Judge Rejects Tardiness Claims in ’75 Murder
An Orange County judge refused Friday to dismiss charges against a man arrested last year in connection with a 1975 homicide, rejecting defense contentions that police waited too long to try to link him to the crime.
Authorities arrested Larry Donnel Paige after matching one of his fingerprints to prints at the scene of a Santa Ana slaying.
In the quarter-century between the crime and arrest, 12 possible defense witnesses died and 95 others moved and cannot be found, depriving Paige of a fair trial, attorneys contended.
Superior Court Judge Francisco P. Briseno denied their motion without elaborating. Trial for Paige, 44, is set to begin Wednesday.
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