Los Angeles police sought a named suspect in the rape and murder of North Hollywood woman in 1980, thanks to new evidence turned up by cold-case detectives.
Guadalupe Gonzalez Jimenez, 53, is suspected of killing Lois Hale, 39, who was found murdered in her home in the 6000 block of Lankershim Boulevard on Jan. 19, 1980, according to the Los Angeles police. Jimenez is missing the tip of his right index finger, and has "Mambro" tattooed on his left bicep -- unique characteristics police hope someone will notice.
"Wow. This has been a long time coming," said a tearful Gary Ryan, Hale's fiance, who was just months away from marrying Hale when she was killed.
An emotion Ryan described his fiancee as a beautiful woman with a heart of gold, " ... this animal came in like a rat in the night and took her."
Hale's daughter, who was 15 at the time, discovered her mother's body.
"My message to him is, they're coming after you," Ryan said. "They're coming after you and with the public's help, they're going to get you."
Jimenez, who is from Mexicali, Mexico, has worked as a machinist and auto upholsterer, and is known to have ties in the Pacific Northwest, police said.
Police were stumped in the case for nearly 30 years, but an investigation resurfaced when Los Angeles police detectives Thomas Townsend and Timothy Kirkpatrick began reviewing modern criminal databases and re-interviewing witnesses in 2006.
Through the help of forensic evidence, the detectives identified Jimenez as the suspect.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Jimenez was asked to call North Hollywood homicide detectives at (818) 623-4075, or (877) LAPD-24-7 after-hours or on weekends. Tips can also be made by texting CRIMES (274637) and beginning the message with the letters LAPD, or by submitting anonymous information to the LAPD Web site at www.lapdonline.org.
