DNA testing helped connect Diamondhead man to cold-cases from California

73-year-old Warren Luther Alexander of Diamondhead is accused of three California cold-case murders dating back to the 1970s… all thanks to new DNA technology.

Alexander was connected to his alleged victims after his DNA was entered into a nationwide database and connected to the cold cases by investigators.

Ventura County law enforcement officials say the three women died by strangulation. All were sex workers who were known to frequent Ventura County shopping centers and hotels.

21-year-old Lorraine Rodriguez was found at Laguna Road Bridge in December 1977. She left behind two children.

Velvet Sanchez had recently left her job at the navy exchange. She was found in September 1977 at the Villa Motor Court Motel and was 31 years old at the time of her death.

18-year-old Kimberly Fritz was a Michigan native. She was killed in May 1977 and found at the Marv-Inn Motel.

Alexander has been behind bars in North Carolina since 2022, where he’s been awaiting prosecution for the 1992 murder of 29-year-old Nona Cobb.

Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko shared his team’s ultimate goal at a press conference on Thursday.

“While we can never undo the past, we remain committed to ensuring that such heinous acts as these never go unanswered,” Nasarenko said.

Alexander was known to have lived in Oxnard, California, in the 1950s and 1960s. He attended school there for some time, but public records show that he was a senior at Long Beach High School in 1969.

According to Nasarenko, Alexander was a member of the Marine Corps and spent nearly two decades as a long-haul trucker afterwards.

Officials do believe that there could be more victims. In the meantime, Alexander’s arraignment is set for August 21st.