Photo Source. At the time, Linda attended summer school at Lincoln Intermediate School in Corona Del Mar, California. Track Latest News and Karnataka Elections 2023 Coverage Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world. He worked odd jobs as a cook, factory worker, a floral delivery person, etc., but could never consistently hold down a job. David K. Li is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital. More than 45. "It didn't necessarily lead to the identification (of the suspect)," he said. He later changed his name, officials said. Borgeson said she also prayed for Neal's family as his arrest was announced. Only one person, a woman who did not know anything about a missing girl, was close enough to hear her, and by then it was too late. My mom made it. All Rights Reserved. Using details from the investigator's decades-old case files, police relayed O'Keefe's last hours, as well as her family's frantic search for her, as if they were unfolding in real time, as The Washington Post's Meagan Flynn reported: "At 6:42 p.m., six hours since her mother had last heard from her, O'Keefe's parents reported her missing to the Newport Beach Police Department, convinced by then O'Keefe was not simply running off with friends to retaliate for not getting a ride. OKeefe, 11, was abducted on July 6, 1973, as she walked home from summer school, the Newport Beach, California, Police Department said. Jeffrey Malecki, 55, who lived next door to Neal for five years, said Friday his neighbor mentioned having served time in jail but never elaborated. Linda O'Keefe. Spitzer lauded noted DNA investigator CeCe Moore for helping police develop a "pointer" toward Neal. The 72-year-old Neal was extradited to California from Colorado after he was charged with murder in the death of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe in the seaside community of Newport Beach. He was arrested in Colorado Springs on Feb. 19. First tweet from Newport Beach Police Department. [emailprotected]. Neal appears gaunt and stoic in a black-and white prison photo. Join our Fan Club to listen to this episode and more! Spitzer refused to elaborate on how they were able to track down Neal and identify him as a suspect after 45 years, but he said police had received a "pointer notification through genealogical DNA" - perhaps suggesting that authorities had come upon DNA from someone related to Neal that would have implicated him as a possible match. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Over 45 years ago, Linda went missing while. Generations of investigators worked on her case, said Lewis. Or to keep it anonymous, click here. Spitzer noted that the DNA lead police had obtained was wholly unrelated to the department's live-tweeting of O'Keefe's last day but said the exercise had served to revive the case in the public's mind. DNA recovered from O'Keefe shortly after her death was put into the Combined DNA Index System -- the law enforcement database known as CODIS -- but there was no hit, Spitzer said. But he praised Newport Beach police for persisting through the decades. 1966 probation report describes man suspected, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), 1966 probation report describes man suspected of killing 11-year-old Linda OKeefe as emotionally disturbed, Whats new: Loma Villas apartments sell for $21.5M to investor, 4 dead in Mojave Desert community after shooting report, El Chapo sons send Mexico cartels cheap fentanyl into US, Sacramento Snapshot: Cities would need to include homeless-serving housing in state plans under new bill, after DNA analysis identified him as a suspect, Police hope vintage photo of man accused of murdering 11-year-old in 1973 will bring witnesses forward, Man charged with killing 11-year-old Linda OKeefe in 1973 cold-case murder in Newport Beach, How DNA and old-fashioned police work led to arrest in 1973 cold-case murder of 11-year-old Linda OKeefe, Newport Beach Police will use Twitter to tell story of 11-year-old homicide victim on 45th anniversary of her unsolved murder, Orange County restaurants shut down by health inspectors (April 20-27), More land sliding at Casa Romantica; residents evacuated, trains halted through San Clemente, Orange County Artist of the Year winners announced, Then and Now: Photos of Casa Romantica show damage caused by landside, Fire at Barnes & Noble in Orange disrupts book-signing event, The DMV says permission to drive is based on ability, but older drivers are scrutinized more, OC Marine who volunteered in Ukraine, survived rocket attack: I would do it again, Cold, drizzly week ahead for Southern California, A look at Orange Countys baseball