RivCo Teen's Cold-Case Murder Solved 45 Years Later

BEAUMONT, CA — More than 45 years after 17-year-old Esther Gonzalez died a brutal death, police have at last named her killer, the prime suspect in her case.

Lewis Randolph "Randy" Williamson, now deceased, is believed to have kidnapped, raped and murdered her in the winter of 1979, according to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office. Williamson has long been the prime suspect in her case, they said in a recent news release.

Though Williamson died in Florida a decade ago, the Broward County Sheriff's Office collected his DNA during an autopsy.

That DNA was sent to the Riverside County Regional Cold Case Homicide Team blood sample was processed by the California Department of Justice's forensics lab this year, according to the DA's Office.

The DNA extracted from that sample was compared to that contained in a semen stain collected from Esther's body and preserved, ultimately analyzed by Othram, a private laboratory based in Woodlands, Texas, that specializes in genetic genealogy research.

"DOJ confirmed that Williamson's DNA matched the DNA recovered from Esther's body," according to the D.A.'s office.

Prosecutors said that though Williamson was unofficially cleared of Esther's abduction, rape, and murder in 1979, he nonetheless remained the lead suspect.

Esther was last seen alive leaving her parents' Beaumont residence on Feb. 9, 1979, to walk to her sister's home.

She never made it.

According to the D.A.'s office, the following day, an anonymous man telephoned the sheriff's Banning station to report finding the body of a girl near Highway 243, just south of Poppet Flats Road, lying in the snow.

The victim was quickly identified as Esther, and it was evident she'd been the victim of a sexual assault, according to the release.

Detectives turned their attention to tracking down the caller, who, according to prosecutors, had been disagreeable during his phone tip and unwilling to share details of how he'd made the discovery or why he was out there.

Less than a week later, he was identified as Williamson. He was questioned and agreed to take a polygraph examination, which he passed, the D.A.'s office said.

"He was never cleared through DNA because the technology had not yet been developed," the agency stated.

Background information on Williamson was unavailable.

Esther is buried at the Mountain View Cemetery in Beaumont.

Anyone with information about the case, or any other cold cases, was encouraged to contact investigators at ColdCaseUnit@RivcoDA.org.