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LAPD credits DNA in arrest of man in 1975 rape, murder
Police say Dennis Vasquez was 17-years-old (top photo) when he raped and murdered an 80-year-old Venice woman in 1975. The bottom photo is Vasquez today. Police say DNA evidence helped them track down Vasquez.
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Frank Stoltze/KPCC
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LAPD Deputy Chief Charlie Beck announces arrest of 50-year-old man in 1975 rape and murder case.
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Frank Stoltze/KPCC
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LAPD credits DNA in arrest of man in 1975 rape, murder
Los Angeles police Monday said DNA evidence led to the arrest of a 50-year-old man for a more than three-decade old murder.
LAPD Deputy Chief Charlie Beck said Dennis Vasquez was 17-years-old when he allegedly raped and murdered an 80-year-old woman in Venice.
Charlie Beck: "I think the takeaway on this press conference is this: effective application of DNA technology is going to change the way society looks at sexual assault. Sexual assaults are no longer going to go unsolved.
"People are no longer going to go unidentified. Now, sometimes we have issues with prosecution of cases due to witnesses. Sometimes there are other mitigating factors, but we will not have unidentified perpetrators in the age of DNA."
Beck said Vasquez is a convicted felon who was required under Proposition 69 to provide his DNA when police picked him up on another charge. That’s when they connected him to the 1975 rape and murder.
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