teams and the CIF-SS playoffs, Joe Bidens re-election bid is off to a bad start, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. O'Keefe's parents have since died, but police said they keep her two surviving sisters updated on the investigation. A day later, her body was found in a ditch, and she had been sexually assaulted. The next day she was found strangled, her. James Neal had been living in California at the time of the girl's murder but had since moved to Colorado. As for her sister's suspected killer, Borgeson said, "because of my profound faith, I've been able to forgive the individual. The following morning, O'Keefe's body was found in a ditch. Scott Schwebke is an investigative reporter for the Orange County Register and the Southern California News Group. Newport Beach police launched a new PR campaign in 2018 using Tweets written in Lindas voice. Linda O'Keefe, 11, vanished in July 1973 when she was heading home from school in Newport Beach. At the time of the murder, Neal was using the name James Allen George Layton, prosecutors said. Her body was found the next day -- but decades went by without an arrest. PRESS RELEASE: Linda OKeefe Homicide https://t.co/sSg9rjwXgH, Starting tomorrow at 7:45 am, #LindasStory will be told here, through our Twitter account. ABC News' Kayna Whitworth contributed to this report. Newport Beach police in July released a sketch of a man, the possible suspect, based on DNA collected at the scene. . An undated photo of Linda OKeefe who was killed in Southern California in July 1973. Newport Beach Police Neal is being held in the. Scott has also worked at newspapers in Utah, Colorado, North Carolina and Virginia covering everything from methamphetamine trafficking cops to hurricanes. But O'Keefe never came home. 72-year-old arrested in connection with 1973 murder of 11-year-old girl, Linda O'Keefe, who lived in the Corona del Mar neighborhood and was last seen alive July 6, 1973, as she walked home from summer school. Linda O'Keefe was killed in 1973 while walking home from school. Through the tireless efforts of generations of our investigators, we hope we have been able to bring a measure of closure to Lindas family, friends, and loved ones., Orange County District AttorneyTodd Spitzerput Neals death in more bitter terms, saying the new development robbed the OKeefe family of the justice they so deserve and deprives the law enforcement officers of the satisfaction that they finally got their culprit.. Through the tireless efforts of generations of our investigators, we hope we have been able to bring a measure of closure to Lindas family, friends and loved ones., However, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said Neals death robvs the OKeefe family of the justice they so deserve and deprives the law enforcement officers of the satisfaction that they finally got their culprit., Get in touch with our news team by emailing us atwebnews@metro.co.uk, For more stories like this,check our news page, Get your need-to-know 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Police hoped that retelling the girl's story through the modern-day medium would help people from a different generation form an emotional attachment to the case. 48 Hours: Lindas Story delves into the work put in to arrest James Neal in relation to Lindas rape and murder. In August 1969, he was convicted of fraud in Denver and sentenced to three to 10 year at Colorados Territorial Correctional Facility. ", Borgeson said, if she gets a chance to speak to Neal, she would "let him know that I've been praying for him.". Neal told McMillan he was the second of three children, never got along with his siblings, rebelled against his parents and was an emotionally disturbed child. All my life up to this day has been going in circles, Neal said. A day later, her body was found in a ditch, and she had been sexually assaulted. This photo shows a poster of James Neal during a news conference at the Orange County District Attorney's office in Santa Ana, Calif., Feb. 20, 2019. It was July 6, 1973, a Friday. However, the case remained unsolved for about 46 years before the investigators found the killer. "But it created an awareness . Linda O'Keefe fue asesinada en 1973 mientras caminaba a casa desde la escuela. "That sample remained in the system for a long period of time," Spitzer said. