Cold Case Murder Suspect Is First OC Inmate To Die Of Coronavirus

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — A former Marine arrested in the brutal death of a woman 44 years ago has died of coronavirus while incarcerated, officials said. He is the first Orange County Jail inmate to die as a result of COVID-19.

Eddie Lee Anderson, 68, of River Ridge, Louisiana, first tested positive while being housed at the Theo Lacy branch jail last week. He is one of the hundreds infected during an outbreak in Orange County's lockups. He was taken to an area hospital Sunday and pronounced dead due to COVID-19 complications at 5 a.m. Friday, according to Carrie Braun of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Anderson was last in court for a pretrial hearing Nov. 6 at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach. He was charged with the May 18, 1976, murder of Leslie Penrod Harris, who was raped and strangled.

Since the pandemic, 1,260 Orange County jail inmates have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Anderson was brought to Orange County from Louisiana in July 2019 on rape and murder allegations after authorities said they identified him through DNA technology.

Anderson was accused in the murder of Harris, 30, who was found on what was then the Marine Corps Station El Toro. Harris was located after going missing the night before in Costa Mesa, Braun said at the time of his arrest.

Anderson served at El Toro base in the early 1970s. According to Braun, he lived less than a mile from the restaurant where Harris was last seen.

It wasn't until 2019 that science caught up with the evidence, and Anderson was identified as the primary suspect, according to authorities.

Authorities did not say what prior relationship, if any, Anderson had with the victim.