We never gave up.". His earliest crimes were breaking into homes when he was around 12-years-old. Linda Ann O'Keefe was killed in July 1973 -- and decades went by without leads. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer announced the arrest of James Alan Neal in the 1973 murder of 11-year-old Linda Ann O'Keefe during a press conderence on Wednesday, February 20, 2019. Newport Beach police launched a new PR campaign in 2018 using Tweets written in Lindas voice. However, the case remained unsolved for about 46 years before the investigators found the killer. O'Keefe's parents have since died, Spitzer said, but her sisters have been notified about the arrest. Here at this jail, people want to give me a bad time. So, if youre curious to know more about James and what happened to him after his arrest, weve got you covered. The victim was found dead during a search. Linda O'Keefe. Records show that from 1963 to 1966, Neal was employed as cook, furniture mover, iron worker, factory worker, and a floral deliveryman but didnt hold a job longer than five months. A day later, her body was found in a ditch, and she had been sexually assaulted. James Neal, 72, was arrested in Colorado Springs, Colo., and charged with murder with special circumstances in the death of Linda O'Keefe, who was found strangled in 1973, a case that has long shaken the seaside community of Newport Beach, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said. Through the tireless efforts of generations of our investigators, we hope we have been able to bring a measure of closure to Lindas family, friends, and loved ones., Orange County District AttorneyTodd Spitzerput Neals death in more bitter terms, saying the new development robbed the OKeefe family of the justice they so deserve and deprives the law enforcement officers of the satisfaction that they finally got their culprit.. Neal currently lives in Colorado, but investigators were able to confirm that he lived in California in the 1970s, when Linda was murdered, Spitzer said. Combining the latest in DNA technology with old-fashioned detective work led investigators to Neal, Lewis said. These were in relation to him committing lewd acts to a child in Riverside County, California, between July 1995 and July 2000 and then to another child between March 2002 and March 2004. 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. But when night fell and her whereabouts were still unknown, her parents called police and desperately combed the neighborhood, to no avail. / CBS Colorado. Neal was arrested last year and charged with the sex assault and murder of 11-year-old Linda Ann OKeefe, who was abducted while walking home from school in the summer of 1973. Colorado Man Pleads Not Guilty In California Cold Case Death Authorities did not provide details on Neal's illness. James Alan Neal, 72, of Monument, Colorado, who was arrested for allegedly murdering Linda O'Keefe in Newport Beach, California, in 1973. He was rushed to a local hospital about a month before that. Using details from the investigator's decades-old case files, police relayed O'Keefe's last hours, as well as her family's frantic search for her, as if they were unfolding in real time, as The Washington Post's Meagan Flynn reported: "At 6:42 p.m., six hours since her mother had last heard from her, O'Keefe's parents reported her missing to the Newport Beach Police Department, convinced by then O'Keefe was not simply running off with friends to retaliate for not getting a ride. As for her sister's suspected killer, Borgeson said, "because of my profound faith, I've been able to forgive the individual. Man Accused of Killing 11-Year-Old Linda O'Keefe in Newport Beach Dies The genealogical hit came in January, officials said. Lindas story deeply touched the hearts of our community. "Linda's face and her memory has been with us since the day this happened," he said. He worked odd jobs as a cook, factory worker, a floral delivery person, etc., but could never consistently hold down a job. Photo Source. He also teamed up with reporter Joe Nelson in 2019 on Bad Apples, an award winning investigation that exposed years of sex abuse cover up in the Redlands Unified School District. Newport Beach police released this undated image of Linda O'Keefe in an effort to get assistance from the public to help solve her murder in Southern California in July 1973. 11-year-old Linda OKeefe was kidnapped on her way back from home in July 1973. Then, after he was paroled again in August 1963, he was arrested a year later for burglary and sentenced to nine months in the Orange County jail. "Individuals who engage in sexual activity against minors tend to have certain indicators of a predatory nature," Spitzer said. Those alleged crimes happened between 1995 and 2004 in Riverside County east of Los Angeles. An undated photo of murder victim Linda O'Keefe and her family. Later he moved to Colorado, where he was living when he was arrested, he said. . 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. Linda O'Keefe, 11, vanished in July 1973 when she was heading home from school in Newport Beach. As a result of surveillance and other traditional detective techniques, they were able to get additional DNA which resulted in the corroboration of the DNA from the victims body, to the DNA sample that the suspect left during a particular location during surveillance activities, the Orange County district attorney said after Neals arrest in February 2019. She doesn't know that I'm missing. Parabon used the DNA from the crime scene to predict the suspect's eye color, hair color and skin color. My mom made it. James Neal, 72, who lived in Southern California and worked in construction in the 1970s, was arrested this week in Colorado, where he had been living, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said at a Wednesday news conference. A woman later told police she saw O'Keefe standing next to a turquoise van and talking to the driver -- a white man in his mid-20s or early 30s. Neal has been charged with one count of murder with the special circumstances of kidnapping and committing lewd and lascivious acts upon a child younger than 14, Spitzer said. A poster of James Alan Neal during the Newport Beach police and Orange County prosecutors news conference on Feb. 20, 2019. