BREAKTHROUGH

Police Crack 41-Year-Old Cold Case Murder of Anaheim Woman

Andre William Lepere, 64, was arrested Friday after DNA allegedly tied him to the case.

Using DNA technology, police have linked the killing and rape of a 79-year old Anaheim woman to Andre William Lepere, marking a significant breakthrough in the 41-year-old cold case. The Los Angeles Times reports that Lepere, 64, was arrested Friday and faces charges for first-degree murder with a special circumstance allegation of rape. The victim, Viola Hagenkord, was found dead in her apartment in February, 1980. She died of asphyxiation, but investigators couldn’t ID a suspect at the time. Police allegedly matched DNA collected at the scene with a profile on a genealogy website, similar to the way the Golden State Killer was caught. Lepere lived near Hagenkord but it’s unclear what the motive was or whether the two knew each other.