A man who was once cleared of a 1979 rape and murder case has now been linked to the crime through new DNA evidence, authorities announced.
In February 1979, 17-year-old Esther Gonzalez was walking from her home in Beaumont, California, to her sister’s house in Banning, about 85 miles east of Los Angeles. Sadly, she was attacked along the way. The next day, her body was discovered dumped in a snowbank off Highway 243. Investigators later determined that Esther had been raped and killed.
At the time, authorities asked a man named Lewis Randolph “Randy” Williamson to take a polygraph test, which he passed. Because of this, he was cleared of suspicion. The case went cold for over 40 years with no new leads or suspects.
But recently, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office made a breakthrough. Thanks to new forensic genealogy technology, they were able to solve the case. The cold case team revisited the investigation in 2023, using a semen sample found on Esther’s body from 44 years ago. They ran the sample through genetic databases and realized that Williamson had never been tested using DNA, since the technology didn’t exist back then.
Although Williamson had passed away in 2014, investigators were able to test a blood sample taken during his autopsy. This sample was sent to California’s Department of Justice, where it was confirmed that his DNA matched the DNA found on Esther’s body.
Jason Corey, the lead investigator with Riverside County’s cold case unit, said solving the case wasn’t easy, and it’s still heartbreaking for Esther’s family. “I can’t imagine how they’ve felt all these years,” he shared. “I hope this brings them some closure, even though it doesn’t make the tragedy go away.”
Corey also pointed out that forensic genealogy is a valuable tool for solving unsolved cases, and it’s likely to help bring justice in more cold cases in the future.
