A New Mexico man has been arrested for an old California cold case murder. According to the New Mexico State Police Department, 64-year-old William Lepere has been arrested for his involvement in a 1980 s cold case out of Anaheim, California. On Wednesday, April 28th, New Mexico law enforcement officials helped Anaheim officials track down and arrest Lepere in Alamogordo, New Mexico, per KRQE News. He was taken into custody and booked on murder charges stemming from the murder of 79-year-old Viola Hagenkord.
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According to the Anaheim Police Department, Hagenkord s neighbor entered her residence on February 18th, 1980 after neighbors became concerned they hadn t seen her for a few days. Neighbors said the behavior was unusual since she was well known throughout her apartment complex. Her neighbor found her deceased and police say she was sexually assaulted.
New Mexico State Police Arrests Man In Cold Case Murder
NMSP News:
ALAMOGORDO – New Mexico State Police (NMSP) Investigation Bureau agents, the NMSP Tactical Team and officers from the Fugitive Apprehension Unit assisted the Anaheim Police Department from California Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in tracking down a murder suspect in Alamogordo.
The male suspect who was identified as William Lepere, 64, from Alamogordo, was wanted in a cold case murder, which occurred in the 1980s in Anaheim, Calif.
During the investigation, a search warrant was obtained and served by the NMSP on Lepere’s residence. Lepere was taken into custody and arrested without incident. He was transported to the Otero County Detention Center where he was booked on murder charges.
Anaheim Police Make Arrest in 1980 Cold Case
Anaheim police say a New Mexico man has been arrested in connection with the decades-old sexual assault and murder of a 79-year-old woman.
The case began Feb. 18, 1980, when Viola Hagenkord was found dead on her apartment floor. Before being killed, she had been sexually assaulted inside her home, on the 2500 block of W. Winston Road.
A neighbor discovered her body after residents grew concerned about not seeing her for two days.
The case went cold until 2020, when Anaheim’s homicide unit reopened the file.
“We continue to hunt down anybody responsible for homicides regardless of how much time has gone by,” Anaheim Police spokesperson Sgt. Shane Carringer told The Epoch Times. “Advancement in DNA technology made this case solvable now when it wasn’t 41 years ago.”