Man Arrested in ’85 Slaying Case

A 28-year-old unemployed man who recently moved to Thousand Oaks turned himself in to Ventura County sheriff’s deputies on Saturday, saying he could no longer carry the burden of knowledge of a slaying committed in San Bernardino County seven years ago.

Andrew Scott Lyche, who moved to Thousand Oaks one week ago, did not confess to the 1985 killing, said Sgt. Pat Buckley, a major crimes unit investigator at the East County Sheriff’s Station. But Lyche was arrested on suspicion of homicide, Buckley said.

“It just got to be too much for him to bear after a while,” Buckley said.

The name of the slain man was not released Saturday pending positive identification and further investigation.

The crime allegedly occurred in a remote area of San Bernardino County, but the assumed victim was reported missing in Kern County, Buckley said. Buckley said Lyche gave investigators information that led them to a 1985 report of a person who disappeared under suspicious circumstances.

“He knew details that only a person (familiar with the crime) could know,” Buckley said. “But it’s possible that after seven years there won’t be enough evidence left for a chargeable offense.”

San Bernardino County authorities were expected to take Lyche back with them and continue the investigation. Although Lyche had previously lived in San Bernardino County, Buckley did not know his most recent residence before he moved to Thousand Oaks.