CA - Linda Anne O’Keefe, 11, strangled, Newport Beach, 6 Jul 1973 *ARREST in 2019*

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Cops arrest a man in the 1973 cold case murder of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe | Daily Mail Online

Arrest made in connection to Linda O'Keefe murder, 11-year-old strangled to death 46 years ago

james%20neal%20and%20linda%20okeefe%20side%20by%20side_1550685998579.jpg_6800443_ver1.0_640_360.jpg


I'm looking through public records at Ancestry.com. So far found a possible grandparent that lived in the Long Beach area. Still plenty to search.
 
Ok, I also found some public directory listings at Ancestry.com for someone named James A Neal living at 3 different addresses in the Orange County, CA area during the 1990's. Also a marriage there in 1983 (not sharing spouse info ATM).
James Neal is a somewhat common name, so I'm going to wait until more information about him becomes available in the news media. I have a pretty good idea of who he is, but will wait. I found a close match in a high school yearbook, but it doesn't look like exactly like his Parabon illustration, so it's better to avoid specifics for now.

More news:

DNA leads to arrest in half century-old cold case murder of 11-year-old California girl

Neal has been charged with murder, kidnapping and lewd and lascivious act upon a child under 14, Spitzer said. The suspect is being held in Colorado and if waives extradition, he could be moved to California before the end of the week, officials said.

Prosecutors are considering whether they'll seek the death penalty against Neal. But Spitzer admitted that could be a murky legal question because capital punishment was not an option when O'Keefe was killed in 1973.
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https://heavy.com/news/2019/02/james-alan-neal-linda-okeefe/

He would have been around 27 yo at the time of the murder.

Neal lived in Orange County at the time using the name James Alan George Layton, which he later changed to James Alan Neal. Jail records show he has also used the aliases James Albert Lyton, Allen George Gilstrap and James Albert. Neal has been married for several decades, is a retired construction worker and a great-grandfather. He moved to Monument, Colorado, from San Jacinto, California, in 2015. He lived with his wife there.
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Everywhere in America there are men who committed murder or rape 20-50 years ago. Tonight they are peering out of the front window waiting for the detectives to pull up out front. They know the knock on the door is coming. They just don't know when.
 
Wow....I just heard about this arrest today. I was not familiar with this case until now. Amazing work with the DNA evidence. This is like the arrest of the Golden State Killer Joseph DeAngelo. Although I am so happy an arrest has been made, I am angry and mad beyond belief that these two evil men were allowed to LIVE for YEARS while lying to everyone!! Cowards and evil men among us. Both of these men married and had a family and children! Unbelievable. I pray they never see the light of day again. I am just sad that the parents of this innocent child never lived to see the killer caught. RIP poor Linda.
 
The Twitter presentation was heart-wrenching. LE did a beautiful job with Linda's story. And now he pays for it. I haven't the words to express my joy at his capture. It's been an emotionally exhausting read, for me, anyway. Probably for some of you, too. I hadn't heard of her case before now. Like someone posted above, there has to be a LOT of people quaking in their boots now. Just waiting ...
 
Falcon500 said:
Everywhere in America there are men who committed murder or rape 20-50 years ago. Tonight they are peering out of the front window waiting for the detectives to pull up out front. They know the knock on the door is coming. They just don't know when.
Click to expand...
svh74ckc_james-neal-twitter_625x300_21_February_19.jpg

The MONSTERS will be weeded out.
 
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Oh wow! Just read the updates! 45 years.... finally!! Peace for her family.

And of course I went to the court site:

Docket for: El Paso County - El Paso County Judicial Building
Showing 1 - 2 of 2 records

Date Len Name Hearing Type Case # Location Division
2/21/19
8:30 AM 1H NEAL, JAMES First Appearance D212019CR1092 El Paso County DIV 18-ROOM S505 (South Tower)

2/27/19
8:30 AM 1H NEAL, JAMES First Appearance D212019CR1028 El Paso County DIV 22-Room W370 (West Tower)

link: Seventh Judicial District » Docket Search


I see there are 2 difference case #s. Wondering if the 2/27/19 one is an extradition hearing. Don't know if he is fighting extradition to CA or not.
Anyone know "how" I can find out "what" each case is for? TIA!
 
oceanstarryeyes said:
Now use that DNA Evidence to find out how many other CHILDREN this MONSTER may have MURDERED.
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Agree. Hopefully the DNA from any other victims was retrieved, tested and entered into a database. That's still an "iffy" proposition in many states.

Where the Backlog Exists and What's Happening to End It | ENDTHEBACKLOG

ETA: JMO, just a feeling he did this again or something very similar. It sounds like he lived in SoCal for a very long time. Didn't move to CO until 2015. Like GSK, these guys can be very busy during their young adult years, but slow down as they get older, get married, etc. I'm not seeing any mention of a family besides his wife of many decades.

I wonder if he also committed crimes in the San Diego area? LA?

ETA: I saw the Heavy.com article has been updated to show he had 4 daughters and many grand and great grand-children.
 
