Man charged with murder in connection with 3 strangulation deaths in Southern California in 1977

CNN — A Mississippi man authorities are calling a ŌĆ£suspected serial killerŌĆØ has been charged in connection with the 1977 strangulation deaths of three women in Southern California, prosecutors in California said August 7. Warren Luther Alexander, 73, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder┬Āand also faces special allegations of multiple murders, according to a┬Ānews release┬Āfrom the Ventura County district attorneyŌĆÖs office.┬ĀHe was extradited on August 6 from Surry County, North Carolina, where he was awaiting prosecution in connection with a 1992 homicide, according to the release. In February 2023, the cold case unit of the Ventura County SheriffŌĆÖs Department started re-examining the killings of Kimberly Carol Fritz, 18, Velvet Ann Sanchez, 31, and Lorraine Ann Rodriguez, 21, officials said. Port Hueneme Police Chief Michael Federico, from left, Oxnard Police Chief Jason Benites, Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko and Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff take part in a joint news conference Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, at the DA's office in Ventura. Juan Carlo/The Star/USA Today Network Advances in DNA technology and well-preserved evidence led investigators to Alexander, according to Nasarenko and Ventura County Sheriff James Fryhoff.