Did Lodi Senior's Killer Also Kill Stockton Senior Years Ago?
LODI (CBS13) - Two separate, local unsolved murder cases have similar details. Could they be connected?
Last week's murder of a 74-year-old Lodi woman has her family offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Police still don't have a suspect in that case, and it has another family in an unsolved murder in Stockton questioning whether the cases are related.
Last weekend, Dorothy Wiederrich was found inside her home. Police have released few details into her murder, but to another family, Wiederrich's death sounds shockingly familiar.
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Dorothy Wiederrich kept to herself, according to neighbors, but made it to church every Sunday.
"We have three services every Sunday; she always came to the second service," said Bear Creek Community Church Pastor Bill Cummins.
Wiederrich met with her children often, according to her pastor, but lived alone. When news broke of her murder last weekend, the church community was in shock.
"She was quiet; just your typical sweet, little old lady," said Cummins.
The same can be said about another woman: 84-year-old Hazel Dingman. She was murdered in her Stockton home in 2012 and her killer was never found. The police departments have not said if there is a possibility the cases are connected, but Dingman's family says they see similarities, including both victims being seniors who lived alone. They both met regularly with their children, but the murders happened at times they were alone. Also, police say both women were found inside their homes tied up. In both cases, there was no forced entry, and both police departments are investigating if they knew their killers.
The manner of death, however, was different. Dingman was beaten and Wiederrich stabbed. In both cases, there is no clear motive for the murder.
A Stockton Police Department spokesperson says Dingman's case is still an active investigation.
We could not get confirmation if the two police departments have shared information on the cases.