Latest / Murder Files Unsealed / DNA confirms man who had passed polygraph test as suspected killer in 1979 cold case

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DNA confirms man who had passed polygraph test as suspected killer in 1979 cold case · Murder Files Unsealed

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  Speaker 1: You know, sometimes you hear about a case and you think, wow,
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  that could be straight out of a movie, right, And
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  that's what we're diving into today. A forty five year
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  old cold case. It was finally cracked wide open using
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  get this forensic genealogy. It's a story about perseverance, incredible
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  scientific advancements, and a plot twist you won't believe.
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  Speaker 2: It's amazing how technology is changing the way we think
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  about justice, especially when we're talking about crimes from decades ago.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly. So. Back in nineteen seventy nine, seventeen year
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  old Esther Gonzalez was murdered in Banning, California.
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  Speaker 2: Tragic.
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  Speaker 1: She was just walking to her sister's house when she
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  was attacked, raped, and then her body was found later
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  off the highway.
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  Speaker 2: Oh wow.
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  Speaker 1: Is a brutal case that obviously shook the community, and
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  Esther's family was left searching for answers for years, decades.
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  Speaker 2: Even I can't imagine. And what's wild is that the
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  guy who actually found Esther's body, Lewis Randolph Randy Williamson.
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  He became a suspect early on. Really Yeah, deputies at
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  the time even described him as being argumentative when they
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  were questioning him.
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  Speaker 1: That's suspicious for sure.
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  Speaker 2: But back then the main thing they relied on was
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  polygraph tests. So Williamson took one and he passed, which
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  basically cleared him as a suspect. I mean, I know
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  polygraphs aren't perfect, right exactly, but back then it was
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  enough to make them focus on other leads.
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  Speaker 1: So the case went cold for well, you said it
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  forty five years. How frustrating would that be for her family?
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  Speaker 2: Oh, it would be agonizing not knowing who took your
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  loved one from you. Horrible. But then fast forward to
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  twenty twenty three, a cold case homicide team decides to
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  reopen the case and they have this new tool in
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  their arsenal, forensic genealogy.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, so for those of us who didn't go to
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  CSI school, break it down for us. What is forensic genealogy.
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  Speaker 2: It's kind of like building one of those big family trees, right,
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  except instead of using just old records and stuff, you're
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  using DNA to connect the branches. Makes sense, So they
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  take DNA from the crime scene and then compare it
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  to these huge database of genetic information, and what they
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  start to do is build a family tree for the perpetrator,
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  even if they have no idea who it is.
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  Speaker 1: So you could have a really distant relative in one
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  of those databases and it could lead back to the
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  actual criminal.
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  Speaker 2: That's exactly how it works, and it's changing the game.
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  So in Esther's case, they sent the evidence to a
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  specialized lab in Texas. That's when they had this huge realization. Williamson,
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  the guy who found the body, was never actually cleared
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  by DNA just that polygraph test.
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  Speaker 1: Hold on, they had his DNA all this time.
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  Speaker 2: Well not his specifically, but they had biological evidence from
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  the crime scene. Back then, DNA testing wasn't really a
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  thing in investigations.
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  Speaker 1: Wow, So what happened? They bring Williamson in.
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  Speaker 2: That's where things get tricky. See Williamson had already died
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  back in twenty fourteen.
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  Speaker 1: Oh no, but dead end right?
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  Speaker 2: Not so fast, Yeah, investigators are persistent. They managed to
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  get a blood sample from his autopsy all the way
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  from Florida, sent it to the California Department of Justice,
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  and bam, a match. Williamson was their guy.
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  Speaker 1: After forty five years. Unbelievable. That must have been a
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  crazy moment for Esther's family.
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  Speaker 2: You said it finally getting answers, but knowing the guy's
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  already gone yet.
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  Speaker 1: Bitter sweet doesn't even begin to describe it. Yeah, so
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  do we know how they reacted to the news.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Esther's sister Elizabeth, she gave a statement. She said,
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  and this is a quote. We are very happy that
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  we finally have closure. We are happy about it, but
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  since the guy has died, a little sad that he
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  won't spend any time for her murder.
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  Speaker 1: So powerful. I can't imagine the mix of emotions relief
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  but also that lingering sense of what if. Absolutely, but
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  at least they finally know. And it really shows how
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  powerful forensic genealogy can be, bringing families closure even after
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  so much time has passed.
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  Speaker 2: You're absolutely right, it's not just about closure for the
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  family though. Esther's brother Eddie actually posted a thank you
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  to the Sheriff's department on Facebook.
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  Speaker 1: Think about carrying that weight around for forty five years
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  not knowing who is responsible.
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  Speaker 2: It's mind boggling.
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  Speaker 1: It shows how deeply these crimes affect everyone. But this
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  case also highlights just how incredible science can be, you know,
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  bringing justice even when all hope seems lost.
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  Speaker 2: It's true, I know it's crazy to think about after
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  all that time they finally get answers.
