By: Anna Luo

Following new DNA evidence, Billy Ray Richardson was arrested in Texas last Thursday for the four-decade old murders of three women and a teenager.

In 2001, detectives reopened a cold case from 1980 when Kari Lenander, who was 15 at the time, was raped and murdered. Ms. Lenander had gone dancing with her best friend, 15-year-old Toni Garfield, before deciding to hitchhike back. According to reports at the time, they were picked up by a white man who claimed to be visiting from Canada and introduced himself as Ken.

At around 10 p.m, the friends split up after Ms. Garfield was dropped off at home while Ms. Lenander stayed with Ken to “keep partying.”

The Los Angeles Police Department reported that her body was discovered 5 hours later on July 26th, 1980, in a South Los Angeles neighborhood. In 2012, a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the murderer was approved by the Los Angeles City Council. This follows a major breakthrough when a DNA profile identified the race of the suspect as Black.

A few months before Ms. Lenander’s murder, The Los Angeles Times reported that “the naked bodies of Beverly Cruse, 25, and Debra Cruse, 22, were found on March 5, 1980, by their brother in a West Los Angeles apartment.” According to their brother, he went to check on the sisters after not hearing from them for several days.

Then, on December 31st 1995, Trina Wilson’s body was found near an Inglewood park. In 2012, the Inglewood City Council “adopted a resolution offering $25,000 for information that could lead to the identification, arrest and conviction of those responsible for Ms. Wilson’s murder,” according to The New York Times article by Jesus Jiménez.

It’s uncertain what other evidence besides the DNA profile led to the arrest of Mr. Richardson and whether or not he knew any of the victims. The 76-year-old is currently awaiting extradition to Los Angeles from a jail in Tarrant County, Texas.

Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/16/us/billy-richardson-cold-case-california.html