BURNEY, Calif. (TCN) — Using genetic genealogy, investigators recently identified a 64-year-old suspect in the fatal shooting of a teen and the sexual assault of a woman that occurred over four decades ago.
According to the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, on the night of Dec. 14, 1984, deputies responded to a report of a shooting and found a vehicle parked in a roadway with an 18-year-old gunshot victim, Terrance Arndt. Authorities said there was also an 18-year-old female victim with Arndt.
Arndt was transported to a local hospital but died from his injuries.
Upon further investigation, the sheriff’s office learned Arndt and the woman were parked inside his car on Mountain View Road near Burney High School when a stranger pulled up and allegedly shot Arndt as he was trying to shield and protect the female victim. Authorities allege that the man, armed with a gun, sexually assaulted the female victim numerous times before leaving the scene. She reportedly drove away to seek help with Arndt inside. Despite investigators’ efforts, the case went cold for decades.
The sheriff’s office recently teamed up with genetic genealogy company Othram Inc. to help identify a suspect. As a result, investigators named Roger Schmidt Sr. the primary suspect. He was 23 and lived in Burney at the time of the alleged crimes. According to the sheriff’s office, Schmidt also “strongly resembled the sketch originally provided by the female victim.”
Authorities traveled to his most recent home of Tucson, Arizona, and collected DNA from Schmidt. The sheriff’s office said his DNA matched the evidence collected from the female victim the day she was allegedly assaulted.
Schmidt was arrested on July 19 and booked into the Pima County Jail in Arizona. He’ll be extradited to Shasta County, California, to face charges.
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