DNA credited for cracking open three Ventura County murders from 1977

DNA evidence is being credited for cracking open three nearly 50-year-old cold-case murders in Ventura County.

The Ventura County District Attorney's Office announced it had extradited a 73-year-old Mississippi man this week after investigators linked him to the strangulation deaths of Kimberly Carol Fritz, Lorraine Ann Rodriguez and Velvet Ann Sanchez in 1977.

More: Authorities say they have serial killer in three 1977 deaths; more victims possible

Warren Luther Alexander of Diamondhead, Mississippi, arrived Tuesday from Surry County, North Carolina, where he's facing charges in a 1992 cold case murder, according to the DA's office.

Alexander appeared in Ventura County Superior Court Wednesday for his arraignment on three first-degree murder charges. The arraignment was continued to Aug. 21. He is currently being held in Ventura County jail without bail.

In February 2023, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Cold Case Unit, along with the Oxnard and Port Hueneme police departments, started to re-examine the women's murders. All three deaths had been by strangulation and DNA evidence had been collected from the crime scenes and the victims.

Fritz was 18 when she died in Port Hueneme May 29, 1977. Sanchez, 31, died in Oxnard Sept. 8, 1977.

Rodriguez, 21, was found dead by sheriff's deputies Dec. 27, 1977. Her body was discovered in an unincorporated area of the Oxnard Plains near the Laguna Road Bridge, said Joey Buttitta, a spokesman for the DA's office.

Buttitta also said Alexander was believed to have lived in Oxnard during the time of the murders.

Top law enforcement leaders from the agencies are planning to discuss the case Thursday morning at a news conference.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: DNA credited for cracking open three Ventura County murders from 1977