The 68 -year -old victim was found stabbed to death in his home in Logan Heights on November 10, 1976, the Tribune evening reported at the time. His residence in 1933 Harrison Avenue had been ransacked, said the San Diego police.
For almost 50 years, the murder of Leo Marquina has not been resolved.
But Thursday, following a joint investigation by the San Diego police department and the Cold Case unit of the District Prosecutor’s Office, a suspect was arrested as part of the murder.
Mitchell Hernandez, 73, from Chula Vista was arrested on Monday before the San Diego Superior Court, suspected of murder. He pleaded not guilty and risked a maximum sentence of 15 years in life imprisonment if he was found guilty.
“This affair was resolved because our investigators, working hand in hand with the office of the district prosecutor, have never abandoned and continued to seek new avenues and means to use the progress of the field of judicial sciences to do justice to Mr. Marquina’s family,” said the lieutenant of the San Diego police, Lieutenant Jonathan Dugan in a statement.
The case was reopened in 2022 after being cold. Dugan refused to disclose additional information on how Hernandez was identified as a suspect.
According to the Tribune evening, the neighbors had not seen Marquina for several days and became suspect before notifying the police. The agents made their way in the house.
The San Diego Union said that Marquina was working part -time as a seller and lived alone, according to neighbors.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
