Over the past 12 years, my Office’s Cold Case Unit has solved more than 30 long-unsolved homicides and sexual assaults. That’s one of the best track records in the nation. Some of those cases date as far back as 1969, and since 2021, we’ve resolved 12 cold sexual assault cases, including five in 2024.

Of all the duties I carry out as DA, solving Cold Cases will always be one of the most fulfilling, as I know we are removing a terrible burden from the hearts of a victim’s loved ones.

COLD CASES, WE’VE SOLVED

COLD CASE MURDERS

Murder of Rachel Moncrief, Santa Clara Police Department. In 1979, Rachel Moncrief was stabbed multiple times with scissors in Santa Clara.  She was stabbed so hard that the scissors broke.  In 2011, DNA identified David Dixon Jr. as the killer.  In 2013, a judge determined that Dixon was unable to assist in his representation.  He died in custody before competency was restored.

Murder of Sylvia Lee, Campbell Police Department. In 1995, Sylvia Lee was found stabbed to death in Campbell.  In 2011, the CCU identified Wilbur Atcherly as the perpetrator.  At the time, he was serving a life sentence for murder.  Atcherly was charged with Sylvia’s death and pleaded guilty to murder in 2012, receiving a 15-to-life sentence.

Murder of Reina Swierski, Sunnyvale Police Department. In 2005, Reina Swierski went missing from her family’s home in Sunnyvale.  In 2008, her skull was discovered in Boulder Creek.  In 2011, the CCU identified Reina’s husband Gary Swierski as her killer.  He was convicted after a jury trial and sentenced to 25 years to life.

Murder of Saba Girmai, Mountain View Police Department. In 1985, Saba Girmai was strangled to death and found in a dumpster in Mountain View.  The case was solved in 2013.  Her killer, Daniel Garcia, was identified with DNA and pleaded to voluntary manslaughter in 2013 for 14 years in prison.

Murder of John Knight, Sr., San Jose Police Department. In 1999, John Knight, Sr., was strangled to death and put in the trunk of his car.  In 2014, the CCU determined he was killed by his son, John Knight, Jr.  The suspect was deceased, so no charges were filed. 

Murder of Alan Garcia-Martinez, Santa Clara Sheriff's Office. In 2007, Alan Garcia-Martinez was suffocated by a fellow inmate in Santa Clara County Jail.   Years after the murder, several informants came forward identifying Ramon Ortiz as the killer.  In 2015, Ortiz pleaded guilty to the gang-related killing and is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Murder of Leslie Perlov, Santa Clara Sheriff's Office. In 1973, Leslie Perlov was raped and strangled in unincorporated Santa Clara County.  Using Forensic Genetic Genealogy, the CCU identified her killer in 2018 as John Getreu.  Getreu died in prison after being convicted of killing Janet Taylor and Leslie Perlov.

Murder of Janet Taylor, San Mateo Sheriff's Office. In 1973, Janet Taylor was strangled and killed while hitchhiking in San Mateo County.  The Santa Clara County DA’s Office CCU identified her killer as John Getreu after he was linked to the death of Leslie Perlov.  Getreu died in prison after being convicted of killing Janet Taylor and Leslie Perlov.

Murder of Arlis Perry, Santa Clara Sheriff's Office. In 1974, Arlis Perry was stabbed and strangled to death inside the Stanford Memorial Church.  In 2018, Stephen Crawford was identified as the perpetrator, but he committed suicide as Sheriff’s detectives attempted to serve an arrest warrant on him.  The case is considered solved and closed.

Murder of Khoat Pham, Sunnyvale Police Department. In 1985, Khoat Pham was stabbed to death in Sunnyvale.  In 2018, the CCU identified David Choi as the killer.  Unfortunately, Choi has not been in the US since 2007.  There is an active warrant for his arrest, and he is on an Interpol watch list.

Murder of Beatrice Sparks, Sunnyvale Police Department. In 1986, Beatrice Sparks was beaten to death with a rock in her own home.  In 2018, Fred Goytia, her next-door neighbor, was identified as the killer.  Goytia was deceased when he was identified as the perpetrator.

