DNA Nabs Sex Offender for 1977 Murder
A "cold hit" match of DNA collected from a convicted sexual
offender has helped California authorities make an arrest in the 1977 rape
and murder of 17-year-old Mary Ann Quigley. The state crime lab matched DNA
in the Quigley case to a 47-year-old registered sex offender in Santa
Clara.
Mary Ann Quigley was last seen Sept. 9, 1977 walking home from a party at a friend's house in Santa Clara. She walked home through the old War Memorial Park. The next morning, park workers found her nude body hanging on a fence about 100 yards from the path.
Investigators said the teen was stripped of her clothes about 30 feet from the fence. She was dragged to the fence and hanged with some of her clothing. The cause of death was listed as strangulation.
Cold case detectives recently resubmitted DNA from the case, hoping that technology not available in 1977 might lead to a clue. Last week, that DNA was matched to 47-year-old Richard Armand Archibeque (shown above in mug shots from 1979 and 2006).
Archibeque has been arraigned on murder charges in Santa Clara Superior Court and is being held without bond.
Archibeque was questioned in 1978 about the Quigley case, but was not considered a suspect at the time. He was later convicted in 1979 of assault with intent to rape in another case, which required him to provide a DNA sample for the national DNA database, under a law passed in California in 2004.
"For us, all these years later, to solve this by using newer technology, it gives you faith, quite frankly," Santa Clara Police Chief Steve Lodge told reporters. "It gives you faith that bad things happen but with a lot of hard work, it can be solved."
See Also:
Sex Offender Held in 1977 Slaying
Santa Clara Man Charged in 1977 Slaying of 17-Year-Old Girl
More Information:
Rape and Sexual Assault
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Comments
Charles,
I was surfing this site and found your article “DNA Nabs Sex Offender for 1977 Murder.”
How many times is this going to happen in the future as DNA collection and analyzing techniques become more and more sophisticated? These scumbag murderers, rapists, bash artists will all eventually get caught. It’s just a matter of time. I hope they are all losing sleep over the prospect that any day the police will come to arrest them.
I sat on a crime forum in Western Australia for many years. Some of the cases that we reviewed were HIDEOUS.
I wrote an article on my website about this subject – serious repeat offenders.
If you are interested, here is the link:
http://www.motivationselfesteem.com/Social-Economic-Cost-Offenders.html
If it was up to me I’d round all these animals up and jail them for the rest of their miserable lives. They deserve it for all the pain and suffering that they cause.
Regards
Gary Simpson
Thanks to the investigators for their dedication and persistence in solving this case.
Mary was a very nice and beautiful girl. She was my 1st cousin and about my age at the time of her death. She was not allowed a trial and she was brutally raped and murdered for no reason.
I hope this S.O.B. gets some stiff punishment in prison before he is put to death.
Im am glad that they finally caught that B***** after 29 years old, and by the way her name isn’t Mary Ann is Mary Elizabeth people need to get their information right. The reason I know that because it was my moms cuzin, and they were close to the same age but my mom was a bit younger by a year or 2. I hope that S.O.B gets what he derserves I kinda want him to get the death Pent. But he wouldn’t suffer in anyway, I rather him become someones b**** in Prison for the rest of his life and I hope when he dies he rots in hell while he at it,,because Mary Elizabeth was a beautiful and happy outgoing girl she didn’t deserve that, that guy is so pathetic and a piece of S*** He makes me and mom so angry but we are glad he got caught, but knowing it took 29 years to catch and the weird thing is he lived almost around the corner from the police station, isn’t that some weird S***, But he better get justice and it better not take a yr just to trail him like it does everyone else.He is a pig. Mary Elizabeth I hope you can rest in peace now knowing the guy that hurt you bad is gonna rot in prison or get put to death. So Mary Elizabeth rest in peace, you’ll still be Missed very Much. Missy
The new web address below will be easier for all to remember and pass on to friends. We want to personally thank the hundreds of people who have already signed Mary’s Petition. We welcome more signatures and comments.
http://www.MaryQuigley.net