Fingerprints On Broken Glass Lead To Arrest In 24-Year-Old Murder Case
http://www.kesq.com/news/29617760/de...tml?hpt=ju_bn6HEMET, Calif. -- Riverside County sheriff's investigators said they believe they have solved a 24-year-old murder case involving a woman in her 70s.
On Jan. 20, 1987, the body of Mildred Porter was found by one of her sons inside her mobile home on the 39000 block of Siesta Court, just outside the Hemet city limit. The 79-year-old had been left bound and gagged, said sheriff's spokesman John Hall.
The Riverside County Coroner determined asphyxia was the cause of her death, and investigators agreed. They said her head was probably forced down into a pillow until she died.
Family members told investigators they noticed several things were missing from Porter's home, including her car keys, a small camera and a Bulova watch.
Deputies never made an arrest, and the case went cold until new evidence surfaced in 2008, Hall said.
"Authorities were advised fingerprints located on broken window glass found inside and outside the victim’s home connected (the suspect) to the crime scene," he said.
The Riverside District Attorney's Office filed a murder charge against Keith Allen Pipes, 44, of Hemet. He was arrested on Oct. 25 near his Hemet home.
Hall said Pipes would have been 19 years old at the time the crime was committed.
Pipes will appear in court on Monday, where a judge will arraign him on the murder charge
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Mildred Porter
http://www.pe.com/local-news/riversi...erly-woman.eceRiverside County cold case investigators arrested a Hemet man Thursday suspected of killing a bound and gagged elderly woman nearly 25 years ago.
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Porter was found with her hands tied behind her back by one of her sons in her mobile home in the 3900 block of Siesta Court in Hemet, according to a Riverside County district attorney’s statement. Coroner’s officials said Porter died from asphyxia.
Authorities believe Porter was suffocated with a pillow during a robbery. Family members reported several valuables missing, including her car keys, a small camera and Bulova Watch.
The case went cold and remained unsolved for the next two decades. Then in late 2008, the sheriff’s Cold Case Unit reopened the investigation. Detectives were able to match fingerprints on a shard of glass from a broken window to Pipe’s prints on file from a previous arrest. Authorities said new technology in 2008 showed a clear match that placed Pipes at the crime scene.
DNA was also submitted to the Department of Justice and a lab in Texas.
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Pipes has a previous criminal conviction in Riverside County.
In 1999, he pleaded guilty to the attempted kidnapping of a woman after he broke into her Hemet home. He was sentenced to two years and six months in prison. He previously pleaded guilty to shoplifting charges.
In June, he was charged with felony vehicle theft and is awaiting trial.
http://jimspub.riversidesheriff.org/...kno=201144964GBooking Number :201144964
Name PIPES, KEITH ALLEN
Sex Race DOB
M W 05/22/1967
Age Hair Eyes Height Weight
44 BRO GRN 05'10" 213
Arrest Date/Time Arresting Agency Arresting Location
10/27/2011 10:20 Hemet HEMET STATION
Booked Date/Time Case No. Bail Amount
10/27/2011 11:44 D87020018 01000000
Current Facility Southwest Detention Center Housing Unit FH24
Next Court Date/ Time Court Name Release Date
10/31/2011 13:30 Riverside Hall Of Justice
Charges
Charge Type Description Bail Disposition Booking Type
187(A) FEL MURDER 01000000 PC
Keith Pipes
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