California deputies announced Tuesday they had solved a decades-old murder case using a variety of new and old investigative methods.
Investigators found the body of Dorothy “Toby” Tate in a van on November 15, 1983. Tate had been shot to death, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office said.
Detectives had fingerprints on a soda can found at the scene and DNA in blood evidence. The fingerprints matched a man named Charly Sneed, a resident of Texas, while forensic genealogy identified Steven Richard Hardy as a contributor. He was also a resident of Texas at the time of the murder. Both men are now dead.
Investigators say that the two men were involved in Tate’s murder “beyond a reasonable doubt.
“The evidence indicates the crime was likely committed during a burglary or theft, as property belonging to the victim was later pawned in California,” the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office submitted the results of the investigation to the district attorney’s office, which determined that probable cause existed to charge Hardy and Sneed “had the suspects been alive.” As a result, they closed the case, labeling it “exceptionally cleared.”
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[Featured image: Scene of 1983 murder. Insets: Left top, Steven Richard Hardy. Left bottom, Charly Sneed. Right: Dorothy “Toby” Tate/San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office]
