{"id":1658,"date":"2026-02-10T16:45:44","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T16:45:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=1658"},"modified":"2026-02-10T16:45:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T16:45:44","slug":"dna-evidence-leads-to-murder-charge-30-years-after-claudia-guevara-killing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=1658","title":{"rendered":"DNA evidence leads to murder charge 30 years after Claudia Guevara killing"},"content":{"rendered":"


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NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Nearly three decades after a 23-year-old woman was found stabbed to death in a drainage ditch in Azusa, California<\/a>, prosecutors announced charges Monday against a 63-year-old man in a long-cold homicide case that investigators said was solved through DNA evidence.<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles County District Attorney<\/a>\u2019s Office said Brian Walton was charged with one count of murder, with special circumstance allegations that the killing of Claudia Guevara occurred during the commission of rape and sodomy.<\/p>\n

“The victim\u2019s family has waited for an agonizing 30 years to get that call to let them know their loved one\u2019s killer had been found and charged,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“While this was classified as a cold case<\/a>, investigators and prosecutors never stopped in their relentless pursuit of justice, reaffirming our commitment to holding people accountable for the crimes they are accused of committing,” he added.<\/p>\n

DNA INNOVATION CREDITED IN IDAHO, RACHEL MORIN CASES SIGNALS SHIFT IN RACE TO CATCH KILLERS, LAB FOUNDER SAYS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna, right, listens as Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman speaks during a news conference in Los Angeles, California, on Feb. 3, 2026.<\/span> (Allen J. Schaben\/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Guevara, who was reported missing by her brother on Feb. 20, 1996, was last seen at a bus stop in El Monte. She had been dropped off by two co-workers and was never seen again<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Her nude body was found the following day in a drainage ditch near Encanto Parkway, where investigators determined she had been sexually assaulted<\/a> and stabbed in the neck.<\/p>\n

MYSTERY OF BABIES ABANDONED AT PARK IN 1989 SOLVED AFTER MOTHER ID’D AS WOMAN FOUND MURDERED IN DESERT<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Sunshine lights up Bunker Hill and Los Angeles\u2019 financial district after morning showers, seen from a rooftop along Spring Street on Sept. 10, 1996.<\/span> (Ken Lubas\/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Hochman\u2019s office said DNA evidence<\/a> linked Walton, who did not know the victim, to the crime.<\/p>\n

FLORIDA COLD CASE BREAKTHROUGHS: SHERIFF’S UNIT CRACKS TWO LONG-UNSOLVED KILLINGS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Jail records from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reviewed by Fox News Digital show that Walton was arrested on Feb. 5 and is being held without bail.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

His next court appearance is scheduled for March 18 at 8:30 a.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If convicted<\/a>, Walton faces life in prison without the possibility of parole, or the death penalty, though prosecutors said a decision on whether to seek capital punishment will be made later.<\/p>\n

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Ashley Carnahan is a writer at Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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