Linda Ann O'Keefe was the middle child in a family of five. In July, on the 45th anniversary of O'Keefe's death, the Newport Beach Police Department "live-tweeted" Linda's story - in her voice, from the perspective of her last day - in the hope of raising awareness about her cold case and shaking forth any new clues about her killer. James Alan Neal fell ill and died while awaiting trial for the . "The tweets extend the period of time that Linda's story can be out there for people to relate to," Manzella said in July. "I'll get to be with them again," she added. Feb. 20, 2019. The police department last year also "live-tweeted" O'Keefe's story from her perspective, narrating the final day of her life in real-time, exactly 45 years later. James Neal had been living in California at the time of the girl's murder but had since moved to Colorado. The detectives dogged this case. Watch: Aurora Dazzles Ladakh Skies As Geomagnetic Storm Hits Earth, This website follows the DNPA Code of Ethics. Authorities did not elaborate on his death but said he was not exhibiting Covid-19 symptoms. Beware of scams, Denver police searching for missing 14-year-old. James Alan Neal, 72, of Monument, Colorado, who was arrested for allegedly murdering Linda O'Keefe in Newport Beach, California, in 1973. He was always getting into fights and was always afraid to tell anyone how I really felt. . "He seemed like a good guy," Neal's landlord, Michael Thulson,. Nothing he said made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Blashaw did not explain what this sickness was but elaborated that the inmate did not have COVID-19 symptoms. Neal appears gaunt and stoic in a black-and white prison photo. Colorado man arrested in case murder of 11-year-old girl - The Denver Post ", "I couldn't carry that burden in my heart of hating an individual even though he committed this horrible crime," she said. Her parents checked with friends and searched the neighborhood and the path she took home to no avail, Lewis said. Linda O'Keefe. Its amazing how you really dont know people.. But Spitzer admitted that it is a murky legal decision because capital punishment was not an option when the 11-year-old was killed. James Alan Neal, the 73-year-old charged in the 1973 cold case murder of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe, died on Wednesday at about 5:15 a.m. That's according to Orange County Sheriff's Department spokesperson Jaimee Blashaw in an NBC Los Angeles report. . James then escaped from a work project where he was sentenced to and was arrested yet again in April 1967. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Later he moved to Colorado, where he was living when he was arrested, he said. [emailprotected]. ORANGE COUNTY, Colo. (KKTV) - The suspect in a decades-old cold case died Wednesday while awaiting trial. O'Keefe, who was seven years younger than Borgeson, was "an old soul" with a "go with the flow" personality, Borgeson said. Reportedly, Colorado resident James Alan Neal was arrested in 2019 after a DNA report linked him to Linda O'Keefe's 1973 cold murder case. The genealogical hit came in January, officials said. These were in relation to him committing lewd acts to a child in Riverside County, California, between July 1995 and July 2000 and then to another child between March 2002 and March 2004. His earliest crimes were breaking into homes when he was around 12-years-old. James Neal Now: Is Linda O'Keefe's Alleged Killer Dead or Alive? Update At the time, Linda attended summer school at Lincoln Intermediate School in Corona Del Mar, California. ABC News' Kayna Whitworth contributed to this report. James Alan Neal, who was 73, was taken to an area hospital on May 25 due to an undisclosed illness, said Jaimee Blashaw of the Orange County Sheriff's Department. The child disappeared while walking home from summer. It was our intention to see James Alan Neal stand trial and answer for the murder of Linda Ann OKeefe, Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis said. and opened doors for us to have this case pursued with renewed effort.". The girl, whose body was found the next day, was strangled. In addition to the count of murder while committing lewd acts on a child, Neal was also accused of lewd acts against two other girls under the age of 14 in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The next day, a man visiting that area found O'Keefe's strangled body, police said. He was released from the penitentiary in July 1971. He is being held in Colorado, and if he waives extradition, could be moved to California before the end of the week, officials said. David K. Li is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital. On Tuesday, nearly 46 years after O'Keefe's life ended, authorities arrested a man they say is suspected of being her killer: a 72-year-old living in Colorado named James Neal. Track Latest News and Karnataka Elections 2023 Coverage Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world. "He has a connection to Southern California.". 