investigation prior to a Wednesday press conference with the Orange County District Attorney. However, the only active murder investigation from 1973 that Newport Beach detectives have publicly acknowledged is the murder of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe. Linda's murder remained a mystery for decades until last year when Newport Beach Police detectives took an innovative approach, releasing a suspect sketch based on DNA evidence from the crime scene. According to KRDO, the suspect was arrested in El Paso County, Colorado. "As the Orange County District Attorney, I am committed to protecting the community. My office will never forget about cold cases," Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said. "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." In the summer of 2018, Newport Beach Police Department conducted a 24-hour detailed look into the life and death of Linda O'Keefe in 1973, on the 45th anniversary of her murder. That study culminated with what the department called "a scientific approximation" of the suspect's appearance based solely on DNA. When asked if the press conference was related to that investigation, both NBPD and OCDA's office declined to comment. Read Also:<doc-sep>A Colorado man has been charged with the 1973 abduction and killing of an 11-year-old Corona del Mar girl who was walking home from school, officials announced Wednesday morning, bringing a long-awaited arrest in a case that shocked the Newport Beach community. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said during a press conference that the suspect, James Alan Neal, 72, faces a special-circumstances murder charge, leaving open the possibility that prosecutors could seek the death penalty. The decades-old mystery of the death of the girl, Linda Ann O’Keefe, was solved, Spitzer said, with the use of DNA. “For 45 years, the Newport Beach Police Department never gave up,” the district attorney said. “The detectives dogged this case. The community made sure that justice would be served.” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer speaks during a press conference at the OCDAÕs office in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 20, 2019. Spitzer announced the arrest of James Alan Neal in the 1973 murder of 11-year-old Linda Ann OÕKeefe. OÕKeefe has just left her Corona del Mar home on July 6, 1973 when she disappeared. Her body was found the next morning in a ditch in Newport BeachÕs Back Bay. Also with Spitzer is Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis and Newport Beach Police Deputy Chief Jay Short, from left. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) A photo of James Alan Neal is displayed during a press conference at the Orange County District AttorneyÕs office in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 20, 2019 to announce the arrest of Neal in the 1973 murder of 11-year-old Linda Ann OÕKeefe. OÕKeefe has just left her Corona del Mar home on July 6, 1973 when she disappeared. Her body was found the next morning in a ditch in Newport BeachÕs Back Bay. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) A photo of 11-year-old Linda Ann OÕKeefe is displayed during a press conference at the Orange County District AttorneyÕs office in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 20, 2019 to announce the arrest of James Alan Neal in the 1973 murder of OÕKeefe. OÕKeefe has just left her Corona del Mar home on July 6, 1973 when she disappeared. Her body was found the next morning in a ditch in Newport BeachÕs Back Bay. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer announced the arrest of James Alan Neal in the 1973 murder of 11-year-old Linda Ann OÕKeefe during a press conference at the OCDAÕs office in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 20, 2019. OÕKeefe has just left her Corona del Mar home on July 6, 1973 when she disappeared. Her body was found the next morning in a ditch in Newport BeachÕs Back Bay. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) Retired Newport Beach police officer Stan Bressler talks following the announcement of the arrest of James Alan Neal in the 1973 murder of 11-year-old Linda Ann OÕKeefe during a press conference at the Orange County District AttorneyÕs office in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 20, 2019. Bressler was an officer in 1973 and was called out to the murder scene. OÕKeefe has just left her Corona del Mar home on July 6, 1973 when she disappeared. Her body was found the next morning in a ditch in Newport BeachÕs Back Bay. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) Neal, who lived in Riverside County for years, could be extradited within the week if he doesn’t fight the move. If he does, it could take longer for him to arrive in Orange County. Neal was arrested at about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday in Colorado, where he was being held with no bond. Prosecutors have charged him with special-circumstances murder, because of enhancements for allegedly kidnapping and committing a lewd and lascivious act. Newport Beach police Chief Jon Lewis said “the latest in DNA technology” helped solve the case. A DNA sample believed to belong to the girl’s killer was first entered into a nationwide law enforcement database in 2001, but for years there were no hits. Then, in January, through the genealogy website Family Tree DNA, investigators got a familial hit that authorities say pointed them to Neal. Then they conducted surveillance and got his DNA. Spitzer would not say whether Neal, or a family member, had submitted DNA to the site. Linda O’Keefe