She was found nude in a ditch. L.A. prosecutors say they’ve solved tragic 30-year mystery

A decades-old L.A. County homicide case has been cracked open after DNA evidence linked a 63-year-old man to the fatal stabbing of a young woman found in a drainage ditch.

Prosecutors say Brian Walton of Los Angeles was a stranger to Claudia Guevara, but he’s accused of killing the woman, then 23. On Feb. 21, 1996, Guevara’s nude body was found in a ditch next to Encanto Parkway in Azusa. She had been sexually assaulted and stabbed in the neck.

Her brother, whom she was living with in Temple City, had reported her missing the day before her remains were found. She was last seen by two co-workers who dropped her off at a bus stop in El Monte.

“The victim’s family has waited for an agonizing 30 years to get that call to let them know their loved one’s killer had been found and charged,” said Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman in a statement. “While this was classified as a cold case, investigators and prosecutors never stopped in their relentless pursuit of justice, reaffirming our commitment to holding people accountable for the crimes they are accused of committing.”

Walton is charged with one count of murder with the special circumstance allegations of murder during the commission of a rape and murder during the commission of sodomy. He was arraigned Tuesday at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles.

An investigation into the case by the L.A. County sheriff’s Homicide Bureau is continuing. If convicted as charged, Walton faces life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.