RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA : Victim’s Son, 25, Accused of Murder

A two-year investigation of a baffling murder case resulted in the arrest Wednesday of the victim’s son, Sheriff’s Department officials reported.

The 25-year-old suspect, Sean Hirsch, also known as Sean C. McNamara, is the son of murder victim John Francis McNamara, 46, Sheriff’s Lt. Dick Olson said. Olson declined to comment on the motive in the slaying.

Hirsch, who uses his stepfather’s surname, was arrested without incident in Encino. He was being held in Orange County Jail on suspicion of murder. Bail was set at $250,000.

The victim, who was divorced and living alone in a condominium here, was fatally shot about 6 a.m. Oct. 7, 1990, as he slept in his bed. McNamara, a medical supplies salesman, managed to crawl to a telephone and call 911 for help. County Fire Department paramedics rushed to the home minutes later and found him barely alive.

McNamara died about 1 1/2 hours later at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo.

The murder in this new community terrified nearby residents. Investigators said at the time that they had few clues in the slaying. The crime scene indicated that someone had climbed into the condo through a window, shot McNamara in his bed, then fled out the front door, investigators said.

“During the time that followed the shooting, sheriff’s investigators were able to locate and obtain a weapon--a rifle--that was believed to be used in the crime,” Olson said. He said “other evidence,” which he declined to specify, also linked Hirsch to the slaying.

Hirsch is scheduled to be arraigned Friday morning in Municipal Court in Laguna Niguel.