GUILTY CA - Sara Ann Geer, 13, raped & strangled, found outside apartment complex, Cloverdale, 24/5/82 - Dna id suspect - James Unick, 62, arrested July 2024

[dotr]

July 23 '24

Cloverdale Police Department Arrests Suspect in Decades-Old Murder Case of 13-Year-Old Girl - MendoFever – Mendocino County News

"The Cloverdale Police Department has announced a major breakthrough in the decades-old Sarah Geer murder case, bringing closure to a tragic event that has haunted the community for over forty years. The cold case, dating back to the 1982 murder of 13-year-old Sarah Ann Geer, has finally been...

mendofever.com

''The Cloverdale Police Department has announced a major breakthrough in the decades-old Sarah Geer murder case, bringing closure to a tragic event that has haunted the community for over forty years. The cold case, dating back to the 1982 murder of 13-year-old Sarah Ann Geer, has finally been resolved.''

''James Unick, 62, from Willows, California. He has been taken into custody and is being booked into the Sonoma County Jail (Charges: 187(a) PC Murder, 261(a)(1) PC Rape, 207(b) PC Kidnapping, and 288(b)(1) PC Lew and Lascivious acts with a minor under 14 by force.''

2021

Reopening of cold case raises Cloverdale’s hopes

The people of Cloverdale have never forgotten Sara Ann Geer or her violent rape and murder in 1982.Every time another, similar case is solved elsewhere, every time there’s an anniversary, peo…

www.pressdemocrat.com

''The people of Cloverdale have never forgotten Sara Ann Geer or her violent rape and murder in 1982.

Every time another, similar case is solved elsewhere, every time there’s an anniversary, people revisit the crime on social media. They talk about the 13-year-old seventh grader, what a sweet or “cool” girl she was and wonder what the police are doing about it all these years later.''
''When Sara’s partially undressed body was found in the backyard of an apartment complex off an alley in downtown Cloverdale on May 24, 1982, samples of blood and semen were taken and analyzed for blood type. DNA technology was not yet available at that time.''

 

[Rush4087]

July 23 '24

Cloverdale Police Department Arrests Suspect in Decades-Old Murder Case of 13-Year-Old Girl - MendoFever – Mendocino County News

"The Cloverdale Police Department has announced a major breakthrough in the decades-old Sarah Geer murder case, bringing closure to a tragic event that has haunted the community for over forty years. The cold case, dating back to the 1982 murder of 13-year-old Sarah Ann Geer, has finally been...

mendofever.com

''The Cloverdale Police Department has announced a major breakthrough in the decades-old Sarah Geer murder case, bringing closure to a tragic event that has haunted the community for over forty years. The cold case, dating back to the 1982 murder of 13-year-old Sarah Ann Geer, has finally been resolved.''

''James Unick, 62, from Willows, California. He has been taken into custody and is being booked into the Sonoma County Jail (Charges: 187(a) PC Murder, 261(a)(1) PC Rape, 207(b) PC Kidnapping, and 288(b)(1) PC Lew and Lascivious acts with a minor under 14 by force.''
View attachment 519953
2021

Reopening of cold case raises Cloverdale’s hopes

The people of Cloverdale have never forgotten Sara Ann Geer or her violent rape and murder in 1982.Every time another, similar case is solved elsewhere, every time there’s an anniversary, peo…

www.pressdemocrat.com

View attachment 519952
''The people of Cloverdale have never forgotten Sara Ann Geer or her violent rape and murder in 1982.

Every time another, similar case is solved elsewhere, every time there’s an anniversary, people revisit the crime on social media. They talk about the 13-year-old seventh grader, what a sweet or “cool” girl she was and wonder what the police are doing about it all these years later.''
''When Sara’s partially undressed body was found in the backyard of an apartment complex off an alley in downtown Cloverdale on May 24, 1982, samples of blood and semen were taken and analyzed for blood type. DNA technology was not yet available at that time.''

What a pretty girl. I wonder if Unick was one of the “two persons who haven’t been eliminated as suspects” mentioned in the May 26, 1982 Healdsburg Tribune article titled ‘Murder of girl, 13, devastates Cloverdale’? If so, I wonder why LE was unable to make an arrest? Maybe back then, “blood type” was as specific an identifier as you could get.

