A 64-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the 1991 murder of Cindy Wanner, a case that has haunted the affluent Sacramento suburb of Granite Bay for over three decades. James Lawhead was taken into custody on 24 April in Arizona following a forensic DNA analysis that linked him to the crime scene.
Wanner, 35, vanished from her sister's home on 25 November 1991. Her husband arrived with their four-year-old daughter to find their 11-month-old baby alone, wailing and strapped to a high chair. Three weeks later, her body was discovered 40 miles away in a wooded area; she had died from strangulation.
Lawhead had been convicted of sex crimes in 1980 and sentenced to 19 years, but was released early in February 1991 after serving 11 years. Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo noted that psychiatrists had classified Lawhead as a mentally disordered sex offender not amenable to treatment, yet he was released and murdered Wanner within a year.
Authorities believe Lawhead assumed a new identity, living as Vincent Reynolds, and had been virtually unseen since 2005. A breakthrough came when an analyst used state transportation data to match a photo of Lawhead. He was arrested in his driveway in Arizona, and a search of his home uncovered $15,000 and a burner phone.
Lawhead faces murder and kidnapping charges. His sister, Terry Lawhead, has also been arrested on an accessory charge, having claimed she had not seen him in over 20 years, though investigators found the Arizona home was owned by her.
District Attorney Morgan Gire emphasised that justice does not diminish with time, as modern technology continues to solve cold cases.
