Man Convicted 45 Years After Unsolved Murder Of IE Teenager: Report

POMONA, CA — Forty-five years after Inland Empire 18-year-old Michelle "Missy" Jones was found dead in a grapefruit grove, her killer has finally been convicted, The Press-Enterprise reported.

Jones' naked body was found on July 5, 1980, in Pomona, and authorities say she had been sexually assaulted before she was killed. But ultimately, the case went unsolved for decades, the newspaper reported.

However, in 2020, the San Bernardino County sheriff's cold-case unit, with the help of Fontana police, used modern advances in DNA technology to link Jones to Las Vegas resident Leonard Nash, who was once Jones' sister's boyfriend.

Nash was arrested on Sept. 8, 2020. On Thursday, Nov. 13, Nash, who is now 71, was convicted of second-degree murder.

He is facing a sentence of 15 years to life in state prison, The Press-Enterprise reported.

Read more from The Press-Enterprise: 45 years after Pomona teen is found slain, 71-year-old man is convicted of murder