Arrest Made In 1982 Murder Of Vacaville Teen
VACAVILLE (CBS13) – Detectives have made an arrest in the cold case murder of a Vacaville teenager.
Back in 1982, Will C. Wood Junior High School 9th grader De Anna Lynn Johnson went to a party but never came home. Her body was later found within walking distance of her home. She was 14-years-old.
According to the Vacaville Reporter, the case went cold until 2001 when a man was arrested for the killing of a Butte County resident.
In recent years, more and more evidence has pointed at that man – 51-year-old Marvin Ray Markle – being the primary suspect in Johnson's murder. He was 17 at the time of Johnson's murder.
Tuesday, authorities arrested Markle at Kern Valley State Prison for Johnson's murder. He was already serving an 80-year sentence for the Butte County homicide.
"It has been a long, hard, and emotional struggle to face each day of the 34 years while De Anna's murderer has walked free and lived life. We miss her very much, relying on the happy memories, and live on knowing that De Anna believed in God because of Rainbows. We believe in God because of De Anna," Johnson's family said in a statement.
Markle is being booked at Solano County Jail.
