Ex-Riverside County Man Charged in 1973 Murder of 11-Year-Old

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA -- A man who previously lived in multiple Riverside County cities has been arrested for the cold case murder of an 11-year-old Orange County girl who disappeared in 1973.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office and Newport Beach Police Department announced the arrest and filing of charges against James Alan Neal, 72, in connection with the Newport Beach cold case murder at a joint press conference on Feb. 20.

James Alan Neal was identified as the suspect in the abduction and murder of Linda Ann O’Keefe after an investigation by the Newport Beach Police Department that lasted for more than 45 years.

Linda Ann O’Keefe was abducted while walking home from school in Newport Beach on July 6, 1973. Her body was discovered in a ditch in Newport Beach's Back Bay the following morning.

Authorities say investigators broke the case through genetic genealogy techniques. Neal’s DNA profile was originally entered into the CODIS system in 2001, but there was no hit. Detectives from NBPD continued to investigate the case through technology innovations and crime solving techniques.

“For 45 years, the Newport Beach Police Department continued to search for Linda’s killer. Generations of investigators worked on her case," Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis said. "We never gave up.”

From 1977 to 2014, Neal had six Riverside County addresses, two of them post office boxes, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise. Street addresses included those in Riverside, Hemet and Winchester, public records show. His last Riverside County address was in San Jacinto, ending in 2014. The records show his next address was in Monument, Colorado.

Image via Newport Beach Police