BREAKTHROUGH

Cops Nab Suspect 17 Years After Woman Found in Shallow Grave in California

Recent DNA technology advancements led police to identify the victim as 30-year-old Isabel Sanchez Bernal.

Nearly two decades after 30-year-old Isabel Sanchez Bernal’s remains were found buried in shallow grave near Mammoth Lakes in California, police have made a stunning breakthrough. Diego Santiago Hernandez-Antonia, 47, was arrested Friday for murder. Initially, authorities could only tell that the remains belonged to a woman, aged 30 to 40 years old, of indigenous ancestry from southern Mexico. But new DNA technology allowed the Mono County District Attorney’s Office to recently identify the woman as Bernal, which then led them to Hernandez-Antonia. Investigators haven’t revealed how Hernandez-Antonia is connected to the death of Bernal, who lived in Puebla, Mexico. They’re asking for any members of the public who have relevant information to come forward.