North County
A suspect’s fingerprints were found on a piece of tape gagging a murder victim, a sheriff’s deputy told a judge Monday.
San Diego Municipal Judge Robert Stahl Jr. listened to three witnesses at a brief preliminary hearing before ordering Alan Buzzard Stevens, 46, of San Marcos to stand trial for the murder of Cynthia McVey, 26, of Livermore.
McVey was vacationing in San Diego County when she was strangled. Her body was found Nov. 29 off California 76 on the Pala Indian Reservation.
Stevens is a potential suspect in the killings of several prostitutes in North County, but so far has only been charged with the slaying of McVey.
Sheriff’s detective Sam Bove testified that Stevens’ fingerprints match those found on the tape that covered the victim’s mouth.
Dr. Ronald Rivers, who performed the autopsy, said McVey had been strangled by hand. Rivers said that, because of the position of the body, he suspected that McVey was killed elsewhere and then dumped at the site where the body was found.
Stevens trial date will be set at an April 3 arraignment. He remains in County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.
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