Latest news with #SantaClaraCountyDistrictAttorney'sOffice
Scottish Sun
21-05-2025
- Scottish Sun
My mum was brutally murdered at 24 when I was at home in bed just age six – a ciggy packet led to arrest 50 years later
The cold-blooded killer tried to set Jeanette Ralston's car on fire but it failed to burn, leaving behind the key clue on a cigarette packet POLICE PROBE My mum was brutally murdered at 24 when I was at home in bed just age six – a ciggy packet led to arrest 50 years later Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) BEAUTIFUL Jeanette Ralston, 24, was letting her hair down with pals at a local bar while her six-year-old son, Allen, was safely tucked up in bed. But tragically, the mum-of-one never made it home to her baby. She was found strangled, sexually assaulted and wedged into the back seat of her own car. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Jeanette Ralston was found strangled, sexually assaulted and wedged into the back seat of her own car Credit: Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office 4 She left behind her son Allen, who was six-years-old at the time of her death Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk 4 Willie Eugene Sims, 69, was arrested two weeks ago and charged with the brutal murder of Jeanette Credit: Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office Jeanette was last seen alive leaving the Lion's Den bar in San Jose, California with an unidentified man just before midnight on January 31 1977. She told pals that she'd be back in 10 minutes. The following day, her body was discovered dead in the back of her Volkswagen Beetle in a carport near the bar. A medical examiner determined that she had been strangled with the long-sleeve shirt that was found wound around her neck. The cold-blooded killer then tried to set Jeanette's car on fire, but it failed to burn. He got away with the slaying for nearly five decades. Willie Eugene Sims, 69, was arrested two weeks ago and charged with the brutal murder of Jeanette in January 1977, according to Santa Clara County prosecutors. The Ohio man was finally linked to the crime through a cigarette pack in Jeanette's VW Beetle. The breakthrough came last August when police made the decision to retest fingerprints on the cigarette packet, despite testing from years prior not linking anyone to the cold case. But Santa Clara Deputy District Attorney Rob Baker said that his office decided to 'throw a Hail Mary' after the FBI updated its fingerprint database's search algorithm. 'Just about a year ago, I was like, 'hey, let's run those prints again to see if we get lucky',' he told KGO. To Baker's astonishment, the fresh search revealed a match for Sims. Further analysis found Sims' DNA under Jeanette's fingernails and on the shirt used to strangle her, according to cops. Jeanette's son Allen, who was just six-years-old when his mother was violently taken from him, has expressed gratitude for Sims' arrest. 4 The breakthrough came last August when police made the decision to retest fingerprints on the cigarette packet found in Jeanette's car Credit: AP "His birthday is coming up - he said this was such a great birthday present,' Baker said. 'We can't bring her back, but at least now we can answer some of the questions that have haunted the family and offer them the closure they've waited almost 50 years for.' Allen shared his heartfelt thanks in a social media post, acknowledging the detectives' tireless work. He wrote: 'You have undoubtedly made a six-year-old kid happy after all these years. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for a job well done.' Sims has now been arraigned on the murder charge and is due to be extradited to California, where he could face a sentence of 25 years to life behind bars.
The Irish Sun
21-05-2025
- The Irish Sun
My mum was brutally murdered at 24 when I was at home in bed just age six – a ciggy packet led to arrest 50 years later
BEAUTIFUL Jeanette Ralston, 24, was letting her hair down with pals at a local bar while her six-year-old son, Allen, was safely tucked up in bed. But tragically, the mum-of-one never made it home to her baby. She was found strangled, Advertisement 4 Jeanette Ralston was found strangled, sexually assaulted and wedged into the back seat of her own car Credit: Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office 4 She left behind her son Allen, who was six-years-old at the time of her death Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk 4 Willie Eugene Sims, 69, was arrested two weeks ago and charged with the brutal murder of Jeanette Credit: Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office Jeanette was last seen alive leaving the Lion's Den bar in San Jose, California with an unidentified man just before midnight on January 31 1977. She told pals that she'd be back in 10 minutes. The following day, her body was discovered dead in the back of her A medical examiner determined that she had been strangled with the long-sleeve shirt that was found wound around her neck. Advertisement read more true crime The cold-blooded killer then tried to set Jeanette's car on fire, but it failed to burn. He got away with the slaying for nearly five decades. Willie Eugene Sims, 69, was arrested two weeks ago and charged with the brutal murder of Jeanette in January 1977, according to Santa Clara County prosecutors. The Ohio man was finally linked to the crime through a cigarette pack in Jeanette's VW Beetle. Advertisement Most read in Fabulous The breakthrough came last August when police made the decision to retest fingerprints on the cigarette packet, despite testing from years prior not linking anyone to the cold case. But Santa Clara Deputy District Attorney Rob Baker said that his office decided to 'throw a Hail Mary' after the FBI updated its fingerprint database's search algorithm. 