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer also called the arrest "bittersweet," noting that he had been 12 years old when the 11-year-old was killed. A true-crime retelling of Linda O'Keefe's 1973 abduction & killing led police to James Alan Neal, ID'd through DNA as the primary suspect. His next court appearance is set for June 14. [Mugshot via Newport Beach Police Department], Have a tip we should know? James Neal of Monument, Colorado also pleaded not guilty in an Orange County courtroom Friday to lewd and lascivious acts on two girls under the age of 14. CBS 48 Hours: Lindas Story delves into the work put in to arrest James Neal in relation to Lindas rape and murder. NDTV Public Opinion: Will Tipu Sultan Controversy Impact Karnataka Votes? "After all this time, finding out there is a face and a namejust brings additional closure.". She had been strangled and sexually assaulted. Man who served 15 years for murder his brother confessed to awarded $7,500,000, Woman 'sold 20 boxes of fetuses, hearts, genitalia and brains on Facebook', One killed after plane crashes into Los Angeles neighborhood. US Man James Neal Arrested After Police Tweet Re-Creation Of Girl James Neal es el sospechoso del caso de Linda O'Keefe: 5 Datos He then moved to Florida, and then, a criminal incident prompted him to change his name to James Alan Neal. But that day, she was dropped off. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. More than 45. He had a connection to southern California, which has been corroborated, he said. 72-year-old arrested in connection with 1973 murder of 11-year-old girl, Linda O'Keefe, who lived in the Corona del Mar neighborhood and was last seen alive July 6, 1973, as she walked home from summer school. James Allen Neal. As part of an effort to renew interest in the case, the Newport Beach Police Department used their Twitter account to recount the story of Lindas life, mysterious disappearance and death. Colorado man arrested in case murder of 11-year-old girl - The Denver Post "I want to know if there are any other victims.". "I'm astonished at what they were able to accomplish," Borgeson, 64, said. James Neal, 73, was arrested last year in Monument for the 1973 murder of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe in Newport Beach, California. "I hope that he has remorse. I dont have any friends because Ive always been afraid to make any because I just figured they would only see me as everyone else has in the past.. It is not clear if Neal, 72, will waive extradition, Spitzer said. O'Keefe's parents have since died, but police said they keep her two surviving sisters updated on the investigation. He's now the suspect in the 1973 murder of 11-year-old Linda Ann O'Keefe. He is awaiting extradition from Colorado Springs to Orange County. and opened doors for us to have this case pursued with renewed effort.". Colorado man charged in 1973 Orange County cold case dies awaiting trial. SANTA ANA, CA Officials in California say James Alan Neal, who was arrested last year in Monument for the rape and murder of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe, has died. A man has been arrested through DNA and genetic genealogy in the decades-old cold case killing of 11-year-old Linda Ann OKeefe, who was strangled to death in Southern California in 1973, authorities said. Teen Was Murdered After Coming Home from Grocery Store in 1975, Coffee Cup Leads to Arrest, Calif. It is unclear whether he has retained a lawyer who can speak on his behalf. 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. But again, it's a reminder of what happened. Through the tireless efforts of generations of our investigators, we hope we have been able to bring a measure of closure to Lindas family, friends and loved ones., However, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said Neals death robvs the OKeefe family of the justice they so deserve and deprives the law enforcement officers of the satisfaction that they finally got their culprit., Get in touch with our news team by emailing us [email protected], For more stories like this,check our news page, Get your need-to-know 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. "My office will never forget about cold cases," Spitzer said in a statement. Then, in 1974, he was sent back to prison in Colorado for a parole violation and released three years later. On one hand, we were grateful that we could have that conversation and provide some closure.". James Alan Neal, 72, was picked up in Colorado on Tuesday and charged with the murder of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe in 1973. Suspect Changed His Name After Lindas Death, Colo. 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Police and prosecutors on Wednesday said they put Neal under surveillance and eventually got his DNA though they did not detail exactly how. Through surveillance, a sample of Neal's DNA was obtained - one that ultimately matched a sample taken from O'Keefe's body in 1973. He was apprehended in February after DNA analysis identified him as a suspect in OKeefes slaying. James then escaped from a work project where he was sentenced to and was arrested yet again in April 1967. Generations of investigators worked on her case, said Lewis.