GUILTY CA - Betty Jean Elias, 45, Murdered and Raped by Dennis Eagle, 18, in 1979. Solved by recent DNA

[PastTense]

An Alameda County prosecutor told jurors on Thursday that a man who was only 18 years old at the time should be convicted of murder for the stabbing and strangulation death of a 45-year-old woman in Oakland in 1979.

Prosecutor Mark Melton said Dennis Eagle, who is now 57, should also be convicted of a special circumstance allegation that he murdered Betty Elias at her motel room on San Pablo Avenue on Oct. 29, 1979, during a rape.

Elias' death remained unsolved for 37 years until 2015, when DNA and fingerprint evidence connected Eagle to the crime.

Prosecutor Asks Jurors To Convict Man For 1979 Homicide

 

[PastTense]

In what might be the oldest case ever tried in Alameda County, a man already serving time for a sex crime in another state was convicted of first-degree murder on Monday for the stabbing and strangulation death of a 45-year-old woman in Oakland in 1979... Eagle faces life in prison without parole when Judge Rhonda Burgess sentences him on June 28. But Melton said Eagle won’t begin serving his sentence for Elias’ death until 2022, because he still has to finish serving the last four years of his sentence for his conviction for his Montana sex crime.

Man Convicted Of Murdering Woman In 1979 Oakland Cold Case

 

[PastTense]

"A three-time felon already serving time for a sex crime in another state was sentenced on Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the stabbing and strangulation death of a 45-year-old woman in Oakland in 1979.

In what prosecutors say might be the oldest case ever tried in Alameda County, Dennis Eagle, who was only 18 years old at the time but is now 58, was convicted of first-degree murder on May 13 for the death of Betty Elias at her apartment on San Pablo Avenue on Oct. 29, 1979.

Jurors only deliberated for about four hours and also convicted Eagle of a special circumstance allegation that he murdered Elias during a rape or an attempted rape."
Three-Time Felon Gets Life In Prison For 1979 Cold-Case Murder