SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – The 1982 cold case murder of a Palo Alto teenager has led to the arrest of a 75-year-old Hawaii man, authorities announced on Tuesday.
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Gary Ramirez was arrested Aug. 2 at his home in Makawao on the island of Maui in connection with the brutal stabbing death of Karen Stitt on Sept. 2, 1982. The investigation leading to Ramirez's arrest "took months of planning" and was a coordinated effort between multiple agencies.
Stitt, 15, was killed after her boyfriend walked her to a bus stop in Sunnyvale at about 12 a.m.
Her bloodied body – stabbed 59 times – was discovered the next day concealed behind a cinderblock wall. She had also been sexually assaulted and the killer left both his blood and bodily fluid on her, authorities said. Stitt's boyfriend was "long considered a suspect in her murder," but was eventually cleared based on DNA evidence.
Using a tip received in "early 2019," authorities said Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety Det. Matt Hutchinson shifted focus to "one of four brothers from Fresno," where Ramirez grew up and went to high school.
He was identified as the "likely" source of blood and bodily fluid in April 2022, a finding that was confirmed last week by the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Crime Lab.
"Behind every old murder file in every major police department, there is a person, heartbreak, and a mystery," Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. "The mystery of Karen Stitt's death has been solved thanks to advances in forensic science and a detective that would never, ever give up."
The suspect served in the U.S. Air Force in the 1970s and later "frequented or resided" on the Peninsula, San Francisco, San Diego, Colorado and eventually Hawaii. Anyone with further information about Ramirez is encouraged to contact Cold Case Prosecutor Rob Baker at rbaker@dao.sccgov.org.
Ramirez is scheduled to be in court on Wednesday for extradition proceedings.
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