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Arrests Made in 1991 Cold Case Murder of Northern California Mother Cindy Wanner
Advanced DNA analysis and a facial-recognition match helped investigators identify James Lawhead Jr. and arrest his sister as an accessory, officials said.
- On Monday, Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo announced the arrest of 64-year-old James Lawhead Jr. in Bullhead City, Arizona, for the 1991 kidnapping and murder of Cindy Wanner.
- Wanner, 35, vanished from her Granite Bay, California home on November 25, 1991, leaving her 11-month-old baby strapped in a highchair while her shoes, coat and car remained at the scene.
- Investigators identified Lawhead using advanced DNA analysis, and a facial recognition match from the Scottsdale Police Department revealed he had been living in Arizona under the alias Vincent Reynolds.
- Authorities arrested Lawhead's 71-year-old sister, Terry Lawhead Steele, in South Carolina on an accessory charge after discovering he lived in a home she owned, contradicting her prior claims of no contact.
- Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire stated Lawhead faces one count of murder with special circumstances for rape and kidnapping, while detectives urge West Coast agencies to contact them about potential links to other cold cases.
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Arrest Made In 35-Year-Old Cold Case Rape and Murder In Placer County
There has been an arrest in the 1991 murder of Cindy Wanner in Placer County, and the culprit according to the sheriff's office, is a known sex offender who had only been out of prison 10 months when Wanner was kidnapped and killed.On November 25, 1991, 35-year-old Cindy Wanner had been stopping in to clean her sister's home in affluent Granite Bay, California, a quiet suburb of Sacramento, with her 11-month-old child in tow. When her husband ca…
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Total News Sources23
Leaning Left2Leaning Right0Center15Last UpdatedBias Distribution88% Center
Bias Distribution
- 88% of the sources are Center
88% Center
12%
C 88%
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