DNA has helped solve a more than 20-year-old cold case in the East Bay.
For more, stream KCBS Radio now.
It was in Jan. 1999 that 28-year-old Meekiah Wadley was murdered in her Richmond apartment. She was found dead with her hands tied by shoelaces. "To Meekiah's family and loved ones, I hope today brings a measure of peace and of closure," said California State Attorney General Rob Bonta, speaking at the Richmond DNA lab – which put the pieces together – 20 years after Wadley's unsolved murder.
It turns out the woman's killer, Jerry Lee Henderson, died of a suspected overdose in Richmond just 11 days after the attack.
Wadley's family said Henderson was "an acquaintance" and student at Contra Costa College who broke into her apartment the morning of her murder. "While our efforts being shared today bring some closure, they can't bring Meekiah back," Bonta added on Thursday. "Her life mattered and it was horrifically cut too short."
Wadley would have turned 50 this month.
"Some people might think this is closure for us, but it still leaves us with why," said Wadley's niece. "Why her? So young, so sweet. She was innocent. After all these years she can finally rest in peace knowing her family knows who murdered her. We will love you and miss you, always and forever."
LISTEN to KCBS Radio
FAVORITE KCBS Radio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Related