'Just about a year ago, I was like, 'hey, let's run those prints again to see if we get lucky',' he told KGO. To Baker's astonishment, the fresh search revealed a match for Sims. Advertisement Further analysis found Sims' DNA under Jeanette's fingernails and on the shirt used to strangle her, according to cops. Jeanette's son Allen, who was just six-years-old when his mother was violently taken from him, has expressed gratitude for Sims' arrest. 4 The breakthrough came last August when police made the decision to retest fingerprints on the cigarette packet found in Jeanette's car Credit: AP "His birthday is coming up - he said this was such a great birthday present,' Baker said. Advertisement 'We can't bring her back, but at least now we can answer some of the questions that have haunted the family and offer them the closure they've waited almost 50 years for.' Allen shared his heartfelt thanks in a social media post, acknowledging the detectives' tireless work. He wrote: 'You have undoubtedly made a six-year-old kid happy after all these years. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for a job well done.' Sims has now been arraigned on the murder charge and is due to be extradited to California, where he could face a sentence of 25 years to life behind bars. Advertisement
Hamilton Spectator
14-05-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Thumbprint on cigarette carton leads to arrest in 1977 death of young woman
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Nearly half a century after a young California woman was strangled to death, officials say a thumbprint on a carton of cigarettes has led to an arrest. Willie Eugene Sims was arrested in Jefferson, Ohio, in connection with the death of Jeanette Ralston, according to a Friday statement from the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office. Sims, 69, has been charged with murder and was arraigned on Friday in Ashtabula County Court before being sent to California. Ralston was found dead in the back seat of her Volkswagen Beetle on Feb. 1, 1977, in San Jose, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office. Her body was found in the carport area of an apartment complex near the bar where friends say she was last seen. She had been strangled with a long-sleeve dress shirt, and evidence appeared to show she was sexually assaulted, according to prosecutors. Her car showed signs of having been unsuccessfully set on fire. Her friends said at the time that they saw her leave the bar with an unknown man the evening before, saying she would be back in 10 minutes, but she never returned. Police interviewed the friends and other witnesses and created a suspect sketch. But the investigation went cold. A thumbprint found on Ralston's cigarette carton in her car was found to match Sims last fall after law enforcement had asked to run the print through the FBI's updated system, prosecutors said. Earlier this year, officials from the District Attorney's office and San Jose police went to Ohio to collect DNA from Sims. Prosecutors say it matched the DNA found on Ralston's fingernails and the shirt used to strangle her. 'Every day, forensic science grows better, and every day criminals are closer to being caught,' District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. 'Cases may grow old and be forgotten by the public. We don't forget and we don't give up.' William Weigel, homicide team supervisor for the Santa Clara county public defender's office, confirmed Monday that Lara Wallman had been assigned the case. He said their office can't comment on the evidence yet because they haven't seen it but cautioned the public from jumping to conclusions. 'It is kind of important that we let the system play itself out and allow our side to conduct our own independent review and investigation of the case before we rush to judgment as it were,' he said. Back in 1977, Sims was an army private assigned to a facility about 68 miles (109 kilometers) south of San Jose, prosecutors said. The year after Ralston's death, a jury in a separate case convicted Sims of an assault to commit murder in Monterey County and sentenced him to four years in prison, court records show. Ralston's son, Allen Ralston, was 6 when she died. He told WOIO-TV that he is grateful and relieved an arrest was finally made. 'I'm just glad that somebody cared,' he said about the case.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
Thumbprint on cigarette carton leads to arrest in 1977 death of young woman
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Nearly half a century after a young California woman was strangled to death, officials say a thumbprint on a carton of cigarettes has led to an arrest. Willie Eugene Sims was arrested in Jefferson, Ohio, in connection with the death of Jeanette Ralston, according to a Friday statement from the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office. Sims, 69, has been charged with murder and was arraigned on Friday in Ashtabula County Court before being sent to California. Ralston was found dead in the back seat of her Volkswagen Beetle on Feb. 1, 1977, in San Jose, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office. Her body was found in the carport area of an apartment complex near the bar where friends say she was last seen. She had been strangled with a long-sleeve dress shirt, and evidence appeared to show she was sexually assaulted, according to prosecutors. Her car showed signs of having been unsuccessfully set on fire. Her friends said at the time that they saw her leave the bar with an unknown man the evening before, saying she would be back in 10 minutes, but she never returned. Police interviewed the friends and other witnesses and created a suspect sketch. But the investigation went cold. A thumbprint found on Ralston's cigarette carton in her car was found to match Sims last fall after law enforcement had asked to run the print through the FBI's updated system, prosecutors said. Earlier this year, officials from the District Attorney's office and San Jose police went to Ohio to collect DNA from Sims. Prosecutors say it matched the DNA found on Ralston's fingernails and the shirt used to strangle her. 