DNA Links 76-Year-Old Rape Suspect to Two Unsolved Murder Cases

76-year-old James Ray Gary of Fairfield, suspected of a 2021 rape case has been arrested in the killings of two women that had been unsolved for decades, authorities in California said.

Gary was arrested last week in connection with the 1980 killing of Latrelle Lindsay of Union City and the 1996 killing of Winifred Douglas of Berkeley, the Solano County Sheriff’s Office said.

A DNA sample collected during a 2021 rape investigation was a match to DNA collected from the two crime scenes. On July 18, the County Sheriff’s office was notified that a DNA sample from Gary matched all three crimes and a warrant was obtained for his arrest and to search his home. Officials said he was arrested the following day. It is not yet known if Gary has an attorney.

In July of 1980, Lindsay, a 46-year-old woman, of Union City, was found dead inside her home. She had been raped and strangled, police said. “At the time, no suspects were identified in this killing. A DNA sample was later sent for entry and search in a law enforcement database, but no match was made,” the Union City Police Department said in a statement.

In March 1996, Douglas’ body was found hidden among bushes along Highway 780 in Vallejo and an autopsy revealed that she had been asphyxiated and suffered blunt-force trauma to the head and neck.

“We are hoping that this arrest can bring some closure to the family and friends that have been seeking justice for as much as 40 years,” the sheriff’s office said.

Gary was booked into Solano County Jail for homicide and is being held without bail.