Cigarette packet may finally solve 50-year mystery after woman's brutal murder
Nearly 50 years ago, a 24-year-old woman was found strangled to death in her Volkswagen Beetle, leaving everyone in the city of San Jose reeling. The tragedy went unsolved for decades, but investigators finally have a breakthrough.
Evidence gathered on Jeanette Ralston 's death sat in case files gathering dust for years. At the time of the murder, technology just wasn't where it is today. But everything changed in 2018 when the city's police upgraded its fingerprint search algorithm, allowing for more accurate and wide-reaching matches.
With the new technology in place, officers decided to try their luck again - to see if an old piece of evidence from the 1977 crime would give them answers. And it did. Willie Eugene Sims, now 69, has been charged with Jeanette's murder, thanks to the fingerprint match from the cigarette pack.
"Last year, we threw a Hail Mary by running all of the prints from the crime scene through the FBI database one last time," said Rob Baker, Deputy District Attorney. "The big break happened last summer when the San Jose Police fingerprint examiners told us we had a match that led our investigators to a small town in Ohio six months later," he added.
According to court records, Jeanette was last seen on 31 January 1977, just before midnight after leaving a bar in San Jose. Witnesses saw her with an unidentified man. The next morning, she was found in her vehicle parked near a construction site.
She had been brutally attacked, with a long-sleeve dress shirt knotted around her neck. The scene suggested the killer had tried to cover his tracks, the car smelled of gasoline, and there were signs that someone had attempted to light it on fire.
An autopsy revealed she'd been strangled and sexually assaulted. There was also evidence of an attempted arson, likely to destroy the crime scene and any lingering clues.
At the time, Sims was stationed at Fort Ord as an army private. Despite a thorough investigation, he was never linked to the murder - until now. In 1978, Sims was convicted of assault with intent to commit murder in Monterey County. But he only served two and a half months behind bars before moving out of California - avoiding the DNA collection that would eventually become standard.
The fingerprint was the break they needed, but it wasn't the only one. Investigators travelled to Ohio earlier this year to collect a DNA sample from Sims. It matched material found under Jeanette's fingernails and on the shirt used to strangle her.
This case shows just how powerful forensic science has become. 'Every day, forensic science grows better, and every day criminals are closer to being caught,' said District Attorney Jeff Rosen. 'We don't forget and we don't give up.'
Sims was extradited to San Jose and is currently being held without bail. His next court date is set for August 12. If convicted, he faces 25 years to life in prison.
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