A 76-year-old man was in custody in Texas on Friday in connection with four cold case killings in Los Angeles and Inglewood dating back to 1980.
Billy Ray Richardson was arrested in Fort Worth, Texas Thursday after being charged with murdering Beverly Cruse, Debra Cruse and Kari Lenander in Los Angeles in 1980 and Trina Wilson in Inglewood in 1995, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
"Investigative and forensic work over decades connected these murders through DNA and linked them to suspect Billy Ray Richardson," police said.
Four counts of first-degree murder with the special circumstance of multiple murders and murder in the commission of rape were filed Thursday by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office against Richardson.
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Richardson's identification as the suspect in the killings and his subsequent arrest was the result of a collaborative investigation involving the LAPD, Inglewood Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Fort Worth Police Department and investigators from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, according to the LAPD.
Richardson is awaiting extradition from Fort Worth to Los Angeles.
