Man arrested in ‘one of most heinous, notorious cold cases’ more than 30 years after mother’s murder

James Lawhead was arrested after forensic DNA analysis lead in decades-old killing of Cindy Wanner

• Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox

A 64-year-old man was arrested last week in connection to a decades-old murder investigation that had long haunted the affluent suburb of Sacramento, where it occurred.

On 25 November 1991, Cindy Wanner, 35, vanished from her sister’s home in Granite Bay, California. Her husband arrived to the residence with their 4-year-old daughter and found their 11-month-old baby alone, wailing and strapped to a high chair. Three weeks later, Wanner’s body was discovered, 40 miles away in a secluded, wooded area. She had died from strangulation.