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Police: Car with Dead Body in Santa Maria Tied to 1985 Murder Suspect |
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By Santa Barbara Newsroom
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Sunday, May 20 2007 |
SANTA MARIA — A badly decomposed body was found inside a parked car in Santa Maria — a vehicle associated with a person wanted in a 1985 murder, officials said Saturday.
Officers were called at 8:09 p.m. Friday to the 1000 block of E. Hancock Avenue "in regards to a non-responsive person," according to the Santa Maria Police Department. "Officers arrived and determined a male was dead in the back seat of a 1991 Lincoln Towncar."
"It was determined that the car was associated with a person wanted for the murder of a female in 1985 in Banning," police said in a statement. "Officers from Banning recently submitted a DNA sample from that cold murder case. The DNA matched that of Patrick Pearse, a 45-year-old resident of Santa Maria. Pearse served time in prison for a separate murder conviction. He was interviewed by investigators relating to the 1985 murder case earlier this month and a search warrant was served on his trailer in the 4000 block of S. Blosser (Ave.) a week later.
"Banning P.D. contacted this agency yesterday (Friday) asking that Pearse be arrested for the 1985 murder," according to Santa Maria Police. "He was not located at his home. At this time, the Santa Maria Police Department is not releasing the identity of the person found inside of the car pending notification of his next of kin. A separate release of the information will be made after notification is made. The investigation is continuing."
— Tom Schultz |
