A Temple City cold case that has hung over Los Angeles County for nearly three decades may finally be headed toward a courtroom, as a 63-year-old Los Angeles man now faces charges in the 1996 killing of resident Claudia Guevara.
Authorities say Guevara, 23 at the time, was sexually assaulted and fatally stabbed. The suspect, identified by investigators as Walton, was linked to the crime decades later through DNA evidence and made an initial appearance this week at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. For detectives and Guevara’s family, the arrest marks a major step in closing a three decade old chapter of unanswered questions.
Prosecutors have filed one count of murder with special allegations that the killing occurred during the commission of rape and sodomy, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Those special circumstance allegations carry potential exposure to life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. Officials said the decision on whether to seek capital punishment will be made at a later date.
Guevara was reported missing on February 6, 1996, and her body was found the next day in a drainage ditch next to Encanto Parkway in Azusa, KTLA reported. Prosecutors told investigators she had been sexually assaulted and stabbed in the neck, and said there was no known prior relationship between Guevara and the suspect. The last people to see her alive were two co-workers who dropped her at a bus stop in El Monte, according to the outlet.
How investigators linked the case
Investigators say Walton was identified through DNA evidence nearly 30 years after the killing, though officials have not disclosed how his DNA profile was obtained. He would have been about 33 years old in 1996. He was booked and made his first court appearance at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center this week.
What comes next
Walton remains in custody pending arraignment and further pretrial proceedings in Los Angeles Superior Court. Prosecutors are expected to set the next court dates, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office will later decide whether to seek the death penalty in the case.