Murder of Daryl O’Donnell, Mountain View Police Department. In 1990, Daryl O’Donnell was accosted and stabbed by an unknown assailant.  In2020, John Snowgrass was identified as the killer through DNA evidence.  Snowgrass also had a prior history of assaults.  Unfortunately, Snowgrass was deceased at the time he was identified as the killer. The case is considered solved and closed.

Murder of Anthony Juarez, Sunnyvale Police Department. In 2020, Anthony Juarez was stabbed to death at a public park in Sunnyvale. The killing appeared to be a random attack, and the case went cold after incriminating forensic evidence from the crime scene did not result in any DNA matches in CODIS.  A year later, Jose Salazar was arrested for stabbing his father in San Benito County.  Due to that arrest, Salazar’s DNA sample was collected and uploaded into CODIS for the very first time.  Shortly thereafter, he was identified as the killer of Mr. Juarez based on his DNA profile.  In 2024, he pled to voluntary manslaughter and received three years in prison.

Murder of Karen Stitt, Sunnyvale Police Department. In 1982, 16-year-old Karen Stitt was kidnapped, raped and stabbed to death in Sunnyvale, CA.  She was last seen alive by her boyfriend waiting at a bus stop for a bus ride home.  In 2022, Gary Ramirez was identified as her killer using forensic genetic genealogy.  His blood and semen were identified at the crime scene and on Karen’s body using DNA analysis.  In 2025, Ramirez pled no contest and was sentenced to 25 years-to-life.

Murder of Tara Markowski, San Jose Police Department. In 1983, Tara Markowski was sexually assaulted and strangled to death in San Jose, CA.  In 2022, Christopher Holland was identified as her killer through DNA analysis.  Holland was previously convicted in 2007 for Cynthia Munoz in 1983.  Holland is currently serving LWOP for the murder of Munoz and pending trial for the murder of Markowski.

Murder of Laurie Houts, Mountain View Police Department. In 1992, Laurie Houts was strangled to death inside her car after leaving work.  In 2022, John Woodward was identified as her killer through fingerprint and DNA analysis.  Woodward had been previously charged with Laurie’s murder, resulting in two hung juries in 1995 and 1996.

Murder of Sam Choi, San Jose Police Department. In 2017, 63-year-old Sam Choi was stabbed by an unknown assailant while he was walking home in East San Jose.  He survived the attack, but less than a week later Sam was stabbed again by the same unknown suspect and died as a result.  In 2022, SJPD detectives identified Keith Dupee as the perpetrator.  The case was solved by comparing video surveillance of the stabbings with BWC video taken during a police officer contact with Dupee in Menlo Park the day after the murder.

Murder of Elena Mena, Sunnyvale Police Department. In 1979, 18-year-old Elena Mena was murdered while working as a security guard at an office building.  In 2023, DNA testing identified blood of Sam Silva on her shoes and clothing.  Silva, who had a long history of violence and sexual assault, died in 2014 so no charges were filed.

Murder of Jesus Ibarra, San Jose Police Department. In 1987, Jesus Ibarra was strangled to death with a power cord in his home in San Jose.  In 2024, DNA identified Joseph Abeyta on the power cord, the victim’s body, and semen stains on a blanket used to cover the victim.

Murder of Gilberto Garcia, San Jose Police Department. In 2016, Gilberto Garcia was stabbed outside of his truck, where he lived.  DNA from his pockets led police to his ex-girlfriend Jessica.  Genealogy on blood left on the victim’s body and around the scene led investigators to Marco Iniquez, Jr., who is Jessica’s half-nephew.

Murder of Jorge Garza, San Jose Police Department. In 2017, Jorge Garza was shot and killed in front of a Wienerschnitzel due to his perceived gang affiliation.  In 2024, DNA from a pair of sunglasses left at the scene led to the arrest of Will Velmure.

Murder of Jeanette Ralston, San Jose Police Department. In 1977, Jeanette Ralston was strangled to death in her car.  In 2024, a fingerprint identified from a cigarette carton in her vehicle led investigators to Ohio resident Willie Sims.  In 2025, DNA testing later identified Sims as the source of DNA under the victim’s fingernails and on the ligature used to strangle her.

Murder of Karen Gevorkov, San Jose Police Department. In 1997,   In 2024, DNA matching Victor Ferguson was found inside the victim’s pockets.  In 2025, follow-up revealed that Ferguson confessed to multiple people that he committed the killing.  Ferguson died of cancer in 2022.

