Double Homicide Tied to the Original Night Stalker

on May 6, 2011 in Forensics, Unsubs by Brian Combs

Tags: Original Night Stalker

Cheri Domingo, 35, and Gregory Sanchez, 27, were murdered in Goleta, CA in July of 1981. Three decades later, DNA has linked their killing to the unsub known as the Original Night Stalker.

Investigators are looking again at the 50 pieces of evidence collected from the house using new technologies. These specific results were found with a more powerful DNA kit.

Says Colleen Spurgeon, Asst. Lab Director with the CA Department of Justice Crime Lab:

It goes and looks at the smaller pieces of DNA exclusively and allows you to get a DNA profile from a degraded DNA.

A semen sample found on scene has been tied to the Original Night Stalker.

Says Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown:

There now may be a possibility to sift through that and determine if there’s some linkage to our case, that we wouldn’t have been able to determine had this connection not been made.

The Original Night Stalker, also known as the East Area Rapist, is suspected of at least ten murders and fifty rapes from 1979 to 1986. Investigators believe he would be in his 50’s or 60’s now.