In a stunning break in a decades-old mystery, a man has been charged with the 1996 slaying of a young woman whose body was found naked in a drainage ditch nearly 30 years ago.
Brian Walton, 63, was charged with the murder of then 23-year-old Claudia Guevara, according to an announcement from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman speaks to reporters outside the courthouse. AP
Guerva vanished in February 1996 after being dropped off at a bus stop in El Monte. Her nude body was found the next day, after having been sexually assaulted and stabbed in the neck.
DNA evidence linked Walton to the murder, who allegedly did not know Guevara.
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Walton faces one count of murder with the special circumstance allegations of murder during the commission of a rape and murder during the commission of sodomy.
“The victim’s family has waited for an agonizing 30 years to get that call to let them know their loved one’s killer had been found and charged,” LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.
Encanto Parkway in Azusa with a drainage ditch beside it. Google Maps
“While this was classified as a cold case, investigators and prosecutors never stopped in their relentless pursuit of justice, reaffirming our commitment to holding people accountable for the crimes they are accused of committing.”
If convicted on all charges, Walton faces life in prison without the possibility of parole–or even the death penalty, a decision prosecutors say will be made later.