Man arrested in ‘one of most heinous, notorious cold cases’ more than 30 years after mother’s murder | California
A 64-year-old man was arrested last week in connection with a decades-old murder investigation in the affluent suburb of Sacramento.
On November 25, 1991, 35-year-old Cindy Wanner disappeared from her sister’s home in Granite Bay, California. When her husband came home with their 4-year-old daughter, she found their 11-month-old baby crying alone and tied to a high chair. Three weeks later, Wanner’s body was found 40 miles away in a secluded wooded area. He died of suffocation.
“This is probably one of the most heinous, notorious unsolved cases we’ve had here,” Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo said at a news conference Monday, standing next to an enlarged photo of Wanner.
Woo identified the murder suspect as James Lawhead.
“We hope this arrest will help bring some justice and closure to Cindy Wanner’s family,” he said.
Investigators linked Lawhead to the crime scene through forensic DNA analysis. Lawhead was convicted of sex crimes and sentenced to 19 years in prison in 1980. He was released from prison in February 1991 after serving 11 years. It’s unclear what led to the early release.
“When he was convicted, state psychiatrists classified him as a sex offender who was mentally disabled and unfit for treatment. But 11 years later he was released anyway, and within a year he kidnapped and murdered Cindy Wanner,” Woo said.
Lawhead ran afoul of the law several times in the early incidents, including when he was arrested in Placer County for failing to register as a sex offender. It has barely been seen since 2005. Authorities believe he assumed a new identity, living as Vincent Reynolds.
Investigators were searching for Lawhead and were about to seek the public’s help, according to Woo.
A serendipitous tip came recently after an analyst with the Scottsdale Police Department used state transportation data to find Lawhead’s photo.
Woo said he was arrested April 24 in the garage of his home in Arizona. After a search warrant was obtained, authorities seized numerous items from his home, including a purse containing $15,000 and a burner phone.
Lawhead faces murder and kidnapping charges, among others.
His sister, Terry Lawhead, was also taken into custody on charges of complicity.
“He said he hadn’t seen or heard from his brother in over 20 years and that he was probably dead,” Woo said. “Investigators later learned that Mr. Lawhead’s Arizona residence belonged to his sister.”
In recent years, there have been many significant developments in unsolved cases with the help of modern technology.
Placer County district attorney Morgan Gire said at the press conference: “Justice, the passage of time does not mean that justice becomes less important.”
Lawhead will be extradited from Arizona.
