For decades, investigators worked the cases separately: It wasn’t until 2004 that DNA evidence linked the women.
Lisa Gondek, left, and Rachel Zendejas were both killed in 1981 in Ventura County, Calif. On Thursday, the sheriff's office announced Tony Garcia was arrested and charged with two counts of murder.man has been “hiding in plain sight” for decades after brutally raping and killing two young women, the Ventura County sheriff said Thursday.
Zendejas died first. The 20-year-old had recently gone through a divorce and was raising her two young daughters while attending Oxnard College. While she got back on her feet, she was living with her brother in Camarillo. On Jan. 18, 1981, two newspaper delivery boys stumbled onto Zendejas’ naked body in an apartment complex’s carport. Police believed she had been “ambushed” outside her brother’s Camarillo home and was raped and strangled on the patio of a nearby vacant apartment.
Eleven months later, firefighters responded to reports of smoke at an Oxnard apartment. Inside, they found the naked body of Gondek, 21, in her bathtub. Her killer had raped her, posed her and then set the apartment on fire. Neighbors reportedly heard screams but didn’t call 911 until they smelled smoke.
She moved in with a childhood best friend and got a job at a teen clothing store in the Esplanade shopping center in Oxnard. Although she was new to the area, she quickly made friends. “If Lisa had a dollar, she would split it with you,” her roommate told the Ventura County Star in 2006.Google Street View
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
14-year-old Michigan girl reported missing over a year ago found pregnant, hiding in closet'She was crying. She was afraid. She was afraid she was going to end up back in foster care. She was afraid she was going to lose her baby.'
Read more »
14-year-old Michigan girl reported missing over a year ago found pregnant, hiding in closet'She was crying. She was afraid. She was afraid she was going to end up back in foster care. She was afraid she was going to lose her baby.'
Read more »
14-year-old Michigan girl reported missing over a year ago found pregnant, hiding in closet'She was crying. She was afraid. She was afraid she was going to end up back in foster care. She was afraid she was going to lose her baby.'
Read more »
14-year-old Michigan girl reported missing over a year ago found pregnant, hiding in closet'She was crying. She was afraid. She was afraid she was going to end up back in foster care. She was afraid she was going to lose her baby.'
Read more »
14-year-old Michigan girl reported missing over a year ago found pregnant, hiding in closetA 14-year-old girl who was reported missing by her foster family over a year ago was found hiding in a closet in an eastern Michigan home this week.
Read more »
14-year-old Michigan girl reported missing over a year ago found pregnant, hiding in closet'She was crying. She was afraid. She was afraid she was going to end up back in foster care. She was afraid she was going to lose her baby.'
Read more »