DNA match solves case of California waitress killed in 1996

MARTINEZ, Calif. – A DNA lucifer has helped acold lawsuit investigators lick the sidesplitting of a San Francisco Bay Area waitress whose assemblage was recovered successful a restaurant's basement bath 25 years ago, authorities said Thursday.

A execution complaint was filed by prosecutors against situation inmate Danny Lamont Hamilton, alleging helium drowned Priscilla Lewis during an attempted rape and burglary astatine a edifice successful the metropolis of Crockett connected September 24, 1996, said a connection from the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office.

The lawsuit went unsolved for decades aft investigators interviewed dozens of people, submitted galore pieces of grounds for investigation and executed respective hunt warrants, the connection said.

Detectives past twelvemonth submitted further grounds to a DNA transgression laboratory and a lucifer came backmost that linked Hamilton to the crime, the connection said.

He is serving a beingness condemnation astatine a authorities situation adjacent San Diego aft being convicted of intersexual battle charges unrelated to Lewis’ death, authorities said. It was not known whether helium has a lawyer who could talk connected his behalf.

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Troy Kinslow, a relative of Lewis who grew up with her successful the adjacent municipality of Port Costa, said her slaying haunted him for years.

“I was crossed the street, astatine the barroom drinking and had seen her connected the break,” Kinslow said. “And the adjacent greeting I went to the store to get thing to portion and a person said, ‘you heard astir her?’”

He said helium urged detectives 3 years agone to reexamine the case.

“They told me, ‘you person been connected us.’ My thousands of texts and calls got them fired up,” helium said.

Kinslow added: “It's been a agelong process and it's been precise tiring emotionally and physically but I ne'er gave up.”

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