A suspected serial killer has been charged with the murders of three women in Southern California nearly 50 years ago. Kimberly Fritz, 18, Velvet Sanchez, 31, and Lorraine Rodriguez, 21, were all strangled to death in 1977. Despite the investigators running out of leads at the time, new DNA evidence has now linked Warren Luther Alexander, a long-haul truck driver from Diamondhead, Mississippi, to the crimes.
Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced during a press conference that Alexander’s DNA, uploaded to the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) last year, matched the crime scenes. Alexander was recently extradited from North Carolina, where he was in custody for a 1992 murder, and is being held without bail in California.
The victims were sex workers who frequented a shopping center and motels in the LA area known for prostitution at the time. Officials suspect that Alexander may be involved in other unsolved murders in California and other states during his time as a truck driver from the 1970s to the 1990s. Nasarenko emphasized that the investigation is ongoing, and they will continue to pursue all leads.
In addition to the California murders, Alexander was arrested in North Carolina in 2022 for the 1992 killing of Nona Cobb, 29. He grew up in Oxnard, California, where one of the victims, Velvet Sanchez, was killed in September 1977, and later moved back to the area in the 1970s.
For the families of the victims, this recent development brings a long-awaited sense of closure. Nasarenko expressed that justice has finally caught up with Alexander, who was once a fugitive from the law. The authorities are now looking into the possibility of Alexander’s involvement in other unsolved cases across the country.
The dedication of the investigators from the Ventura County DA’s office, Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Cold Case Unit, as well as officers and detectives from Port Hueneme and Oxnard, played a crucial role in bringing this case to light after nearly five decades. Their relentless pursuit of justice serves as a reminder that no case should ever be forgotten, no matter how much time has passed.
As the investigation continues, the hope is that additional information will come to light, potentially bringing closure to other families who have been waiting for answers for years. The legacy of the victims lives on through the tireless efforts of those committed to seeking justice, ensuring that their memory is honored in the pursuit of truth.