disappeared on July 6, 1973. She was last seen walking home from summer school. That night, family members, volunteers and police spread out to search for her. Her body was found the next morning in a ditch in the area of Newport Beach’s Back Bay. She had been strangled. The impact of the death rippled through Newport Beach at the time, prompting parents to worry more about leaving their children outside by themselves. “For those of us who were there in 1973, we have never forgotten it,” Newport Beach City Councilman Brad Avery said. “We are a little hardened today, because things have changed. But back in 1973, this was a huge deal.” About the arrest, Avery added: “For this to happen has been absolutely extraordinary for everyone.” Police never gave up the search for the killer. Hundreds of officers were involved in the case through the years, the chief said, from those who carried out the initial canvassing of the neighborhoods and detectives who ran down the early leads to the investigators whose work in the ensuing decades kept the investigation alive. A photo of Linda O’Keefe still hangs in the detective bureau at the Newport Beach Police Department, the same image that was displayed at Wednesday’s press conference. “Cases like this – as a police officer you never forget, whether you were the one who came out to the scene that night, or the detective that inherited the case years later,” Lewis said. Just this past summer, the agency tried to garner tips on the case using social media, an effort centerpieced by telling the girl’s story via Twitter.<doc-sep>Crime & Safety Arrest Made In Linda O'Keefe Cold Case Murder, Investigators Say DNA pointers led investigators to a Colorado Springs man, now accused of brutally killing 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe 45 years ago. Reply NEWPORT BEACH, CA — More than 45 years after 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe was raped and brutally murdered in Newport Beach, detectives believe they finally have her killer thanks to a DNA "pointer"discovered in a genealogical database. The Newport Beach Police Department, together with the Orange County District Attorney's Office, publicly identified the suspect in the infamous 1973 Newport Beach cold case homicide as James Alan Neal, 72, most recently of Monument, Colorado. Neal was arrested Tuesday morning "without incident," Newport Beach Police Chief John Lewis said at a press conference. Linda O'Keefe was snatched on her way home from school on a Friday afternoon, the Newport Beach Police Department described in a 24-hour long Twitter event "#LindasStory on the 45th anniversary of her disappearance and murder. Told in her voice, the chilling story captured the attention of the world. The Newport Beach Police Department carries the reminder of Linda's story with them every day. Her picture hangs where all can see and officers recall how her death rocked the city. "It made parents think twice before they let their kids go outside by themselves," OCDA Spitzer said at the conference. According to officials, Neal has Orange County family ties, as well as a criminal record, though they declined to comment on specifics. "He grew up in the area in the early 1970s," originally using the name James Alan George Leighton, according to Lewis. It was while in Florida that he changed his name to James Alan Neal, following an undisclosed criminal incident, according to officials. Neal moved to Florida "shortly after "Linda was found strangled in a ditch," Lewis said. A DNA sample recovered on Linda O'Keefe's dress after her body was found, in the summer of 1973, remained in the FBI's Combined DNA Index System database for 45 years with no match. However, a genealogical DNA "pointer" discovered last month in an online genealogy database identified Neal as a prime suspect in the murder, according to District Attorney Todd Spitzer. That DNA "hit" led investigators to locate Neal in Colorado. Spitzer was asked about Neal's marital status and whether he has children, but declined to comment, saying that information may be pertinent to the case in court.<doc-sep>SANTA ANA (CBSLA) – Genealogical DNA has lead to the arrest of a Colorado man in the abduction, sexual assault and killing of an 11-year-old girl in Newport Beach more than four decades ago. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday that 72-year-old James Alan Neal was apprehended Tuesday morning in Colorado Springs for the murder of Linda Ann O’Keefe. “He is presently in the state of Colorado, where he was living,” O.C. District Attorney Todd Spitzer told reporters at a news conference. “He is still there. We do not know if he is going to waive extradition. If he does, than he should be here, potentially, sometime this week. If he doesn’t, then of course, that will be a prolonged deliberation.” On July 6, 1973, O’Keefe, a student at Corona del Mar Middle School, was walking home from summer school when she was abducted. The following day, she was found strangled to death in some weeds in the Back Bay area. A witness had reported seeing O’Keefe talking to a man near a turquoise van. Spitzer said that a DNA sample which was recovered from the victim at the time of the crime was placed into the CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) system in 2001, but did not yield a hit. “And so that sample remained in the system for a long period of time,” Spitzer said. “However, because of innovations in science and technology, and the fact that these detectives were using every means available to them, they received a pointer indication through genealogical DNA.” Thanks to