1985 Danville Cold Case Murder: Suspect Identified

DANVILLE — For 33 years the rape and murder of 57-year-old Virginia Vincent was unsolved. Now, her killer as been positively identified through a DNA match, according to the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office. But there will be no trial — the DNA for the match was taken from a corpse buried at a cemetery in Fairfield. Joey Lynn Ford was 36 when he died in 1997, some 12 years after the killing.

Vincent's body was found in her Danville apartment on Sept. 20, 1985. Homicide Detectives pursued leads, but the case went cold. In April 2002, a DNA profile was created from evidence found at the crime scene. No match was found, and the case went cold for another 15 years.

Advances in forensic science, like the ones that led to the arrests this year of the alleged Golden State Killer and NorCal Rapist, now use "familial search" to find probable family members of the criminal. In November 2017, the Sheriff’s Office submitted a request to the California Bureau of Forensic Services (BFS) to conduct a familial search using DNA recovered at the scene.

In June 2018, a possible match was given to Homicide Detectives. They identified Ford as the likely suspect in the killing of Vincent and got an order to exhume his body. A DNA sample extracted from him matched that found at the crime scene, the Sheriff's Office reports.

"The Sheriff's Office and all of the law enforcement agencies involved were relentless in their handling of this case, they are the true heroes," said Marianna Wickman, daughter of victim Virginia Vincent. "So many were instrumental in getting us our closure and were sensitive to our needs. I am so very grateful."

Records show that Ford was arrested for DUI in Danville the day before the killing, just a short distance from the crime scene. He was working as a plumber at the time, while Vincent was a real estate agent. Investigators believe this is the likely connection between them, but that remains unclear.

"Because the suspect Joey Ford is deceased, there will be no prosecution in this case," said Contra Costa County Sheriff David Livingston. "However, we hope that the identification of the suspect in the killing of Virginia Vincent brings her family and the community some closure in this painful case."

The Sheriff’s Office also publicly thanked Rick Jackson, a retired LAPD homicide detective who now lives in the Bay Area, and worked on this case.

(Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news from your California neighborhood. Also, download the free Patch iPhone app or free Patch Android app. Also, be sure to follow your local Patch on Facebook!)

Also See:

• 2018 Nobel Prize For Medicine: Former UC Berkeley Researcher
• Coast Guard Rescues Man From Fishing Boat Off Golden Gate (Video)
• List Of All ‘Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives’ Restaurants In Northern California
• The 100 Best Places To Live In California Ranked 2018

-Image via Shutterstock