Brother Sentenced In OC Cold Case Rapes After DNA Led To Twin Suspects

MISSION VIEJO, CA — A man was sentenced to 140 years to life in state prison for the decades-old kidnapping and rape of a 9-year-old Lake Forest girl and rape of a female jogger in Mission Viejo, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said.

According to Spitzer, the man — 58-year-old Kevin Michael Konther of Highland — tried to blame the crimes on his identical twin brother, along with the molestation of a former girlfriend's daughter.

Konther was convicted by a jury last February of two felony counts of forcible rape, two felony counts of forcible oral copulation, one felony count of forcible lewd act upon a child and one felony count of a lewd and lascivious act with a minor, for sexual assaults against three victims.

The jury also confirmed allegations that Konther kidnapped both rape victims and committed each of the charged offenses against multiple victims.

According to Spitzer, Konther and his twin brother were arrested in Jan. 2019 and connected to the crimes through DNA testing.

"It was dark. She was alone and she was almost home," Deputy District Attorney Juliet Oliver said of the 9-year-old girl as she returned from a walk to Sav-On, where she bought a notepad and mechanical pencils, on Oct. 21, 1995.

The girl was grabbed at about 6:40 p.m. after she had convinced her mother to let her go to the drug store to buy a magazine, Oliver said. She was dragged into a wooded area in Serrano Creek Park in Lake Forest.

According to prosecutors, Konther told the girl not to scream and said that he had a knife.

"Despite the victim pleading with Konther not to hurt her and that she was only 9-years-old, he forced her to orally copulate him and then raped her," Spitzer said in a statement. "With only her notebooks and pencils she had just bought covering her body, the girl ran home naked and told her mom about the rape."

In addition, Konther was convicted of raping a 32-year-old woman who was jogging on a trail in Mission Viejo on June 2, 1998.

According to Spitzer, Konther was naked — except for wearing a pair of shoes — when he jumped out of the bushes and grabbed the woman, covering her mouth and telling her not to scream.

The woman was also dragged down an embankment where Konther removed her clothing and raped her.

While the case was left cold for several years, in 2018, Orange County Sheriff's Department investigators started using investigative genetic genealogy to develop leads on the suspect. During the investigations, accusations that the daughter of a former girlfriend had been molested by Konther were revealed.

Konther was charged with the two rapes and with molesting his ex-girlfriend's daughter while the girl pretended to be asleep.

Conversations that were covertly recorded between Konther and his twin brother following their arrested disclosed incriminating statements the defendant made while his brother was shocked by the arrest.

"Only a monster jumps out of the bushes to rape an innocent little girl and then forces her to walk home naked, while desperately trying to cover herself with anything she can until she can get home to the safety of her mother's arms," Spitzer said. "But raping and humiliating a little girl wasn't enough for him. When he didn't get caught he hid in the bushes, stalking his next prey — an unsuspecting jogger who he pulled into the brush and raped."

"The relentless pursuit of justice by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office has ensured that another monster who preys on young girls and young women will never be free to jump out of the bushes again.”