Cold case investigators arrested a Hesperia man Thursday, Jan. 15, who was recently identified as the suspect in the brutal killing of an Adelanto woman who was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and shot to death 24 years ago, authorities said.
Raymond Silva Gonzalez, 51, is accused of murder in the April 14 disappearance and killing of 32-year-old Suzanne Sites-Fenton, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Homicide detectives, along with a Specialized Enforcement Division, or SWAT, team arrived at a home near Smoke Tree Street and I Avenue in Hesperia Thursday morning and took Gonzalez into custody, according to sheriff’s officials and county records.
He was being held without bail pending an initial court appearance.
The disappearance
Sites-Fenton was last seen alive when she left her job at a Mervyn’s store at the Mall of Victor Valley in Victorville on the evening of April 13, authorities said at the time.
She was reported missing by her husband the following day after failing to return home.
“During the initial investigation, detectives learned Suzanne took a break and walked into the Mervyn’s parking lot and never returned to work or home,” according to a sheriff’s department statement.
Sites-Fenton’s stepfather found her blue, 2000 Honda Civic abandoned the following day, investigators said at the time.
“Evidence of a physical altercation was found inside, but Suzanne was not located,” the statement said.
Victim’s body found
The disappearance turned into a homicide investigation on April 16, when Sites-Fenton’s body was found in a remote area near Mariposa Road and Ranchero Street.
“The investigation determined Suzanne was shot and detectives learned she was kidnapped, and sexually assaulted, prior to her death,” according to the statement. “A suspect was not identified, and the case went cold.”
The department’s Cold Case Homicide Team who continued pursuing the investigation 24 years recently identified Gonzalez as a suspect in the killing, officials said.
Authorities did not disclose what led to the break in the case. It was not clear whether the suspect and victim knew one another prior to the crime.
Gonzalez was scheduled to appear Tuesday, Jan. 20, in the Victorville branch of San Bernardino County Superior Court for an arraignment hearing.
Anyone with information was urged to contact the Sheriff’s Specialized Investigations Division, Homicide Detail at (909) 890-4904. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to the We-Tip hotline at (800) 782-7463.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Hesperia man arrested in 2001 cold case murder of Adelanto woman
Reporting by Brian Day, Victorville Daily Press / Victorville Daily Press
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