If Unick is found guilty, one has to wonder whether he has committed other similar crimes. It’s possible that LE’s job has only just begun.

imo it’s too late for any real justice for Sara Ann Geer, but if it turns out Unick is guilty, he should spend the rest of his life locked inside a very small cage.

Jmo

 

[iamshadow21]

July 23 '24

Cloverdale Police Department Arrests Suspect in Decades-Old Murder Case of 13-Year-Old Girl - MendoFever – Mendocino County News

"The Cloverdale Police Department has announced a major breakthrough in the decades-old Sarah Geer murder case, bringing closure to a tragic event that has haunted the community for over forty years. The cold case, dating back to the 1982 murder of 13-year-old Sarah Ann Geer, has finally been...

mendofever.com

''The Cloverdale Police Department has announced a major breakthrough in the decades-old Sarah Geer murder case, bringing closure to a tragic event that has haunted the community for over forty years. The cold case, dating back to the 1982 murder of 13-year-old Sarah Ann Geer, has finally been resolved.''

''James Unick, 62, from Willows, California. He has been taken into custody and is being booked into the Sonoma County Jail (Charges: 187(a) PC Murder, 261(a)(1) PC Rape, 207(b) PC Kidnapping, and 288(b)(1) PC Lew and Lascivious acts with a minor under 14 by force.''
View attachment 519953
2021

Reopening of cold case raises Cloverdale’s hopes

The people of Cloverdale have never forgotten Sara Ann Geer or her violent rape and murder in 1982.Every time another, similar case is solved elsewhere, every time there’s an anniversary, peo…

www.pressdemocrat.com

View attachment 519952
''The people of Cloverdale have never forgotten Sara Ann Geer or her violent rape and murder in 1982.

Every time another, similar case is solved elsewhere, every time there’s an anniversary, people revisit the crime on social media. They talk about the 13-year-old seventh grader, what a sweet or “cool” girl she was and wonder what the police are doing about it all these years later.''
''When Sara’s partially undressed body was found in the backyard of an apartment complex off an alley in downtown Cloverdale on May 24, 1982, samples of blood and semen were taken and analyzed for blood type. DNA technology was not yet available at that time.''

Crunching the numbers, he was twenty when he killed her. How many more in the forty two years since?

 

[MissMalowe]

From the article:

A male DNA profile was identified from the evidence and through the use of modern DNA genetic genealogy technology,

Does this mean they identified him via the DNA of individuals related to him and worked "backwards" from there? Or perhaps already had him in mind, collected DNA voluntarily from a close relative or that he was already in the system from another crime and there was a match?

Does this guy have a record or has he been flying under LEs radar? Hard to think he'd start and stop at murder 40 years ago but I suppose it's possible.

 

[Really?]

I hope this guy has had a crappy 40 years.

 

[dotr]

From the article:

A male DNA profile was identified from the evidence and through the use of modern DNA genetic genealogy technology,

Does this mean they identified him via the DNA of individuals related to him and worked "backwards" from there? Or perhaps already had him in mind, collected DNA voluntarily from a close relative or that he was already in the system from another crime and there was a match?

Does this guy have a record or has he been flying under LEs radar? Hard to think he'd start and stop at murder 40 years ago but I suppose it's possible.

Cross-posted on this thread concerning another girl found strangled, she was only 12 yrs old. speculation, imo. fwiw

CA - CA - Georgia Moses, 12, strangled, Petaluma, 13 Aug 1997

Feb 1 2021 23 unforgettable North Coast cold cases and where each stands now ''Slide 3 of 23 Unsolved cold case: Georgia Lee Moses disappeared from her Santa Rosa home on Aug. 13, 1997. At about 10 p.m., the 12-year-old girl was spotted entering a white vehicle at Dutton Avenue and Sebastopol...

www.websleuths.com

32 min (32.3 mi) via US-101 N

santa rosa to cloverdale - Google Search

 

[iamshadow21]

From the article:

A male DNA profile was identified from the evidence and through the use of modern DNA genetic genealogy technology,

Does this mean they identified him via the DNA of individuals related to him and worked "backwards" from there? Or perhaps already had him in mind, collected DNA voluntarily from a close relative or that he was already in the system from another crime and there was a match?

