Key takeaways:
- Tony Garcia, a 68-year-old Navy veteran and former martial arts teacher from Oxnard, has been charged with the murders of two women in 1981.
- DNA evidence was used to link Garcia to the two cold cases.
- Garcia faces a possible sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.
A 68-year-old man from Southern California was charged Thursday with the murders of two women in 1981 after DNA evidence linked him to the crimes, prosecutors announced.
Tony Garcia, a Navy veteran and former martial arts teacher from Oxnard, is accused of kidnapping, raping, and strangling Rachel Zendejas, 20, in Camarillo in January 1981 and strangling 21-year-old Lisa Gondek in Oxnard in December 1981. Garcia appeared in court on Thursday, but his arraignment was continued to Feb. 23.
Zendejas was found dead in a carport in Camarillo and Gondek was found in a bathtub after a reported apartment fire in Oxnard, authorities said.
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that DNA evidence was used to link Garcia to the two cold cases. The statement did not provide any further details on the evidence or how it was obtained.
Garcia has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and special circumstances of kidnapping, rape, and burglary. If convicted, he faces a possible sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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