Suspected serial killer charged in 1977 cold case murders of 3 young women: Authorities
(VENTURA, Calif.) — A suspected serial killer already in custody in North Carolina for a cold case murder has been charged in the slayings of three women who were strangled to death in 1977 in California, authorities said.
Kimberly Carol Fritz, 18, was killed in May 1977; Velvet Ann Sanchez, 31, was strangled to death in September 1977; and Lorraine Ann Rodriguez, 21, was killed three months later in December, according to authorities in Ventura County, California.
The victims were all sex workers who frequented local hotels, authorities said.
Police immediately believed the strangulations were linked, but the cases went cold, Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said at a news conference Thursday.
In 2006, detectives uploaded DNA evidence collected from the scenes into CODIS — the nationwide law enforcement DNA database — but didn’t find a match, Nasarenko said.
Last year, “a breakthrough emerged” when detectives again uploaded DNA to CODIS and found a match to 73-year-old Warren Luther Alexander, Nasarenko said.
Alexander’s DNA was in the system because in 2022 he was arrested in North Carolina in connection with a 1992 cold case murder, Nasarenko said.
The North Carolina victim, 29-year-old Nona Cobb, was also strangled to death, Nasarenko said. Alexander is still awaiting prosecution in that case, authorities said.
Alexander was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and was extradited from North Carolina to California on Tuesday, authorities said.
“The day of reckoning in Ventura County has finally arrived,” Nasarenko said.
Alexander made his first court appearance in Ventura County Superior Court and is being held in Ventura County Jail without bail, authorities said. His arraignment is set for Aug. 21.
Alexander lived in Ventura County in the late 1950s and 1960s and he returned there in the 1970s, Nasarenko said. He was a long-haul cross-country truck driver from the 1970s to the 1990s, Nasarenko said.
Nasarenko said authorities believe there are more victims and said investigators are working with the FBI to try to solve other cases.
(WINDER, Ga.) — Two students and two teachers were killed in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday morning, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Another nine victims were taken to hospitals with injuries, the GBI said.
The suspect — 14-year-old Colt Gray, a student at Apalachee High School — was encountered by officers within minutes, and he immediately surrendered and was taken into custody, the GBI said. He will be charged with murder and he will be tried as an adult, the GBI said.
It’s not clear if any of the victims were targeted, authorities said.
“My teacher goes and opens the door to see what’s going on. Another teacher comes running in and tells her to close the door because there’s an active shooter,” Caldera told ABC News.
He said his teacher locked the door and the students ran to the back of the room. Caldera said they heard screams from outside as they “huddled up.”
At some point, Caldera said someone pounded on his classroom door and shouted “open up!” multiple times. When the knocking stopped, Caldera said he heard more gunshots and screams.
He said his class later evacuated to the football field.
Kyson Stancion said he was in class when he heard gunshots and “heard police scream, telling somebody, ‘There’s a shooting going on, get down, get back in the classroom.'”
“I was scared because I’ve never been in a school shooting,” he told ABC News.
“Everybody was crying. My teacher tried to keep everybody safe,” he added.
Dad Jonathan Mills said he experienced an “emotional roller coaster” as he and his wife rushed to the school and waited to get ahold of their son, Jayden.
It was “exhilarating” and “overwhelming” to reach Jayden, a junior, and learn he was OK, Mills told ABC News.
Mills, a police officer, said, “Growing up in this area, you don’t expect things like that to happen.”
“I have three children. All three of them go to this cluster of schools, and you never think about that,” he said.
Winder is about 45 miles outside of Atlanta.
Barrow County Schools will be closed through the end of the week, the superintendent said.
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith called the shooting “pure evil.”
Leaders react
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed on the shooting, according to the White House.
“Jill and I are mourning the deaths of those whose lives were cut short due to more senseless gun violence and thinking of all of the survivors whose lives are forever changed,” Biden said in a statement. “Students across the country are learning how to duck and cover instead of how to read and write. We cannot continue to accept this as normal.”
The president highlighted his work to combat gun violence, including signing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law and launching the first White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. But he stressed that more must be done.
