A man who was cleared by a polygraph test for the rape and murder of a teenage girl in 1979 has now been linked to the victim with newfound DNA evidence, authorities revealed.
17-year-old Esther Gonzalez had been walking from her home in Beaumont, Calif., to her sisters house in Banning, about 85 miles east of Los Angeles, on Feb. 9, 1979, when she was attacked.
The following day, the teen’s body was found dumped in a snowpack off Highway 243, with authorities determining she was raped and then bludgeoned to death, according to the Riverside County District Attorneys Office. 4 Esther Gonzalez, 17, was raped and murdered more than 40 years ago. Gonzalez family
An unidentified man, described by deputies at the time as argumentative, found the body and called the Riverside County Sheriffs Station, saying he didnt know if it was a male or female.
The man, later identified as Lewis Randolph Randy Williamson, was asked by sheriffs investigators to take a polygraph test, which he agreed to and passed, clearing him of any wrongdoing.
The case went cold for over four decades with no other leads or witnesses.
However, last week, the Riverside County District Attorneys Office said in a press release that the case had been solved using forensic genealogy, ending the over 45-year-long cold case.
The cold case homicide team of the Riverside County Sheriffs Department renewed the investigation in 2023. 4 Lewis Randolph Randy Williamson was later asked by sheriffs investigators to take a polygraph test, which he agreed to and passed, clearing him of any wrongdoing. Riverside County DA
Using the semen sample found on Gonzalez’s body 44 years prior and running it through genetic genealogy databases, investigators realized that Williamson had never been cleared through DNA testing because the technology didnt exist when he passed the polygraph test in 1979.
Williamson died in Florida in 2014, but during his autopsy, a blood sample was taken, which the team could use to test if his DNA was a match. 4 The Riverside County District Attorneys Office said in a press release that the case had been solved using forensic genealogy, ending the over 45-year-long cold case. Othram
The sample was sent to the California Department of Just ice with the assistance of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.
The cold case team then confirmed that Williamsons DNA matched the DNA recovered from Gonzalezs body.
The master investigator for the Riverside County Sheriffs Office, Jason Corey, told CNN that the murder had been in Riverside Countys cold case unit since the units launch about five years ago, and multiple investigators have worked to solve it. 4 The sister and brother of Gonzalez, Liz Gonzalez, and Eddie Gonzalez. KCAL/KCBS
I cant imagine what its like for them, Corey told the outlet. That whole family has just been devastated over the years. This is a day in and day in, day out thing. I dont think this is something that ever got easier for them as time went on.
I dont know if you can say youre happy that its done, because its still, its still a terrible tragedy, but I hope it can bring them some closure, he said.
Corey shared that forensic genealogy “will be a great investigative tool moving forward in the future to help investigators generate leads for unsolved cases.
It will help do a lot of good and not only identify victims, but it will help point the investigators in a direction with their investigative leads that will help bring those suspects to justice, Corey told the outlet.
The Riverside County Regional Cold Case Homicide Team encourages anyone who knew Williamson or may have information about the case or other potential victims to contact them at 951-955-277 or coldcaseunit@rivcoda.gov.
