No Murder Charges Filed Against Ex-Rose Parade Official
Citing “insufficient evidence,” prosecutors decline to file charges against Richard Allan Munnecke in the 2004 slaying of Donna Lee Kelly
Getty Images / Scott Olson
Prosecutors on Friday declined to file charges against a 71-year-old former Rose Parade board member who was arrested in the “cold case” murder of a woman in 2004.
Citing “insufficient evidence,” prosecutors declined to file charges against Richard Allan Munnecke, of Alhambra.
He was arrested Wednesday in connection with the death of his ex-lover and Rose Parade volunteer, Donna Lee Kelly, whose decomposed body was found by her daughter in the trunk of her car after her March 24, 2004 disappearance.
Prosecutors said the coroner's could not conclusively say the death was a homicide.
The only evidence connecting Munnecke to the victim was a pubic hair found on the victim's body, but it's the only evidence and doesn't rule out other potential suspects, the DA's office said in its charge evaluation worksheet.
Munnecke and Kelly were longtime friends, the DA said, but Munnecke "adamantly denies sexual contact."
Steve Whitmore, a spokesman with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which investigated the case, said detectives will review the DA’s decision.
“It’s all part of our job and our business,” Whitmore said. “That doesn’t mean that it’s over. Cold cases are very difficult. (Investigators) are going to review what the DA has to say and they’re going to take the next step.”
Kelly’s daughter reported her missing on April 4, 2004.
She discovered her mother's body in the trunk of her car on April 15, 2004, after smelling a foul odor coming from the trunk.
Detectives said the murder had occurred at Kelly’s home and her body was moved to the trunk of her own vehicle, which sat in an apartment parking lot, unnoticed until the daughter drove it.
Sheriff’s investigators collected DNA evidence from Kelly’s body, her apartment and her vehicle, but there was no match in the database so the case went cold.
Eight years later, homicide detectives obtained a DNA sample from Munnecke and found a DNA match, officials said in a press release.
Munnecke is a former Tournament of Roses Parade Association director and music committee chairman.
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