Arraignment Delayed For Man Accused Of Killing Woman In Carlsbad

CARLSBAD, CA — A 54-year-old Poway man arrested last week on suspicion of killing a young woman in Carlsbad 33 years ago was slated to be arraigned Wednesday on a murder charge, but medical issues prevented him from making his initial court appearance.

James Charles Kingery is accused of the sexual assault and murder of 26-year-old Julia Hernandez-Santiago, whose body was found on Oct. 10, 1987, on an ivy-covered embankment in the 2100 block of Alga Road.

The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office determined the cause of death was asphyxiation due to strangulation.

"Investigators were able to recover several pieces of key evidence at the time; however, a suspect was never identified," Carlsbad police spokesman Jodee Reyes said.

Over the next three decades, detectives continued to follow leads and technology eventually helped reveal new investigative angles to probe.

In March, San Diego County sheriff's deputies arrested a man on narcotics and weapons violations and took a DNA sample, as required by law based on his alleged offenses, Reyes said. Then in May, the sheriff's crime lab notified Carlsbad police that the DNA samples from the 1987 murder case were a match for Kingery, who was arrested July 22.

A motive for the killing has not been disclosed.

Kingery was booked into the San Diego Central jail and was being held without bail.

A San Diego Superior Court spokeswoman said Kingery is hospitalized for undisclosed reasons and his arraignment has been reset to Friday.

— City News Service