By: Sarah Zhong

Last Friday, DNA evidence helped solve the murders of three women and a teenage girl in California. A 75-year-old man in Texas is in custody.

Detectives and police departments traveled out of states to arrest the man, Billy Ray Richardson, whom the police associated with the murders of Kari Lenander, Beverly Cruse, and her sister, Debra Cruse, in 1980 in Los Angeles, and Trina Wilson in 1995 in Inglewood. All the victims were raped.

DNA evidence was crucial in apprehending the assailant.

Mr. Richardson was charged with four counts of murder and related charges. On Friday afternoon, he was in Tarrant County jail.

On Friday, George Gascón, the Los Angeles district attorney, said he was thankful for the people whose work had contributed to the arrest. “I cannot imagine the pain that these families have endured. Their loss is immeasurable. We hope that together we can bring justice to the families who have endured so much and have waited years for this moment.” However, attempts to reach the surviving family members of the victims on Friday were unsuccessful.

In 2001, detectives in Los Angeles reopened an investigation of the murder of Ms. Lenander, who was 15 when she was murdered. Her body was found in a South Los Angeles neighborhood in July of 1980.

“In 2012, the Los Angeles City Council approved a $50,000 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of anyone responsible for her murder,” an article says.

On the night Ms. Lenander was murdered, she and her best friend, Toni Garfield, were alone at Ms. Garfield’s house, getting ready for a party. They decided to go dancing and hitchhiked their way back.

“They were picked up by a white man, who said his name was Ken and that he was visiting from Canada,” Detective Marcia said. Ms. Garfield was dropped off at her home, but Ms. Lenander said she was going to “keep partying” with Ken. The girls were separated at around 10 p.m., and Ms. Lenander’s body was found approximately five hours later.

A few months before Ms. Lenander’s murder, the bodies of Beverly Cruse, 25, and Debra Cruse, 22, were found in March of 1980 by their brother in a Los Angeles apartment.

He told police that he went to the apartment because he had not heard from his sisters for many days. The prosecutor’s office said the woman had been shot in the head.

More than 15 years later, Ms. Wilson was found near a park in December of 1995. The cause of death is still unclear.

In 2012, the City Council for Inglewood approved an offering for $25,000 for information that could lead to the identification, arrest, and conviction of people responsible for her murder.

As of Friday, Mr. Richardson is in jail. The detectives and police officers who contributed to this case are heroes.