Does this guy have a record or has he been flying under LEs radar? Hard to think he'd start and stop at murder 40 years ago but I suppose it's possible.

With genetic genealogy, it's all about finding people in databases who have a common relative with your unidentified person and working the branches of the family tree until you find the person who has to be your person.

There's a basic graph here that might be helpful.

Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy - NSW Police Public Site

www.police.nsw.gov.au

Even if this was his only murder, he could have been a prolific paederast or rapist of adult women in the intervening years. Some predators do have a preference. For some, they will only kill if they panic and think they have to, others, they kill because it's the thing they want to do.

MOO

 

[nhmemorymaker]

I love love love DNA

 

[dotr]

.

 

[Kmoore]

July 23 '24

Cloverdale Police Department Arrests Suspect in Decades-Old Murder Case of 13-Year-Old Girl - MendoFever – Mendocino County News

"The Cloverdale Police Department has announced a major breakthrough in the decades-old Sarah Geer murder case, bringing closure to a tragic event that has haunted the community for over forty years. The cold case, dating back to the 1982 murder of 13-year-old Sarah Ann Geer, has finally been...

mendofever.com

''The Cloverdale Police Department has announced a major breakthrough in the decades-old Sarah Geer murder case, bringing closure to a tragic event that has haunted the community for over forty years. The cold case, dating back to the 1982 murder of 13-year-old Sarah Ann Geer, has finally been resolved.''

''James Unick, 62, from Willows, California. He has been taken into custody and is being booked into the Sonoma County Jail (Charges: 187(a) PC Murder, 261(a)(1) PC Rape, 207(b) PC Kidnapping, and 288(b)(1) PC Lew and Lascivious acts with a minor under 14 by force.''
View attachment 519953
2021

Reopening of cold case raises Cloverdale’s hopes

The people of Cloverdale have never forgotten Sara Ann Geer or her violent rape and murder in 1982.Every time another, similar case is solved elsewhere, every time there’s an anniversary, peo…

www.pressdemocrat.com

View attachment 519952
''The people of Cloverdale have never forgotten Sara Ann Geer or her violent rape and murder in 1982.

Every time another, similar case is solved elsewhere, every time there’s an anniversary, people revisit the crime on social media. They talk about the 13-year-old seventh grader, what a sweet or “cool” girl she was and wonder what the police are doing about it all these years later.''
''When Sara’s partially undressed body was found in the backyard of an apartment complex off an alley in downtown Cloverdale on May 24, 1982, samples of blood and semen were taken and analyzed for blood type. DNA technology was not yet available at that time.''

This is my hometown. I’ve lived here my entire 59 years. I was 17 when Sara was murdered and only lived about a block from where she was left. I’ve been obsessed with it ever since. It made me so angry that someone got away with this violent rape/murder and never paid for his crime.

I don’t believe he was ever on anyone’s radar back when this happened. His family had lived in Cloverdale for years I believe, and while I knew who they were, I didn’t know them. James graduated from Cloverdale high school in 1979, as did my ex-husband. They were known to most as being very odd.

Apparently James moved 120 miles away to Willows, California in the 90’s. And after I did some fb snooping today, he has 2 daughters and 1 is named Sarah. How creepy is that?!

I can’t tell you how happy we all are that this has been solved, finally. It did take people talking about it and asking for it to be worked on over the years because Sara’s mom and dad have been deceased for quite awhile. I think the only family left is an uncle? So no one was advocating for Sara, but the town was!

 

[MissMalowe]

That's actually so nice to read- that the town continued advocating for her & her case after her parents and other family members passed away.

 

[dotr]

Cloverdale girl’s suspected killer was interviewed by police in 1982

James Unick is charged with killing Sara Ann Geer in May 1982. He was charged last year in Sonoma County Superior Court.

www.pressdemocrat.com

January 3, 2025
''Shortly after Sara Ann Geer’s body was discovered in a Cloverdale alleyway, police interviewed the man charged more than four decades later in the 13-year-old’s death.

