Feb 8, 2024
''Hayward Police Chief Bryan Matthews held a press conference Thursday regarding the 1979 rape and murder of Theresa Pica in Hayward, as well as the 1972 sexual assault and murder of Nellie Hicks in Newark. Police said the women were slain by a suspected Bay Area serial killer, Fred Bernard Farnham. Farnham died in a hospital before detectives were able to link him to the murders. His identity was revealed to help bring closure to the victims' families''.
dnasolves.com
"In May 1972, 59-year-old Nellie Hicks, was sexually assaulted and murdered in her Newark, California home. The person responsible for Ms. Hicks’ murder and assault was not identified. Seven years later in May 1979, 48-year-old Theresa Pica was sexually assaulted and murdered in Hayward, California, a short twenty-minute drive from Newark. Evidence was collected at both crime scenes; however, DNA testing did not exist at the time. In 1979, evidence connected the two cases, but the person responsible remained a mystery.''
''In 2021, the Hayward Police Department submitted forensic evidence to Othram, in The Woodlands, Texas. Othram scientists successfully used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the unidentified suspect. After successfully building the profile, the profile was then delivered to investigators who worked with the FBI's forensic genetic genealogy team to generate new leads in the case.
With these new investigative leads in hand, a follow-up investigation ensued. Investigators were eventually able to identify the suspect in these crimes as Fred Farnham, who died in 2007. At the time of his death, Farnham lived in Oregon. It is believed that Farnham could be responsible for other unsolved murders.''
A Half-Century Later, Nellie Hicks' & Theresa Pica's Killer is Identified
Hayward Police Department & FBI Team with Othram to Identify Suspect in the Assault and Murder of Nellie Hicks and Theresa Pica
"In May 1972, 59-year-old Nellie Hicks, was sexually assaulted and murdered in her Newark, California home. The person responsible for Ms. Hicks’ murder and assault was not identified. Seven years later in May 1979, 48-year-old Theresa Pica was sexually assaulted and murdered in Hayward, California, a short twenty-minute drive from Newark. Evidence was collected at both crime scenes; however, DNA testing did not exist at the time. In 1979, evidence connected the two cases, but the person responsible remained a mystery.''
''In 2021, the Hayward Police Department submitted forensic evidence to Othram, in The Woodlands, Texas. Othram scientists successfully used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the unidentified suspect. After successfully building the profile, the profile was then delivered to investigators who worked with the FBI's forensic genetic genealogy team to generate new leads in the case.
With these new investigative leads in hand, a follow-up investigation ensued. Investigators were eventually able to identify the suspect in these crimes as Fred Farnham, who died in 2007. At the time of his death, Farnham lived in Oregon. It is believed that Farnham could be responsible for other unsolved murders.''
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