76-year-old man arrested in connection with four murders dating back to 1980
A man was arrested for his connection in four murders dating back to 1980 after local authorities used new technology to connect the pieces.
Billy Ray Richardson, 76-years-old, was arrested in Forth Worth, Texas on Thursday in connection with the 1980 killings of Beverly Cruse, Debra Cruse and Kari Lenander in Los Angeles, as well as the killing of Trina Wilson in Inglewood in 1995.
His identification came about on a combined effort from several law enforcement agencies which included the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Inglewood Police Department, the Fort Worth Police Department and help from investigators in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
The D.A.'s Office filed four counts of first-degree murder, with the special circumstance of multiple murders and murder in the commission of rape.
"Investigative and forensic work over decades connected these murders through DNA and linked them to suspect Billy Ray Richardson," police said.
Richardson was reportedly awaiting extradition to Los Angeles to be tried for his connection to the killings.
According to The Los Angeles Times, Beverly, 25, and Debra Cruse, 22, were found dead in Beverly's apartment by their brother in March of 1980. At the time, police noted that both women had been murdered, but could not discern any wounds on their bodies, which were already decomposing.
Less than five months later, 15-year-old Kari Lenander's body was found in a gutter in South Los Angeles. She had been raped and strangled.
There was no additional information available on the circumstances of Trina Wilson's death in 1995.
