CA- Karen Percifield, 25, fatally stabbed, Aptos Village Park, Santa Cruz County, 28 May 1976, Dna- Richard Sommerhalder, deceased, '94.

[dotr]

After 49 years, Karen Percifield's Killer is Identified

Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office Teams with Othram to Identify the Suspect in the 1976 Murder of Karen Percifield

dnasolves.com

''On May 28, 1976, deputies were dispatched to the scene of a suspicious death near Aptos Village Park in Santa Cruz County, California. There, they discovered the body of a young woman. The death was quickly ruled a homicide, and the victim was identified as Karen Percifield. She was only 25 years old. At the time, detectives collected forensic evidence from the crime scene and pursued numerous investigative leads, but the case eventually went cold when no suspects could be definitively linked to the crime.''

''In the fall of 2023, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas so that a DNA profile could be developed from the forensic evidence. Othram scientists successfully used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown individual. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile to generate new investigative leads in the case''.

''Through this process, investigators used these new leads to identify Richard Sommerhalder as the person responsible for Karen Percifield’s murder. Back in 1976, Richard Sommerhalder had been considered a person of interest in the case, but there was not enough evidence at the time to pursue charges. Just months after Karen’s murder, in September 1976, Sommerhalder was arrested for two other murders in Santa Cruz County. He served eight and a half years in prison before being paroled and moving out of California. Years later, as detectives sought to revisit his involvement in Karen’s case and attempt to collect a reference DNA sample, they discovered that Sommerhalder had passed away in 1994.''

 

[dotr]

Killer in decades-old Aptos cold case identified through DNA evidence

After remaining unsolved for nearly 50 years, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office has identified 25-year-old Karen Percifield’s killer through the use of genetic genealogy and famili…

www.santacruzsentinel.com

''According to an article from the Sentinel archives, on May 28, 1976, Percifield, of Ohio, was found dead in a ravine in Aptos, stabbed twice in the chest. The article states that Percifield was in the area visiting her sister and was last seen having a drink at the now shuttered Bayview Hotel in Aptos. After she was witnessed getting into an argument with her mother, Percifield left the hotel and disappeared for several days. Her body was later found in a ravine near the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park.

The death was investigated as a homicide and detectives collected forensic evidence at that time. According to the 1976 Sentinel article, Richard Anthony Sommerhalder, then 29 years old, was already being held for the murder of two women — Vicki Bezore and Mary Gorman''

Through the use of DNA evidence, now deceased convicted murderer Richard Sommerhalder was identified as the killer of Karen Percifield. (Sentinel Archive)

 

[dotr]

April 5, 2025

DNA technology brings closure to 5 CA cold cases, including 1976 murder of Karen Percifield

"A bittersweet justice." DNA technology continues to crack decades-old crime mysteries like the 1976 murder of Karen Percifield in Aptos, who went out for a walk and never returned.

abc7news.com

''DNA technology continues to crack decades-old crime mysteries.

In the last 30 days, the company Othram has solved five California cases; three of them are from the Bay Area.

Director of case management, Michael Vogen explains their technology can go a step further than what public crime labs are armed with.

"Cases don't have to go cold anymore. Cold cases are a thing of the past," Vogen said.''

 

[MadMcGoo]

Richard Anthony Sommerhalder / Karen Percifield 1976 CA (1)

Clipping found in Santa Cruz Sentinel published in Santa Cruz, California on 5/14/1994. Richard Anthony Sommerhalder / Karen Percifield 1976 CA (1)

www.newspapers.com

Richard Anthony Sommerhalder / Karen Percifield 1976 CA (2)

Clipping found in Santa Cruz Sentinel published in Santa Cruz, California on 5/14/1994. Richard Anthony Sommerhalder / Karen Percifield 1976 CA (2)

www.newspapers.com