DNA Links Career Criminal To Compton Teen's 1991 Cold Case Murder
COMPTON (CBSLA.com) — The 20-year-old cold case murder of a teen girl has been solved with the help of DNA, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department announced Monday.
James Adophis Boyd, 66, of Kansas, was sentenced to 25 years to life after pleading guilty Friday in the 1991 murder of Melissa Alcantar.
Alcantar, 16, was working at a retail store in the 900 block of East Rosecrans Avenue in Compton when she was killed on Oct. 17, 1991, officials said.
Alcantar had been left in charge of the store by the owner around 10:35 a.m., who later returned to find the business' doors locked.
"Compton Police Department officers were summoned to the location, searched the interior of the building, and discovered victim Alcantar's naked and bound body lying on the floor of the storage/bathroom," authorities said.
Alcantar, who had immigrated to the United States from Mexico three months prior to the crime, had been raped and stabbed to death.
It wasn't until February 2012 that Boyd's fingerprints and DNA were matched by the LASD's crime lab.
Boyd, who has a lengthy rap sheet including convictions for rape, kidnapping and assault, was incarcerated in Washington State for a 1991 Kansas crime when he was named in Alcantar's murder.
A warrant was issued for his arrest in May 2012 and he was extradited to Los Angeles in November of that year.