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. While their parents did not live to see an arrest, Borgeson said, "I'm sure she [O'Keefe] and my parents are rejoicing.". Newport Beach police released this undated image of Linda O'Keefe in an effort to get assistance from the public to help solve her murder in Southern California in July 1973. Reportedly, Colorado resident James Alan Neal was arrested in 2019 after a DNA report linked him to Linda O'Keefe's 1973 cold murder case. Police also urged the public to share details about O'Keefe's disappearance on social media with the hashtag #Lindastory. Parabon has worked on the majority of the cold cases cracked through genetic genealogy, including O'Keefe's case. James Neal, 72, was arrested in Colorado Springs, Colo., and charged with murder with special circumstances in the death of Linda O'Keefe, who was found strangled in 1973, a case that has. Neal became a suspect in the slaying through "genealogical DNA," Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said. . Linda Ann O'Keefe's killing in 1973 in Newport Beach, California went unsolved for more than four decades. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ), First published on March 29, 2019 / 6:44 PM. The 11-year-old was last seen on this street talking to a stranger in a van. He's now the suspect in the 1973 murder of 11-year-old Linda Ann O'Keefe. ORANGE COUNTY, Colo. (KKTV) - The suspect in a decades-old cold case died Wednesday while awaiting trial. Beware of scams, Denver police searching for missing 14-year-old. An undated photo of murder victim Linda O'Keefe and her family. We never gave up.". A man has been arrested through DNA and genetic genealogy in the decades-old cold case killing of 11-year-old Linda Ann OKeefe, who was strangled to death in Southern California in 1973, authorities said. James Alan Neal, the 73-year-old charged in the 1973 cold case murder of 11-year-oldLinda OKeefe, died on Wednesday at about 5:15 a.m. Thats according to Orange County Sheriffs Department spokesperson Jaimee Blashaw in an NBC Los Angeles report. Both of O'Keefe's parents have since died, but the girl was survived by two sisters, whom police had contacted with updates about Neal's arrest. Records reveal Neal was arrested on Sept. 9, 1973, in Marion County, Florida, on a fraud charge for writing a bad check and unauthorized use of a vehicle. The 11-year-old was taken while she walked back from school in California, with witnesses reporting Linda talking to a white male in a van. ABC News' Jenna Harrison contributed to this report. He was paroled in July 1961 but returned to the Youth Authority in October 1962. He then moved to Florida, and then, a criminal incident prompted him to change his name to James Alan Neal. Watch: Aurora Dazzles Ladakh Skies As Geomagnetic Storm Hits Earth, This website follows the DNPA Code of Ethics. At the least, prosecutors will ask for life without the possibility of parole if Neal is convicted, the district attorney said. The arrest seemed to signal an end to an infamous cold case that had both haunted and motivated "generations of investigators" at the Newport Beach Police Department, Lewis said. O'Keefe's suspected killer, James Neal, who lived in Southern California in the 1970s, was arrested this week in Colorado where he had been living, said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer, who was 12 himself at the time of the murder, at a Wednesday news conference. The DNA researcher Moore has been on the forefront of linking cold cases to suspects through genetic material voluntarily offered by Americans doing ancestry research. James Neal of Monument, Colorado also pleaded not guilty in an Orange County courtroom Friday to lewd and lascivious acts on two girls under the age of 14. WATCH LIVE: Retrial for Florida man Eric Robinson accused of brutal love triangle murder, Law&Crime Looks Ahead to 10 Remarkable Criminal Trials Scheduled for the First Half of 2023, 9 Shocking Times Defendants Testified at Trial, 10 Most Memorable Law&Crime Network Trials, Man busted after $3M worth of drugs mysteriously showed up to restaurant, Police officer who did not show up for work found shot to death in his house along with his newlywed wife, Justice for Katelyn. After Lindas death, Neal moved to Florida, where he changed his name to James Alan George Leyton, Spitzer said. That night, a woman who lives in the bluffs above Back Bay heard a voice scream, "Stop, youre hurting me," police said. Since April 2018, genetic genealogy has helped identify more than three dozen suspects, said CeCe Moore, chief genetic genealogist with Parabon NanoLabs. She makes a lot of my clothes, and my sisters clothes. He feels he has always been picked on and never given a chance to better himself or be equal to others, Neal wrote in the report. ( Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. He left California after the alleged killing and went to Florida where he changed his name, officials said. He