that pointer system, Neal was identified as a possible suspect. Investigators then put Neal under surveillance in Colorado and were able to obtain DNA samples which matched that found on O’Keefe’s body. “As a result of that genealogical submission, they (investigators) got an indication that James Alan Neal may be the suspect,” Spitzer said. “As a result of surveillance and other traditional detective techniques, they were able to get additional DNA which resulted in the corroboration of the DNA from the victim’s body, to the DNA sample that the suspect left during a particular location during surveillance activities.” “Our investigators used forensic DNA testing and an online genealogy website to identify the suspect’s DNA as being consistent with DNA left at the crime scene,” Newport Beach Police Chief John Lewis added. Neal grew up in Southern California and lived in Orange County in the 1970s working in construction, at which time he went by the name James Alan George Layton, Spitzer disclosed. He moved away shortly after O’Keefe’s murder. “As a result of an incident in the state of Florida, he subsequently changed his name to James Alan Neal,” Spitzer said. Last July, police released old crime scene photos and a video on social media to try and obtain fresh leads. They also released new sketches of the suspect created by Virginia-based Parabon NanoLabs based on the DNA evidence collected at the crime scene. “But now, 45 years later, I have a voice again,” police tweeted back in July using the voice of the victim. “And I have something important to say. There is a new lead in my case: a face. A face that comes from DNA that the killer left behind. It’s technology that didn’t exist back in 1973, but it might change everything today.” The images showed the suspect’s possible age progression from 1973 to now. Claire Ratfield, a former teacher at Lincoln Intermediate School — which is now Lincoln Elementary — was attacked and strangled while leaving the campus about four months prior to O’Keefe’s death. She survived. Her case remains unsolved. “You know, I’ve always carried this little girl’s memory with me, because I thought she didn’t live, and she was so young, and she was so vital, and she had such a life ahead of her,” Ratfield told CBS2 Tuesday. Ratfield has been interviewed numerous times over the years by detectives. It’s still unclear if investigators believe the same suspect was responsible for both attacks. This comes as authorities also announced Tuesday that a 50-year-old Pomona man has been arrested in the unsolved 1990 kidnapping and murder of an 11-year-old boy in Inglewood. Edward Donell Thomas, 50, was apprehended Feb. 14 in the death of 11-year-old William Tillett. On the afternoon of May 24, 1990, Tillett was kidnapped while walking home from Kew Elementary School. His body was found dumped in a Hawthorne carport later that day.<doc-sep>
James Alan Neal, 72, has been arrested in connection with the murder of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe in Newport Beach in 1973. Awaiting news conference from @OCDAToddSpitzer and @NewportBeachPD about 1973 cold case murder of #LindaOKeefe. Arrest has been made, suspect in custody: James Alan Neal. @ABC7 pic.twitter.com/Svinh77nwk — Greg Lee (@abc7greg) February 20, 2019 NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- More than 45 years after 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe was found murdered in Newport Beach, authorities on Wednesday identified the suspect who was arrested in the case this week.James Alan Neal, 72, was taken into custody by Newport Beach police detectives in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is expected to appear at a hearing Wednesday afternoon in El Paso County.He is accused in the strangulation of the young girl, who disappeared while walking home from school in a blue and white dress on July 6, 1973. The next morning, authorities discovered her body in Back Bay.Witnesses saw a turquoise van where Linda was last seen. An extensive search was launched, aided by DNA evidence that was recovered at the location.The initial investigation proved fruitless. Newport Beach homicide detectives continued to review evidence in the years that followed, but the case eventually went cold.In July 2018, police launched a social media campaign in an effort to generate new leads. DNA-progression tools helped create a new composite image of the suspect.In January, after utilizing genealogical technology -- similar to methods that led to the suspected Golden State Killer -- authorities located Neal and were able to collect additional DNA, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said at a Wednesday morning news conference.Spitzer was accompanied by Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis and detectives who have worked on the decades-old case. "Linda's face and her memory has been with us and our investigators since this happened," Lewis said. "Her picture hangs in our detective division, where our folks see it every day -- as a reminder of her and a reminder of why it's so important that we continue to pursue these cases -- and hopefully come to some kind of resolve for the families, for our investigators, but also for our communities as well. "Neal remained in custody in Colorado. If he waives his extradition rights, he could be transferred to Orange County by the end of this week, Spitzer said.The suspect faces a minimum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted as charged. The district attorney said he had not yet decided whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty in the case.