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July '24 rbbm

Georgia man charged in 1988 Santa Maria cold-case homicide
A breakthrough in the cold-case homicide of Ofelia Sandoval on Sept. 18, 1988 in Santa Maria, led to a Georgia man being arraigned on murder charges on Monday.
James entered a plea of not guilty, and remains in custody without bail. James is next scheduled to appear in Santa Maria Superior Court on July 30. ''
'A man has been arrested in Georgia in connection with the 1988 killing of a 30-year-old woman in a motel room in Santa Maria on California’s Central Coast.'
'Former California resident Aloysius Winthrop James, 57, was brought into custody last Tuesday by an FBI task force and other agencies and charged with the murder of Ofelia Sandoval, authorities said. Sandoval’s body was found on Sept. 18, 1988, in a room in the Town Center Motel on the 200 block of North Broadway in Santa Maria, police said. Contemporaneous news reports name the site as the “Tower Hotel.”
Born in Mexicali, Mexico, Sandoval had lived in Santa Maria since 1972. An autopsy revealed she died of asphyxiation. At the time of her death, Sandoval lived at the motel with two roommates who were not considered suspects. Police interviewed about 50 other motel tenants, but made no arrests.''
“Detectives believe there may be other unreported crimes and additional victims related to James involving threats, sexual assault, domestic abuse and other crimes,” the statement read.''