is being held in Colorado, and if he waives extradition, could be moved to California before the end of the week, officials said. "They haven't forgotten about her and we haven't, either.". After a move to California in 1956, James started getting into trouble. "It is bittersweet to hear that, yes, this case has been resolved. When O'Keefe didn't return home right away, there was little concern at first. IE 11 is not supported. Records obtained by the Southern California News Group show that Neal was arrested more than a dozen times in California, Florida and Colorado from 1959 to 1974. James Alan Neal, 72, of Monument, Colorado, who was arrested for allegedly murdering Linda O'Keefe in Newport Beach, California, in 1973. Investigators would later learn that the girl had last been seen at an intersection, talking to a stranger in a turquoise van. / CBS Colorado. O'Keefe then called her mother from the school office, and her mother told her she was busy sewing and that she should walk home, police said. Later he moved to Colorado, where he was living when he was arrested, he said. Authorities suspect that Neal, while on parole in the Colorado case, snatched OKeefe, who lived in Corona del Mar, from the street on July 6, 1973, as she walked home from summer school. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. "He has a connection to Southern California.". Scott was part of the OC Registers investigative team that in 2017 produced the year-long, award winning Rehab Riviera series, examining problems in Southern Californias drug rehabilitation industry. Armed with DNA and a family tree, police arrested a Colorado man in connection to the 1973 slaying of a Southern California girl, authorities said Wednesday. Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. "I never really thought that they would actually ever find the individual responsible," Cindy Borgeson, a sister of Linda OKeefe, told ABC News. Man who served 15 years for murder his brother confessed to awarded $7,500,000, Woman 'sold 20 boxes of fetuses, hearts, genitalia and brains on Facebook', One killed after plane crashes into Los Angeles neighborhood. Finally, in September 1965, he was arrested for yet another burglary but the charge was reduced to petty theft and ultimately dismissed. He was released from the penitentiary in July 1971. It was our intention to see James Alan Neal stand trial and answer for the murder of Linda Ann OKeefe. Anyone with additional information about the OKeefe case or who believes they may be a victim of Neal is asked to call the NBPD Cold Case Tip Line at 949-644-3669.. Neal is charged with murder, kidnapping during the commission of murder and lewd and lascivious acts upon a child under 14 in the beachside town of Corona del Mar, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said. "I'll get to be with them again," she added. He will ultimately benefit more from a state prison sentence.. He was transferred to a local. IE 11 is not supported. She had been strangled. Neal has been charged with one count of murder with the special circumstances of kidnapping and committing lewd and lascivious acts upon a child younger than 14, Spitzer said. The sketches depict what the suspect may have looked like at 25 years old as well as an age-progressed version. But again, it's a reminder of what happened. But when night fell and her whereabouts were still unknown, her parents called police and desperately combed the neighborhood, to no avail. Those alleged crimes happened between 1995 and 2004 in Riverside County east of Los Angeles. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer also called the arrest "bittersweet," noting that he had been 12 years old when the 11-year-old was killed. "I'm astonished at what they were able to accomplish," Borgeson, 64, said. Photo Source. James Alan Neal, 73, was transferred to a local hospital May 25 for treatment of an illness and died there at about 5:15 a.m. Wednesday, according to Orange County sheriff's officials. Neal was arrested for burglaries in August and October 1959 and was committed to the California Youth Authority in December 1960. The authorities confirmed that the 73-year-old showed no symptoms of COVID-19 and that his death was not considered suspicious. That I'll be dead by morning. Linda Ann O'Keefe was the middle child in a family of five. O'Keefe's parents have since died, Spitzer said, but her sisters have been notified about the arrest. Even after detectives got the lead through genealogical DNA, investigators needed to a secure a sample from Neal, Spitzer said. Detectives from the Newport Beach Police Department kept investigating. He said he was glad he had