“After decades of inaction, Republicans in Congress must finally say ‘enough is enough’ and work with Democrats to pass common-sense gun safety legislation,” Biden said. “We must ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines once again, require safe storage of firearms, enact universal background checks, and end immunity for gun manufacturers. These measures will not bring those who were tragically killed today back, but it will help prevent more tragic gun violence from ripping more families apart.”
Harris said at a campaign event in New Hampshire, “Our hearts are with all the students, the teachers and their families.”
“This is just a senseless tragedy on top of so many senseless tragedies,” she said. “We have to end this epidemic of gun violence.”
“This is one of the many issues that’s at stake in this election,” Harris said.
“Let us finally pass an assault weapons ban and universal background checks and red flag laws,” she said. “It is a false choice to say you are either in favor of the Second Amendment, or you want to take everyone’s guns away. I am in favor of the Second Amendment, and I know we need reasonable gun safety laws in our country.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he is “heartbroken.”
“This is a day every parent dreads, and Georgians everywhere will hug their children tighter this evening because of this painful event,” he said in a statement. “We continue to work closely with local, state, and federal partners to make any and all resources available to help this community on this incredibly difficult day and in the days to come.”
In Atlanta, authorities will “bolster patrols” around schools on Wednesday “out of an abundance of caution,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said in a statement.
“My prayers are with the high school students, staff and families affected by the senseless act of violence,” Dickens said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Josh Margolin, Brandon Baur, Faith Abubey and Miles Cohen contributed to this report.
(NEWTON, Mass.) — A 47-year-old Massachusetts man has been charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon after he allegedly shot another individual during an altercation at a pro-Israel demonstration in Newton, officials said Thursday night.
The individual who was shot sustained life-threatening injuries, authorities said at a brief news conference Thursday night. The man is being treated at a local hospital, an official said.
The incident happened around 6:40 p.m. ET when Newton Police responded to calls at Washington and Harvard Street, where a small group of individuals were engaged in a pro-Israeli demonstration on one side of the street, Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said.
An individual was “completely randomly” walking down the opposite side of the street, and words were exchanged between the two parties, she explained.
That individual, who Ryan said was not part of the demonstration group, began crossing the street, went back to his side of the street, and then went back across the street again and “ultimately jumped upon one of the demonstrators,” Ryan said, leading to a “scuffle.”
“During that scuffle, the individual who had come across the street was shot by a member of the demonstrating group,” she said.
The 47-year-old alleged shooter was arrested and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and violation of a constitutional right causing injury, Ryan told the media.
His arraignment will occur Friday in the Newton District Court, she said.
Ryan said it is still early in the investigation, which remains ongoing.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
ABC News’ Victoria Arancio contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — A 28-year-old high school coach was “randomly shot and killed” standing on a rooftop bar while she was in town for a conference, police said.
Ayden Burt, a 28-year-old high school coach from Jasper Independent School District in Texas, was visiting San Antonio for the Texas High School Coaches Association Conference when, just after midnight, she was randomly shot and killed while standing at a local rooftop bar on the 500 block of E. Crockett St., police said.
“Our Homicide Detectives are working to bring justice to Ayden and her family; however, details are limited,” according to a statement issued by the San Antonio Police Department.
Burt was reportedly at the bar with other coaches from across the state when the shooting occurred.
“She was sitting right next to me laughing and talking and the next bleeding in my lap,” said Humble High School football coach Robert Murphy on X. “My coaches did everything they could performing CPR etc to save her life. She was excited about the upcoming year. Traumatizing.”
Jasper Independent School District Superintendent John Seybold announced her death in a statement on social media.
“It is with a heavy heart that we have learned of the passing of one of our staff members, Ayden Burt. We ask for prayers of comfort for her family, as well as her extended family, the students and staff of Jasper ISD,” Seybold said. “Ayden has been teaching in Jasper ISD since 2019, teaching English at both Jasper High School and Jasper Jr. High, also serving as a Cheer Sponsor and Coach. We ask that everyone respect the privacy of the family and staff at this time.”
The San Antonio Police Department is asking for the public’s help for any information regarding this tragic incident.
If you have any information regarding this murder, please contact our SAPD Homicide unit at 210-207-7635. Any information provided may help solve this case.