'Serial child sex predator' dies in police custody before he faces She doesn't know that I'm missing. An eight-page report prepared by McMillan offers for the first time clues about what may have driven his criminal behavior. Her killer, James Alan Neel, was caught 45 years later, in February 2019, after. "Her picture hangs in our detective division, where our folks see it every day as a reminder of her and why we continue to pursue these cases.". On the day Linda disappeared, she was last seen talking to a stranger in a van, Lewis said. Neal currently lives in Colorado, but investigators were able to confirm that he lived in California in the 1970s, when Linda was murdered, Spitzer said. More than 45. 48 Hours on ID: Who killed Linda O'Keefe and was he arrested? - Sportskeeda Suspect in 1973 California rape and murder dies before trial | 9news.com He was the second of three children but had a difficult upbringing. An man arrested for a series of cold case sex crimes against children died while in police custody, officials said. Here at this jail, people want to give me a bad time. Police also urged the public to share details about O'Keefe's disappearance on social media with the hashtag #Lindastory. Spitzer also refused to confirm whether Neal had family members or children, saying the matter was under investigation. He could be brought to California sometime this week if he waives extradition, Spitzer said. "They haven't forgotten about her and we haven't, either.". Man arrested in Monument for 1973 murder dies in custody He was transferred to a local. However, the case remained unsolved for about 46 years before the investigators found the killer. 11-year-old Linda OKeefe was kidnapped on her way back from home in July 1973. Police were tight-lipped about exactly how they solved the case but said they received a lead in January that prompted them to begin investigating Neal, who had been living in Orange County at the time of O'Keefe's killing but had since moved to Colorado. March 29, 2019 / 6:44 PM The authorities confirmed that the 73-year-old showed no symptoms of COVID-19 and that his death was not considered suspicious. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. However, the case remained unsolved for about 46 years before the investigators found the killer. "But it created an awareness . In July 2018, her story touched millions of people through #LindasStory (https://t.co/yxv1fLFIZp). Paul Bersebach/The Orange County Register via AP. We will make sure that the defendant is fairly and justly held accountable in a court of law.". Then, in 1974, he was sent back to prison in Colorado for a parole violation and released three years later. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. O'Keefe's parents have since died, Spitzer said, but her sisters have been notified about the arrest. Linda O'Keefe. Teen Was Murdered After Coming Home from Grocery Store in 1975, Coffee Cup Leads to Arrest, Calif. Authorities suspect that Neal, while on parole in the Colorado case, snatched OKeefe, who lived in Corona del Mar, from the street on July 6, 1973, as she walked home from summer school. James Alan Neal fue arrestado el 19 de febrero de 2019, en relacin con su muerte, segn anunciaron los fiscales en una conferencia de prensa. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Neals education was terminated early and his work history was spotty, McMillan reported. After a move to California in 1956, James started getting into trouble. Records obtained by the Southern California News Group show that Neal was arrested more than a dozen times in California, Florida and Colorado from 1959 to 1974. We never gave up.. OKeefe, 11, was abducted on July 6, 1973, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Photo Source. He left California after the alleged killing and went to Florida where he changed his name, officials said. Police also want to know if Neal could be linked to other crimes. "Generations of investigators worked on her case. Two years later, he began burglarizing homes for fun, according to McMillan. James Neal was arrested in February 2019 and charged with raping and killing Linda Ann OKeefe. The Twitter campaign did not lead to the suspect's identification, but it did create an emphasis on the case and opened doors for the case to be pursued with renewed efforts, officials said. Copyright 2020 KKTV. The key moment arrived with the February 19, 2019 arrest of Neal in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Newport Beach Police Department) James Alan Neal, 73, who. On Tuesday, 45 years after Lindas brutal murder, authorities arrested the man that DNA evidence from a genealogy site allegedly points to as her killer: James Alan Neal, 72, of Monument, Colorado, officials announced at a press conference Wednesday. Over 45 years ago, Linda went missing while. Investigators identified Neal as a suspect using genealogical DNA. According to police, O'Keefe normally rode her bike to summer school. 