Murder of Eduardo Veliz, Sunnyvale Police Department. In 2017, Eduardo Veliz was shot and killed in a drive-by outside a Sunnyvale nightclub in what was a gang-related incident.  Cellphone records and a successful Perkins Operation led to the arrest of two men for the killing, the driver and shooter.

COLD CASE SEXUAL ASSAULTS

Forced Oral Copulation of Denise R, San Jose Police Department. In 1994, the victim was forced 15’ into the back office at knifepoint of the tux shop where she worked, tied up and forced to orally cop Thomas Loguidice after he stole a small amount of money from the register. D was identified via CODIS hit after he was convicted of child molest in 2013.   When he was identified, the SoL on the sex and robbery charges had expired, so SJPD didn’t take any action.  When the CCU identified the hit, we charged kidnap for robbery which has no SoL.  DDA Henry Kim took the case to jury trial and convicted the defendant, who is now serving 7-to-life on top of 44 years he received for the 2013 child molest in San Benito County.

Sodomy of 7-year-old Tammy K., Sunnyvale Police Department. In 1996, Richard Martinez lured 7-year-old Tammy out of her house by calling her home phone and saying he had a present for her outside. He sodomized her in the side yard of her home.  We don’t know how he knew her, but likely was a student at the parent’s martial arts dojo.  Forensic genealogy led us to the defendant, whose semen was found in the girl’s underwear.  Once charged, his biological nieces came forward to state he molested them, leading to additional charges.

Child Molest of Ajanay D., Gilroy Police Department. In 2016, Romain Usher found a13-year-old runaway victim in Oakland and pimped her out.   He also has sex with her.  In 2023, the CCU identified a CODIS hit to defendant’s semen in a condom from a Gilroy motel room that also had the victim’s DNA on it.

Assault with Intent to Commit Rape of Maria P., Sunnyvale Police Department. In 2018, Josue Lobato attempted to rape Maria P. in the street on her way to Caltrain to get to work.  In 2023, the defendant’s DNA was found on the victim’s jeans. He later pled guilty to PC 220 for 2y CDC.

Home Invasion Rape of Marysue M., San Jose Police Department. In 2006, V was living in an elderly independent living facility when Ken Whisenand broke in, savagely beat and then raped her.  Identified via CODIS hit in 2024 once his DNA was uploaded from a misdemeanor sex crime in Crescent City.  Records showed that the defendant lived only one block from the victim’s residence and likely made entry due to his job as a carpet cleaner. 

Rape of Paola D., San Jose Police Department. In 2016, Bernardo Huerta asked the victim Paola for a ride home.  Once in car, he raped victim.  She escaped her car and yelled for a passerby to call the police.  The defendant fled on foot, presumably to his brother’s house about a block away.  In 2024, SART DNA matched the defendant via CODIS hit.

Assault with Intent to Commit Rape of Becky B., San Jose Police Department. In 2008, the victim was driving home at night when she pulled over after hearing a problem with her tire.  Car that had been following her pulled over and Stephen Harmon approached driver’s door and grabbed the victim through window, grabbing breast and licking her face.  The victim drove off, but in 2024 a DNA swab from her face matched Stephen Harmon in CODIS.  Harmon was extradited from Tennessee in 2025.

Rape of Tracey H., Mountain View Police Department. Home invasion sex assault by the “American Nightmare” perpetrator Matthew Muller.  Muller was identified in 2024 via DNA and confession.  The defendants pleaded guilty and sentenced to life.

Rape of Brenna P., Palo Alto Police Department. Home invasion sex assault by the “American Nightmare” perpetrator Matthew Muller.  Muller was identified in 2024 via DNA and confession.  The defendant pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life.

Rape of Valerie W., Sunnyvale Police Department. In 2007, David Vest beat and raped V in the pool area of an apartment complex.  Her injuries were so severe that EMTs could not even identify her gender upon transport to hospital.  Solved via DNA CODIS hit.

Rape of Bailey R., Sunnyvale Police Department. In 2009, David Vest took the victim by knifepoint to a secluded location and raped her.  Solved via DNA CODIS hit.