Post by sclcookie on May 31, 2006 2:20:01 GMT -5
Police name suspect in Jenny Lin murder ---- Shaw has been looked at in connection with teen's death for several years
Alameda County sheriff's investigators confirmed Wednesday, nearly 12 years to the day since 14-year-old Jennifer Lin was stabbed to death in her home, that an Oregon prisoner and convicted serial killer is the primary suspect in the girl's slaying.
Sebastian Alexander Shaw, 38, is serving 2 life sentences without the possibility of parole in the 1992 slayings of Oregon residents Donna Ferguson, 18, and Todd Rudiger, 29. On May 3, a Multnomah County, Ore. jury failed to vote unanimously for the death penalty in the aggravated murder of Jay Rickbeil, 40, a paraplegic who suffered from cerebral palsy.
Shaw was sentenced to a 3rd life term on May 9. He is also serving a 30-year sentence for the 1995 sexual assault and attempted murder of another woman, sheriff's investigators said.
"Some newspaper reporters and TV reporters became aware of our increased activity and interest in Shaw," Alameda County Sheriff's Cmdr. Greg Ahern said by phone Wednesday evening. "We want to call him a suspect."
Jenny's father, John Lin, found the girl's partially clad body at 6:45 p.m. May 27, 1994, in the upstairs master bathroom of their Pineville Circle home in Palomares Hills. A coroner ruled that the Canyon Middle School 8th-grader was not sexually assaulted.
Before the attack, presumably the last person she spoke to was a friend on the phone at 5:15 p.m. that day. Jenny, who played musical instruments, studied dance and excelled in academics, had turned 14 just 2 days earlier.
A reporter was unable to contact parents John and Mei-Lian Lin for comment on the latest development.
Wednesday marked the 1st time a suspect has been formally named in the case, but Ahern said investigators have been looking at Shaw ever since the killing occurred.
"He's been a person of interest for a number of years," he said. "We learned of Sebastian Alexander Shaw and began doing research and a timeline and learned he was in custody in Oregon for several crimes."
Oregon police arrested Shaw on Aug. 30, 1994, after he was discovered with two rifles and a car reported stolen from San Ramon during a burglary in late May of that year, Ahern said.
"The car contained items from the San Ramon home. These items led us to be suspicious about his actions," he said.
Over time, Alameda County and Oregon authorities started to notice a number of similarities in their investigations, Ahern said, and officials are looking into any ties Shaw may have with the Bay Area, especially Castro Valley.
While in prison, Shaw allegedly told Oregon authorities that he killed 10 to 12 other people. As to whether Shaw is being looked at in the disappearances or deaths of other East Bay girls, Ahern said, "We're only concerned with Shaw's involvement in the Jenny Lin case."
Sheriff's authorities are holding many details close to their vest while the investigation continues and the Alameda County District Attorney's Office reviews "volumes of paperwork." Ahern said the public identification of Shaw as a suspect will not speed or affect the timing of charges being filed in the case.
He also said that whether Shaw will be extradited to California "is to be seen."
"We have been in contact with Multnomah County, but we have not sat down to take an interview statement (from Shaw)," Ahern said.
The attorneys who represented Shaw in his latest trial, Richard Wolf and W. David Falls, could not be reached for comment Wednesday night. However, they presented evidence in court of Shaw's harrowing childhood in Vietnam toward the end of the war, with an abusive father who was a South Vietnamese Army soldier.
Ahern said information on Shaw was not released until now because authorities did not want to jeopardize court proceedings in Oregon. Instead, they opted to wait until the trials had concluded.
A $100,000 reward in the case stands, Ahern said. Anyone with information is urged to call Sgt. Scott Dudek at (510) 667-7478, Detective Mike Godlewski at (510) 667-3655, 24-hour dispatch at (510) 667-7721, or the anonymous tip line at (510) 667-3622.
(source: Inside Bay Area)
Alameda County sheriff's investigators confirmed Wednesday, nearly 12 years to the day since 14-year-old Jennifer Lin was stabbed to death in her home, that an Oregon prisoner and convicted serial killer is the primary suspect in the girl's slaying.
Sebastian Alexander Shaw, 38, is serving 2 life sentences without the possibility of parole in the 1992 slayings of Oregon residents Donna Ferguson, 18, and Todd Rudiger, 29. On May 3, a Multnomah County, Ore. jury failed to vote unanimously for the death penalty in the aggravated murder of Jay Rickbeil, 40, a paraplegic who suffered from cerebral palsy.
Shaw was sentenced to a 3rd life term on May 9. He is also serving a 30-year sentence for the 1995 sexual assault and attempted murder of another woman, sheriff's investigators said.
"Some newspaper reporters and TV reporters became aware of our increased activity and interest in Shaw," Alameda County Sheriff's Cmdr. Greg Ahern said by phone Wednesday evening. "We want to call him a suspect."
Jenny's father, John Lin, found the girl's partially clad body at 6:45 p.m. May 27, 1994, in the upstairs master bathroom of their Pineville Circle home in Palomares Hills. A coroner ruled that the Canyon Middle School 8th-grader was not sexually assaulted.
Before the attack, presumably the last person she spoke to was a friend on the phone at 5:15 p.m. that day. Jenny, who played musical instruments, studied dance and excelled in academics, had turned 14 just 2 days earlier.
A reporter was unable to contact parents John and Mei-Lian Lin for comment on the latest development.
Wednesday marked the 1st time a suspect has been formally named in the case, but Ahern said investigators have been looking at Shaw ever since the killing occurred.
"He's been a person of interest for a number of years," he said. "We learned of Sebastian Alexander Shaw and began doing research and a timeline and learned he was in custody in Oregon for several crimes."
Oregon police arrested Shaw on Aug. 30, 1994, after he was discovered with two rifles and a car reported stolen from San Ramon during a burglary in late May of that year, Ahern said.
"The car contained items from the San Ramon home. These items led us to be suspicious about his actions," he said.
Over time, Alameda County and Oregon authorities started to notice a number of similarities in their investigations, Ahern said, and officials are looking into any ties Shaw may have with the Bay Area, especially Castro Valley.
While in prison, Shaw allegedly told Oregon authorities that he killed 10 to 12 other people. As to whether Shaw is being looked at in the disappearances or deaths of other East Bay girls, Ahern said, "We're only concerned with Shaw's involvement in the Jenny Lin case."
Sheriff's authorities are holding many details close to their vest while the investigation continues and the Alameda County District Attorney's Office reviews "volumes of paperwork." Ahern said the public identification of Shaw as a suspect will not speed or affect the timing of charges being filed in the case.
He also said that whether Shaw will be extradited to California "is to be seen."
"We have been in contact with Multnomah County, but we have not sat down to take an interview statement (from Shaw)," Ahern said.
The attorneys who represented Shaw in his latest trial, Richard Wolf and W. David Falls, could not be reached for comment Wednesday night. However, they presented evidence in court of Shaw's harrowing childhood in Vietnam toward the end of the war, with an abusive father who was a South Vietnamese Army soldier.
Ahern said information on Shaw was not released until now because authorities did not want to jeopardize court proceedings in Oregon. Instead, they opted to wait until the trials had concluded.
A $100,000 reward in the case stands, Ahern said. Anyone with information is urged to call Sgt. Scott Dudek at (510) 667-7478, Detective Mike Godlewski at (510) 667-3655, 24-hour dispatch at (510) 667-7721, or the anonymous tip line at (510) 667-3622.
(source: Inside Bay Area)