Suspect Held in 1980 Killing of Pacoima Girl, 7

Six years after the abduction and slaying of 7-year-old Lisa Ann Rosales of Pacoima outraged that community, authorities Wednesday announced the arrest of a suspect in the case.

Los Angeles police said Luis Raul Castro, 59, was taken into custody Nov. 24 at his home in Mexicali by Mexican federal police.

Lisa Ann’s strangled, beaten body was found in a ditch in Lake View Terrace, about three miles from her home, on Dec. 9, 1980, a day after she was kidnaped while walking home from school.

The suspect has confessed to Mexican authorities, according to Angel Saad, Mexican federal district attorney for Baja California. He faces a maximum of 32 years in prison if convicted at his trial, which is set to begin in Mexican federal court on Monday, Saad said in a telephone interview.

Under Mexican law, any citizen of Mexico can be tried there for a crime in a foreign country if the act is also a crime in Mexico. Mexico has no death penalty.

On Sex Offender List

Los Angeles Police Lt. Bernard D. Conine said Castro became a suspect in early 1985, after investigators found his name on a list of California sex offenders. It was then learned that Castro had left a paying job in Pacoima to return to his native Mexicali “one to two months” after the Rosales killing, Conine said, adding that Mexican authorities were notified in July.

Conine said police were confident they had enough evidence to file murder charges against Castro had he been arrested in California.

The search for Lisa Ann’s killer became an emotional issue in Pacoima. A garden was dedicated in her name at an elementary school and a college scholarship was established in her name at San Fernando High School.

Last year, the Los Angeles City Council offered a $25,000 reward. The offer expired after 60 days, and no one will receive a reward, police said.

Lisa Ann’s mother, Mary Rosales, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

But Conine said that when Detective Al Ferrand told her of the arrest, she said, “I thought you’d given up.”

“We never give up,” Ferrand replied, according to Conine.