Antioch Man Convicted In 1980 Cold Case Rape, Murder of 14-Year-Old Suzanne Bombardier
MARTINEZ (CBS SF) -- A jury convicted Antioch resident Mitchell Lynn Bacom of first-degree murder in the 1980 killing of 14-year-old Suzanne Bombardier, the district attorney's office announced Thursday.
The 67-year-old Bacom was convicted Tuesday of the girl's murder after DNA evidence obtained in 2017 identified him as the perpetrator, according to a press statement from Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton.
On June 21, 1980, Bombardier disappeared from her sister's apartment where she was babysitting younger cousins. A fisherman discovered her body a week later in the San Joaquin River. She had been raped and stabbed in the chest.
The first-degree murder conviction with special circumstances for the commission of the murder during the course of burglary, kidnapping, and rape means Bacom will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, Becton said.
"Justice did not come swiftly for the Bombardier family," said Becton in a prepared statement. With the perseverance of Antioch detectives and scientific advancement, the successful prosecution of Mitchell Bacom brings closure to this 37-year-old mystery."
Bacon had been a suspect early in the investigation having been previously convicted of rape and other felonies in Mountain View. He had been on parole at the time of Bombardier's murder. In 1980, Bacom was convicted in a separate sexual assault case with other felonies and received a 24-year prison sentence.
Antioch police said the Bombardier case was the city's oldest open homicide on record.