James Unick denied killing Geer May 24, 1982, and claimed he was with friends the night she died, Lawrence Pina, a retired Cloverdale police officer, said Thursday in Sonoma County Superior Court.

Pina, 84, testified in Unick’s preliminary hearing, which is ongoing Friday and will determine whether there’s sufficient evidence for the defendant to stand trial.''

 

[Caring1]

James Oliver Unick found guilty. He will be sentenced on April 23rd.

February 18, 2026

SONOMA COUNTY, Calif. (Gray News) - A man was convicted of raping and murdering a teenage girl 44 years after committing the crime.

James Oliver Unick, 66, was convicted of the 1982 murder of 13-year-old Sarah Geer in California.
Unick is set to be sentenced on April 23. He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.

DNA on cigarette leads to man’s conviction in teen’s rape and murder 44 years after crime

A man was convicted of raping and murdering a teenage girl 44 years after committing the crime.

www.knoe.com

 

[Rikissa]

From 13 February2026:

District Attorney Carla Rodriguez stated, “This guilty verdict is a testament to everyone who never gave up searching for Sarah’s killer. This is the coldest case ever presented to a Sonoma County jury. While 44 years is too long to wait, justice has finally been served, both to Sarah’s loved ones as well as her community. ”

Sonoma County Jury Returns Guilty Verdict on 1982 Cloverdale Murder

Defendant James Oliver Unick was convicted today by a Sonoma County jury of murdering 13-year-old Sarah Geer in 1982. As a result of the jury’s verdict of guilty and finding true that the defendant committed a special circumstance related to the sexual assault during the commission of the...

da.sonomacounty.ca.gov

 

[Kmoore]

This is my hometown and I was just 17 when Sara was murdered, living a block away from where she was found.
I (along with about 15 other community members) attended every day of Unick’s trial. Here’s something that I find just absolutely creepy and I think says a lot about him….he was married at the time of her murder and rape. He had 2 kids after the murder, a son a couple of years later and then his daughter. Guess what he named his daughter? Sarah Ann. Yup…same first and middle name of his victim.

Also, growing up here we all knew of the Unick brothers, there were 4 of them and they were a really odd family. If you ask anyone from here about them back in the day, that’s what they will say. Weird and rough.
Out of 4 brothers, now 3 of them have sex charges against them. Oldest brother was sentenced in 2023 for sexual abuse against a 3 year old. He serving time in Kansas. Another brother lives over the hill in Lake County, and was sentenced at some point for sexual abuse against charges. The youngest is the only 1 that seems to have turned out ok.
Crazy!

During trial he made it sound like Sara was the aggressor. Which was infuriating to witness as he was 21 and she had just turned 13. She was on her period and as a 13 year old who hadn’t probably had many yet would never in a million years come on to a 21 year old guy and go have sex with him during the daytime out by the River. He even stated that she got on top during sex. Right….he also wasn’t aware of any blood on him after and doesn’t know if or when she put another tampon in. All just so ridiculous!

I do have his mugshot and a picture of him from 1979 school senior photo, can I post those here??

 

[Kmoore]

Also, he was interviewed within a few days after Sara’s murder but the police never followed up on him. He was never on their radar which just blows me away. And the lack of follow up with anyone they brought in for questioning, what??

 

[dotr]

17 February 2026/rbbm

'Coldest Case Ever' Ends In Conviction For Sonoma County Rape and Murder of 13-Year-Old

Familial DNA was used to solve a case that had gone cold for over 40 years in Sonoma County, the case of the 1982 murder of 13-year-old Sarah Geer in Cloverdale.

sfist.com

'Following Unick's arrest, the mayor of Cloverdale at the time, Todd Lands, said, "Today, we stand united in solidarity with the Geer family as we witness the culmination of years of hard work and perseverance by our law enforcement officials."

And Cloverdale Police Chief Chris Parker said, "Today represents a bittersweet victory for justice. While nothing can undo the pain inflicted upon the Geer family and our community, we can finally offer some solace in knowing that the perpetrator will be held accountable."

''On Friday, a Sonoma County jury found Unick guilty of the muder, and he is now set for sentencing on April 23.''