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  Speaker 1: It is, Yeah, and it's easy to focus on the science,
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  all the detective work, but we should take a moment
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  to talk about esther herself.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, what was her life like before this happened?
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  Speaker 1: Exactly? We know she was loved, a daughter, a sister, right.
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  Speaker 2: And Elizabeth her sister, talked about her being kind of
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  shy but also funny.
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  Speaker 1: It's heartbreaking. They were only a year apart. Must have
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  been close, I bet, And.
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  Speaker 2: To lose her like that and then have no answers
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  for so long.
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  Speaker 1: I can't even imagine.
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  Speaker 2: And don't forget she was one of six kids. Remember Eddie,
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  her brother who thank the Sheriff's department. Yeah, it really
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  shows how deeply this impacted the whole family. I wasn't
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  just a past event. It was always there.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely. So now that we know Williamson did it, any
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  idea why?
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  Speaker 2: That's the thing we don't. And that's often the case
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  with these genealogy investigations. So you can find the who,
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  but the why that dies with them.
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  Speaker 1: So even with this breakthrough, there were still unanswered questions.
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  Speaker 2: That's true, but knowing the truth can bring a kind
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  of peace. Even if it doesn't explain everything, it helps
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  with healing moving forward.
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  Speaker 1: It does. This makes me wonder what's next for forensic genealogy.
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  If it can solve the case this cold, what else
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  can it do?
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  Speaker 2: Oh man, the possibilities are huge. Think about all the
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  other cold cases out there, families still waiting, wondering. Yeah,
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  this technology could completely change how we deal with unsolved crimes.
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  It's more cases like Ester's will see solved.
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  Speaker 1: It's exciting but also kind of scary, right. It means
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  it's a lot of.
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  Speaker 2: Power, no doubt, and we have to think about the
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  ethics of it, especially around privacy consent.
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  Speaker 1: We do big conversation for another time.
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  Speaker 2: Definitely, but let's focus on what's been accomplished here. It
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  shows how dedication, smart people, and yeah, even some luck
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  can come together.
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  Speaker 1: And deliver justice exactly. You know, it's interesting to think
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  about the investigators who worked on Esther's case back in
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  seventy nine. They did what they could with what they had.
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  They relied on that polygraph which ended up pointing them
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  the wrong way.
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  Speaker 2: Right, but that happens. It shows that science is always
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  changing what we thought was reliable. Then might not be now.
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  We have to keep learning, challenging what we think we know,
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  and never ever give up on finding the truth. Doesn't
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  matter how much time has passed.
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  Speaker 1: And it's crazy to think if Williamson hadn't had that
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  autopsy in Florida, if they hadn't taken that blood sample.
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  Speaker 2: This could have been unsolved forever.
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  Speaker 1: It shows how important it is to keep evidence even
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  when a case seems hopeless.
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  Speaker 2: You never know what the future holds, what new tools
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  will have.
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  Speaker 1: It's like planting a seed might take years to sproute,
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  but when it does, it.
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  Speaker 2: Can change everything. In this case, it brought a family
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  some peace after waiting way too long exactly. And you know,
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  it shows that some crimes, they might seem cold, but
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  they never really are. There's always that possibility, no matter
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  how small, that something new will come up, so new
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  evidence or technology, something that can shed light on what happens.
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  Speaker 1: Like justice never sleeps right.
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  Speaker 2: It might take time, even decades, but some people won't
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  give up until they find out the truth.
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  Speaker 1: It's inspiring, really And I know we keep talking about
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  the science, but at the end of the day, it's
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  the human part of these cases that gets me behind.
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  Every cold case there's a story, a victim, a family
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  who's been left wondering, hurting. Yeah, I think anyone who's
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  into true crime like me knows that these cases, they
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  aren't just puzzles to be solved. They show us how
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  complicated people are, the good and the bad, and the
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  power of science, and how resilient we can be even
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  in the face of tragedy.
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  Speaker 2: I couldn't have put it better in myself and Esther's case.
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  I think it really highlights how forensic science is always changing.
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  What we know now could be totally different in a
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  few years. Who knows, Think about what kind of tools
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  we might have forty five years from now.
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  Speaker 1: Wow, Yeah, it's hardy to even.
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  Speaker 2: Imagine, right, But for now, forensic genealogy is here and
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  it's making a huge difference. Who knows how many more
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  families are going to find some peace because of it.
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  So true makes you think, though, what about the future
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  of this technology? Will it be the go to for investigations?
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  What about the ethical stuff, the privacy concerns all that?
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  What do you think?
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  Speaker 1: Those are great questions and we want to hear from you.
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  Hit us up on social media. Let's discuss because this
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  whole deep dive. It wasn't just about figuring out an
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  old mystery. It was about the power of science, about
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  seeking justice and holding on to hope even when things
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  seem dark. The truth is out there.
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  Speaker 2: It is Esther Gonzalez's story, even though it's tragic, shows
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  us that even after all this time, justice is possible.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us on this deep dive. Everyone. Catch
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  you next time for another fascinating adventure into, well, whatever
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  piques our curiosity.