Decades-Old Riverside County Murder Solved Through DNA Technology: Suspect Posthumously Identified

The power of contemporary DNA forensic research is demonstrated by the closure of a murder case in Riverside County that had been unresolved for almost 50 years. Esther Gonzalez, a 17-year-old victim of rape and murder, was discovered dead in 1979 close to Banning. Her attacker was eventually posthumously identified as Lewis Randolph “Randy” Williamson, a man who had previously been ruled out as a suspect after passing a lie detector test, following decades of fruitless attempts.

The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office stated in a press release that the case was solved because to fresh efforts in cold case investigations and advances in DNA testing. A blood sample taken during Williamson’s autopsy was matched to the semen sample taken from the crime site, even though he passed away in Florida in 2014. Following the sample’s upload into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), the Riverside County Regional Cold Case Homicide Team collaborated with Othram, Inc. to conduct sophisticated genealogy testing.

After arguing with officials to report the finding of Gonzalez’s body, Williamson avoided suspicion at the time of the murder. According to a press release that KTLA was able to get, Williamson’s first clearance was predicated on his passing a polygraph exam, which is now recognized as an unreliable means of detecting guilt or innocence.

The Riverside County Regional Cold Case Homicide Team has released an informational appeal following the identification of the suspect. They call on anyone with information about Esther’s case, Williamson, or other possible victims to come forward. The staff can be reached by phone at (951) 955-2777 or by email at [email protected].

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