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Here's what I put together:

Tuesday, Feb. 19th:
*First Appearance Hearing (@ 8:30am MT) – CO / CA – Linda Anne O’Keefe (11) (July 6, 1973, Newport Beach, found strangled) - *James Alan Neal (72/27 @ time of crime) arrested (2/18/19 in Monument, CO) & charged (2/19/19) with 1st degree murder, kidnapping during the commission of a murder & willful premeditated lewd & lascivious act upon a child under 14. Held in El Paso jail without bond. El Paso County, CO. #D212019CR1092 (for 2/19 hrng) #D212019CR1028 (for 2/27 hrng) / Orange County, CA.
DNA Parabon NanoLabs match. (akas: James Alan George Layton, James Albert Layton, Allen George Gilstrap & James Albert).
2/19/19 First appearance hearing on Case #D212019CR1092. Next hearing 2/27 on Case #D212019CR1028.
 
Niner said:
Here's what I put together:

Tuesday, Feb. 19th:
*First Appearance Hearing (@ 8:30am MT) – CO / CA – Linda Anne O’Keefe (11) (July 6, 1973, Newport Beach, found strangled) - *James Alan Neal (72/27 @ time of crime) arrested (2/18/19 in Monument, CO) & charged (2/19/19) with 1st degree murder, kidnapping during the commission of a murder & willful premeditated lewd & lascivious act upon a child under 14. Held in El Paso jail without bond. El Paso County, CO. #D212019CR1092 (for 2/19 hrng) #D212019CR1028 (for 2/27 hrng) / Orange County, CA.
DNA Parabon NanoLabs match. (akas: James Alan George Layton, James Albert Layton, Allen George Gilstrap & James Albert).
2/19/19 First appearance hearing on Case #D212019CR1092. Next hearing 2/27 on Case #D212019CR1028.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Niner! You're the best!

According to the OC Register, he's been charged with kidnapping, murder and lewd acts with a child.

Man charged with killing 11-year-old Linda O’Keefe in 1973 cold-case murder in Newport Beach – Orange County Register

Today's article in the OC Register:

How DNA — and old-fashioned police work — led to arrest in 1973 cold-case murder of 11-year-old Linda O’Keefe – Orange County Register

Fast forward more than four decades. The trend in law enforcement is to use DNA to identify potential suspects through their family trees.

The suspect in this case started a search to find his own ancestry at FamilyTreeDNA.com.

And it got him arrested.
Click to expand...
 
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According to the Heavy.com article, here are the places that James Neal or Layton has lived in CA:

San Jacinto
Winchester
Hemet

He also lived in Florida at one time, according to the DA. Apparently, there was an "incident" that led to him changing his name from James Allan George Layton to James Neal.

https://heavy.com/news/2019/02/james-alan-neal-linda-okeefe/

His only prior criminal offenses on record are traffic cases
His current jail record shows him as Height: 6'2", Weight 225 lbs
Detectives believe he was alone when he committed his crimes

So other possible offenses could be in southern CA, FL and, after 2015 in CO. JMO, CO seems unlikely to me, but you never know.

Considering Linda O'Keefe was 11 years old, I wonder if he would also prey on pre-teen or teen girls? Rodney Alcala had a similar profile. Neal also abducted Linda from the street, so it's possible he chose victims based on opportunity. IDK, JMO.

ETA: I'm also adding that I found what looks to be his photo in a high school yearbook in Santa Ana, CA. Just more info for a geographic profile.
 
Betty P said:
According to the Heavy.com article, here are the places that James Neal or Layton has lived in CA:

San Jacinto
Winchester
Hemet

He also lived in Florida at one time, according to the DA. Apparently, there was an "incident" that led to him changing his name from James Allan George Layton to James Neal.

https://heavy.com/news/2019/02/james-alan-neal-linda-okeefe/

His only prior criminal offenses on record are traffic cases
His current jail record shows him as Height: 6'2", Weight 225 lbs
Detectives believe he was alone when he committed his crimes

So other possible offenses could be in southern CA, FL and, after 2015 in CO. JMO, CO seems unlikely to me, but you never know.

Considering Linda O'Keefe was 11 years old, I wonder if he would also prey on pre-teen or teen girls? Rodney Alcala had a similar profile. Neal also abducted Linda from the street, so it's possible he chose victims based on opportunity. IDK, JMO.

ETA: I'm also adding that I found what looks to be his photo in a high school yearbook in Santa Ana, CA. Just more info for a geographic profile.
Click to expand...

That many name changes probably means lots of bad business deals.
 
I corrected a few items - :)

Tuesday, Feb. 19th:
*First Appearance Hearing (@ 8:30am MT) – CO / CA – Linda Anne O’Keefe (11) (July 6, 1973, Newport Beach, found July 7, 1973 strangled) - *James Alan Neal (72/27 @ time of crime) arrested (2/18/19 in Monument, CO) & charged (2/19/19) with special-circumstances murder (because of enhancements for allegedly kidnapping & lewd acts), kidnapping during the commission of a murder & willful premeditated lewd & lascivious act upon a child under 14. Held in El Paso jail without bond.
El Paso County, CO. #D212019CR1092 (for 2/19 hrng) #D212019CR1028 (for 2/27 hrng) / Orange County, CA.
DNA match thru genealogy website FamilyTreeDNA; Parabon Snapshot produced (2018). (akas: James Allen George Layton (name used in his 20s), James Albert Layton, Allen George Gilstrap & James Albert).
2/19/19 First appearance hearing on Case #D212019CR1092. Next hearing 2/27 on Case #D212019CR1028.
 
 
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