Authorities in California were finally able to tell the Gonzalez family who they thought killed their loved one after 45 years. The accused murderer was identified by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office using forensic genealogy and DNA, and it was revealed that he was the same individual who told authorities that he had found Esther Gonzalez’s body.

Gonzalez, then 17 years old, was traveling by foot to her sister’s home in Banning, California, which is about 85 miles east of Los Angeles, on February 9, 1979. She never got home.

Her corpse was found the following day in a snowpack off a roadway close to Banning, according to a news release from the Riverside County District Attorney’s office. They allegedly raped her, bludgeoned her to death, and attacked her when she was out and about.

According to the news release, deputies said the unnamed individual who found the body was belligerent. The man who found the body, Lewis Randolph Randy Williamson, later called the county sheriff to report it, stating that he was unsure of the gender of the deceased. Williamson was later asked to undergo a polygraph test by the sheriff’s investigators.

He agreed to and passed the test, which at the time absolved him of any wrongdoing, according to the release from the district attorney’s office.

Williamson was identified as Gonzalez’s alleged killer by a cold case homicide team using forensic genealogy, the district attorney’s office said nearly fifty years later.

As detectives employ DNA in addition to conventional genealogical research to produce leads for unresolved cases, forensic genealogy is becoming more and more popular nationwide.

The method is a great addition to an investigator’s arsenal, says Jason Corey, master investigator with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.

Corey informed me that he believes it will be an excellent investigative tool in the future. It will be very beneficial and not only help identify victims, but it will also help investigators find clues that will lead to the prosecution of those individuals.

Detectives in Riverside County continued their search even after the Gonzalez investigation was closed.

The homicide team spent decades looking into the case after Gonzalez’s death. There were no leads when the researchers used the Combined DNA Index System to analyze a semen sample taken from the crime scene.

A genetic lab in Texas that specializes in forensic genealogy and victim identification in unsolved homicides received multiple pieces of evidence from police in 2023.

All of the case’s details were supplied by a criminal analyst earlier this year.

The lightbulb then went out.

Williamson appeared to be exonerated in 1979 by the polygraph, but the technology to exonerate him by DNA had not yet advanced, according to the district attorney’s office.

It was not possible to perform another polygraph because Williamson passed away in Florida in 2014.

However, a blood sample was taken as part of his autopsy.

The California Department of Justice verified that Williamson’s DNA matched the DNA semen sample found in Gonzalez’s body after receiving the sample from Florida authorities.

According to Corey, this case has been in Riverside County’s cold case unit for the past five years or more. The case has been worked on by multiple detectives over the years. All of it ended on Wednesday.

Corey said, “I can’t imagine what it’s like for them.” The whole family has gone through terrible things over the years. This is something that consistently occurs. They didn’t get any easier with time, in my opinion.

Corey went on, It’s still a horrible event, so I’m not sure whether you can say you’re glad it’s ended, but I hope it will give them some peace of mind.

Elizabeth, Esther’s older sister, claims that the Gonzalez family has found peace and closure in the most recent development in the cold case. She was relieved to learn that her sister’s alleged killer had been finally identified.

In an email to CNN, 64-year-old Elizabeth Gonzalez expressed her happiness at having closure at last. Although we are pleased, we are a little sorry that the man will not be held accountable for her murder now that he is dead.

Elizabeth Gonzalez and Esther Gonzalez were barely a year apart in age, therefore they grew up quite close. Esther’s family recalls her as mild-mannered, humorous, and bashful. She is the fourth kid in a family of seven.

“The Gonzalez family would like to thank the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department for a job well done,” Esther’s older brother Eddie posted on Facebook. The Gonzalez family has found closure after forty years.

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