More than three decades after a Scripps Ranch hillside became a crime scene, a San Diego jury is finally hearing the story in a courtroom.
Opening statements began Monday in San Diego County Superior Court in the 1990 killing of 47-year-old Margaret Orozco Jackson. The defendant, 62-year-old Randall Oyler, is accused of murdering Jackson, whose body was discovered on a hillside off Scripps Ranch Boulevard on July 11, 1990. Prosecutors told jurors they plan to lean heavily on newly re-tested DNA and statements Oyler allegedly made after his arrest, while the defense is already working to convince the panel that those pieces do not add up to proof of murder.
Cold File Pulled Off The Shelf
Detectives with the San Diego Police Department’s Homicide Cold Case Unit say they reopened the file in 2022, taking a fresh look at physical evidence and running down new leads that they say ultimately produced probable cause for an arrest. Authorities report that Oyler was taken into custody on Oct. 26, 2023, while he was already jailed on an alleged probation violation, and the department has described the renewed review as “an exhaustive process” that included reprocessing evidence and re-interviewing witnesses. Those steps and the arrest timeline are outlined in a San Diego Police Department press release.
Inside The Opening Salvo
During opening statements Monday, Prosecutor Chris Lindberg told jurors that DNA recovered from beneath Jackson’s fingernails and from other areas of her body ties Oyler to the attack, and that certain statements he allegedly made after his arrest are incriminating, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Oyler’s defense attorney, Kara Oien, countered that the remarks prosecutors are pointing to “did not amount to confessions” and argued that the DNA evidence “cannot prove murder.” She urged jurors to scrutinize the lab work and any post-arrest statements carefully as testimony unfolds, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
What Investigators Say Happened In 1990
Jackson was 47 at the time of her death and was found on July 11, 1990, on a hillside in the 10300 block of Scripps Ranch Boulevard. Investigators said she had been severely beaten and strangled, and that a rope was wrapped twice around her neck. Authorities say Oyler was 29 that day and that the original investigation was handled by the regional Metropolitan Homicide Task Force before the case eventually went cold. Those facts and the timeline of the arrest are detailed in the San Diego Police Department's press release.
DNA Tech, Old Evidence, New Trial
Reopened files like this one have become more common as investigators turn to updated DNA testing and genetic genealogy to crack decades-old homicides. Prosecutors have signaled that the fingernail DNA and Oyler’s post-arrest comments will be the centerpiece of their case, and earlier reporting noted that he faces up to 25 years to life if convicted. That broader trend and the earlier coverage of Oyler’s arrest were reported by Times of San Diego and by Times of San Diego.
Prosecutors are expected to begin calling witnesses and forensic experts in the coming weeks as the court finalizes its schedule. Police have asked anyone with information to contact the Homicide Unit or Crime Stoppers, as reported by ABC 10News.
