As a result of that genealogical submission, they got an indication that James Alan Neal may be the suspect. Lindas story deeply touched the hearts of our community. Neal moved to Southern California from Chicago before the murder and relocated to Florida after the girl's slaying, authorities said. Neal appears gaunt and stoic in a black-and white prison photo. Neal was taken to a hospital on May 25 for an illness. Trouble followed James everywhere, and he was sentenced to 3-10 years for fraud in Colorado. Spitzer also refused to confirm whether Neal had family members or children, saying the matter was under investigation. Having spent two years living in England including Liverpool, he is an avid Beatles fan and memorabilia collector. for me personally. Linda Ann O'Keefe's killing in 1973 in Newport Beach, California went unsolved for more than four decades. A man was arrested this week in the decades-old killing of Linda OKeefe, 11. In July 1973, 11-year-old Linda Ann O'Keefe was murdered. When O'Keefe didn't return home right away, there was little concern at first. Her parents checked with friends and searched the neighborhood and the path she took home to no avail, Lewis said. In spite of rehabilitative attempts through California Youth Authority and Orange County Jail sentences (it) seems to negate any desire or ability (by Neal) to follow through.. Authorities did not provide details on Neal's illness. If he pursues these goals conscientiously and stays away from downtown Santa Ana where associates congregate, he feels he will never again become involved in difficulty, the probation officer wrote. Her family called the police and officers then joined the search for the 4-foot-tall girl with long brown hair and blue eyes. Seven years before James Alan Neal allegedly kidnapped, sexually assaulted and strangled 11-year-old Linda Ann OKeefe in Newport Beach, he sat in an Orange County jail cell lamenting his miserable life and long rap sheet. After the slaying, Neal moved to Florida, where some sort of incident prompted him to change his name from James Albert Layton to James Alan Neal, authorities have said, declining to give specifics. "We want as many sets of eyes on that sketch as possible, so somebody can recognize the face of a killer so we can get justice.". "I want to know if there are any other victims.". Linda O'Keefe Murder Defendant James Alan Neal Is Dead | Law & Crime Linda O'Keefe, 11, vanished in July 1973 when she was heading home from school in Newport Beach. Police were tight-lipped about exactly how they solved the case but said they received a lead in January that prompted them to begin investigating Neal, who had been living in Orange County at the time of O'Keefe's killing but had since moved to Colorado. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? We never gave up.". She had been strangled. The following morning, O'Keefe's body was found in a ditch. We never gave up.. Then in January, CeCe Moore of San Clemente, who heads Parabons genetic genealogy unit matched DNA evidence gathered in the OKeefe investigation to a sample provided to genealogy website FamilyTreeDNA.com leading authorities to identify Neal, now 72, as a suspect. "That sample remained in the system for a long period of time," Spitzer said. Records reveal Neal was arrested on Sept. 9, 1973, in Marion County, Florida, on a fraud charge for writing a bad check and unauthorized use of a vehicle. "My hope is that this [case] brings hope to other families who haven't had closure yet.". Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. After following and obtaining a DNA sample from Neal himself, police were confident enough to make an arrest, he added. "He lived here in the 1970s," Spitzer said. He was always getting into fights and was always afraid to tell anyone how I really felt. . However, James was never brought to justice because he died of an unspecified illness on July 22, 2020. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Photo Source. CBS 48 Hours: Lindas Story delves into the work put in to arrest James Neal in relation to Lindas rape and murder. 'Serial child sex predator' dies in police custody before he faces Monument man mulls extradition in 1973 rape and murder of California "It didn't necessarily lead to the identification (of the suspect)," he said. Its coming: Dark details revealed after man charged with 2011 murder of fiancee, Man known as Compassion Guy, praised for selflessness, stabbed in violent and senseless attack at California park, Jan. 6 QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley is no longer behind bars but still wants prison sentence vacated, Newport Beach police launched a new PR campaign in 2018, Lori Vallow Daybell Trial: Live Updates from Day 14 of Shocking Testimony, Gruesome Evidence, 'This was not a random act': Person of interest in custody after Detroit neurosurgeon found shot in head and wrapped in blanket, Following early morning 911 call, 87-year-old man found dead with pistol in bed after shooting 86-year-old woman: Cops, The Week Ahead: Psychic sentencing, stepson killer, and 'doomsday cult', Murder case 'refused' against couple who allegedly smothered newborn and threw her away in trash bag, Preschool teacher reportedly arrested for murder during the childrens naptime, Serial killer sentenced in cold case murder of law librarian strangled to death with scarf, Phony doctor treated thousands including cancer patients without medical license: DA, I hope she gets beat up in jail: Mom and boyfriend wont ever get out of prison after unimaginable torture murder of 10-year-old Anthony Avalos, College professor wanted to rape 7-year-old girl, promised to bring her favorite chocolate bar and The Little Mermaid doll: FBI. James Alan Neal fell ill and died while awaiting trial for the . James Neal, 73, was arrested last year in Monument for the 1973 murder of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe in Newport Beach, California. . James Alan Neal fue arrestado el 19 de febrero de 2019, en relacin con su muerte, segn anunciaron los fiscales en una conferencia de prensa. "He seemed like a good guy," Neal's landlord, Michael Thulson,. He has not been able to relate well with other students, family members or inmates. Spitzer refused to elaborate on how they were able to track down Neal and identify him as a suspect after 45 years, but he said police had received a "pointer notification through genealogical DNA" - perhaps suggesting that authorities had come upon DNA from someone related to Neal that would have implicated him as a possible match. IE 11 is not supported. To her familys horror, her dead body was found the next day in a ditch, still wearing the dress her mother had made for her. "I had closure when they found her body," Borgeson said about the fateful day 46 years ago. James Alan Neal was arrested in Monument in 2019. She had been strangled and was still wearing a blue-and-white floral print dress that her mother had sewn for her. The next day she was found strangled, her. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Neal was taken to a hospital on May 25 for an illness. Neal worked in construction at the time of the crime, officials said. O'Keefe was last seen alive on July 6, 1973, as she walked home from summer school, the Newport Beach Police Department said. DNA recovered from O'Keefe shortly after her death was put into the Combined DNA Index System -- the law enforcement database known as CODIS -- but there was no hit, Spitzer said. Based on a witness statement, it was believed a man in a van kidnapped Linda.