48 Hours: Lindas Story delves into the work put in to arrest James Neal in relation to Lindas rape and murder. McMillan went on to say that Neals father, who designed drugstores, and his mother, who was a bookkeeper, were described as extremely neurotic people who were both physically and psychologically cruel to their children. They are reported to be detached emotionally and narcissistic, he added. For more than 45 years the case went cold -- until DNA was submitted to an ancestry website. ", Borgeson said, if she gets a chance to speak to Neal, she would "let him know that I've been praying for him.". Police and prosecutors on Wednesday said they put Neal under surveillance and eventually got his DNA though they did not detail exactly how. "He lived here in the 1970s," Spitzer said. He has not been able to relate well with other students, family members or inmates. James Alan Neal was born James Albert Layton Jr. in Chicago, Illinois, in July 1946. DNA leads to arrest in half century-old cold case murder of 11-year-old Sister of victim in 1973 cold case murder speaks out after suspect "They probably are so shocked," she said. James Neal was arrested in 2019 after DNA submitted to a genealogical website linked him to the crime. He has also accompanied police on undercover drug buys and also provided an award winning, eyewitness account of the execution of a North Carolina death row inmate. So, if youre curious to know more about James and what happened to him after his arrest, weve got you covered. Neal, who was living at the YMCA in Santa Ana at the time, surrendered to police four days later and ratted out the other burglars. [Mugshot via Newport Beach Police Department], Have a tip we should know? "Linda's face and her memory has been with us since the day this happened," he said. He was arrested in Colorado Springs on Feb. 19. latest news, feel-good stories, analysis and more, Doomsday mum unfazed by photos of daughters dismembered body shown to court, Five people including boy, 8, killed in execution-style shootings in Texas, Drunk woman fatally runs over man on a first date, Moment bear falls from tree onto tarp held by firefighters, Do not sell or share my personal information. Her image hung among the faces of other unsolved cases, reminding each. As a result of surveillance and other traditional detective techniques, they were able to get additional DNA which resulted in the corroboration of the DNA from the victims body, to the DNA sample that the suspect left during a particular location during surveillance activities, the Orange County district attorney said after Neals arrest in February 2019. James Neal (left) and Linda O'Keefe (right) (credit: CBS) The 72-year-old Neal was extradited to California from Colorado after he was charged with murder in the death of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe . You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. He later changed his name, officials said. After his arrest in 1966 for a burglary he committed earlier, his parole officer called him quite immature and psychologically unstable.. Linda O'Keefe: DNA Leads to Arrest in 1973 Murder of Calif. Girl He had a connection to southern California, which has been corroborated, he said. Have a tip or story idea? Newport Beach Police Neal is being held in the. He was released on parole in July 1971, and about two years later, the authorities believed he killed Linda. Neal denied all charges and faced up to 82 years in prison if he was convicted on all charges. Man charged with killing 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe in 1973 cold-case The child disappeared while walking home from summer school, and her body was found strangled in a ditch the next day. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Police and prosecutors in Southern California thanked the FBI, the Colorado Springs Police Department and the El Paso County Sheriffs Department in Colorado for their assistance. 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Using details from the investigator's decades-old case files, police relayed O'Keefe's last hours, as well as her family's frantic search for her, as if they were unfolding in real time, as The Washington Post's Meagan Flynn reported: "At 6:42 p.m., six hours since her mother had last heard from her, O'Keefe's parents reported her missing to the Newport Beach Police Department, convinced by then O'Keefe was not simply running off with friends to retaliate for not getting a ride. 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Linda O'Keefe was killed in 1973 while walking home from school. Neals extensive criminal history and the circumstances of the 1973 sexual assault and murder of 11-year-old Linda OKeefe lead law enforcement to seek potential additional victims and witnesses. But O'Keefe never came home. "My hope is that this [case] brings hope to other families who haven't had closure yet.". Anyone who may have any information on this unsolved crime is asked to call the Newport Beach Police Cold Case Tip Line at 949-644-3669.
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