all that stuff behind him but never mentioned what he had done, Malecki recalled. Last year, Spitzer said authorities used DNA thought to have been left by the killer and tracked down Neal using a public genealogy database. So, if youre curious to know more about James and what happened to him after his arrest, weve got you covered. (Courtesy of Newport Beach Police Department) It was not clear from records if he was convicted for those offenses. She had been strangled and sexually assaulted. Then, in 1974, he was sent back to prison in Colorado for a parole violation and released three years later. James Neal, 72, who lived in Southern California and worked in construction in the 1970s, was arrested this week in Colorado, where he had been living, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said at a Wednesday news conference. Helicopters, police Jeeps and search parties scoured the area looking for signs of O'Keefe. James Neal, 72, was arrested in Colorado Springs on Tuesday and charged with murder with special circumstances, Spitzer said. After the slaying, Neal moved to Florida, where some sort of incident prompted him to change his name from James Albert Layton to James Alan Neal, authorities have said, declining to give specifics. Detectives from Newport Beach arrested Neal at 6:29 a.m. in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis said at the press conference. He was on parole from Colorado's prison system when Linda Ann O'Keefe was killed. Investigators said he used to live in Southern California in the 1970s and was known as James Albert Layton Jr at the time, although he later moved to Florida and changed his name. latest news, feel-good stories, analysis and more, Doomsday mum unfazed by photos of daughters dismembered body shown to court, Five people including boy, 8, killed in execution-style shootings in Texas, Drunk woman fatally runs over man on a first date, Moment bear falls from tree onto tarp held by firefighters, Do not sell or share my personal information. This undated booking photo provided by the El Paso County, Colo., Sheriff's Office shows James Neal. However, James was never brought to justice because he died of an unspecified illness on July 22, 2020. Its amazing how you really dont know people.. Prosecutors are considering seeking the death penalty against Neal. Shortly after Lindas murder, investigators recovered DNA evidence from her remains, Spitzer said. She was raped and then strangled to death. "Technology has caught up with the law," Spitzer said Wednesday. The key moment arrived with the February 19, 2019 arrest of Neal in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Suspect Changed His Name After Lindas Death, Colo. 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On July 6, 1973, 11-year-old Linda OKeefe disappeared while walking home from summer school in the southern California beachside town of Corona del Mar. On Tuesday, nearly 46 years after O'Keefe's life ended, authorities arrested a man they say is suspected of being her killer: a 72-year-old living in Colorado named James Neal. Neal is being held in the El Paso County Jail in Colorado. While waiting to use the school phone, O'Keefe went outside. Having spent two years living in England including Liverpool, he is an avid Beatles fan and memorabilia collector. I want to make up for all the hurt I have caused myself and my parents, especially my mother, Neal, who was 19 at the time and went by James Albert Layton Jr., told Orange County probation officer David R. McMillan in 1966 while awaiting sentencing for a burglary conviction. James Neal, who was charged with sexually assaulting and killing Linda O'Keefe, died on Wednesday (Picture: AP) An man arrested for a series of cold case sex crimes against children died. Neal was arrested Tuesday "without incident" in Colorado Springs, Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis said at a news conference Wednesday. There is no record of Neal ever having been incarcerated in a California prison, according to state officials. Police and prosecutors on Wednesday said they put Neal under surveillance and eventually got his DNA though they did not detail exactly how. O'Keefe disappeared while she was walking home from summer school. On the day Linda Ann O'Keefe died, it was a cooler-than-normal July morning in Newport . Paul Bersebach/The Orange County Register via AP. "We have never forgotten Linda," Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis said at the news conference. The child disappeared while walking home from summer. Blashaw did not explain what this sickness was but elaborated that the inmate did not have COVID-19 symptoms.