'Every day, forensic science grows better, and every day criminals are closer to being caught," District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. "Cases may grow old and be forgotten by the public. We don't forget and we don't give up.' William Weigel, homicide team supervisor for the Santa Clara county public defender's office, confirmed Monday that Lara Wallman had been assigned the case. He said their office can't comment on the evidence yet because they haven't seen it but cautioned the public from jumping to conclusions. 'It is kind of important that we let the system play itself out and allow our side to conduct our own independent review and investigation of the case before we rush to judgment as it were,' he said. Back in 1977, Sims was an army private assigned to a facility about 68 miles (109 kilometers) south of San Jose, prosecutors said. The year after Ralston's death, a jury in a separate case convicted Sims of an assault to commit murder in Monterey County and sentenced him to four years in prison, court records show. Ralston's son, Allen Ralston, was 6 when she died. He told WOIO-TV that he is grateful and relieved an arrest was finally made. "I'm just glad that somebody cared," he said about the case.
Japan Today
14-05-2025
- Japan Today
Thumbprint on cigarette carton leads to arrest in 1977 death of young woman
This taken Feb. 1, 1977, photo provided by the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office shows the inside this Volkswagen in San Jose, Calif. that has led to an arrest from a thumbprint on a Eve brand cigarettes nearly half a century after a young California woman was strangled to death. The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office said last week that Willie Eugene Sims was arrested in Ohio in connection with the death of Jeanette Ralston. (Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office via AP) Nearly half a century after a young California woman was strangled to death, officials say a thumbprint on a carton of cigarettes has led to an arrest. Willie Eugene Sims was arrested in Jefferson, Ohio, in connection with the death of Jeanette Ralston, according to a Friday statement from the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office. Sims, 69, has been charged with murder and was arraigned on Friday in Ashtabula County Court before being sent to California. Ralston was found dead in the back seat of her Volkswagen Beetle on Feb. 1, 1977, in San Jose, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office. Her body was found in the carport area of an apartment complex near the bar where friends say she was last seen. She had been strangled with a long-sleeve dress shirt, and evidence appeared to show she was sexually assaulted, according to prosecutors. Her car showed signs of having been unsuccessfully set on fire. Her friends said at the time that they saw her leave the bar with an unknown man the evening before, saying she would be back in 10 minutes, but she never returned. Police interviewed the friends and other witnesses and created a suspect sketch. But the investigation went cold. A thumbprint found on Ralston's cigarette carton in her car was found to match Sims last fall after law enforcement had asked to run the print through the FBI's updated system, prosecutors said. Earlier this year, officials from the District Attorney's office and San Jose police went to Ohio to collect DNA from Sims. Prosecutors say it matched the DNA found on Ralston's fingernails and the shirt used to strangle her. 'Every day, forensic science grows better, and every day criminals are closer to being caught," District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. "Cases may grow old and be forgotten by the public. We don't forget and we don't give up.' William Weigel, homicide team supervisor for the Santa Clara county public defender's office, confirmed Monday that Lara Wallman had been assigned the case. He said their office can't comment on the evidence yet because they haven't seen it but cautioned the public from jumping to conclusions. 'It is kind of important that we let the system play itself out and allow our side to conduct our own independent review and investigation of the case before we rush to judgment as it were,' he said. Back in 1977, Sims was an army private assigned to a facility about 68 miles (109 kilometers) south of San Jose, prosecutors said. The year after Ralston's death, a jury in a separate case convicted Sims of an assault to commit murder in Monterey County and sentenced him to four years in prison, court records show. Ralston's son, Allen Ralston, was 6 when she died. He told WOIO-TV that he is grateful and relieved an arrest was finally made. "I'm just glad that somebody cared," he said about the case. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
