Arrests Made in 5-Year-Old Peninsula Murder

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA – Two Southern California man have been arrested in connection with the murder of a 71-year-old man found dead in Foster City in 2011, police said this week.

Foster City Police officers responded to a report of an apparently dead man inside a residence in the 600 block of Waterbury Lane around 3:10 p.m., Dec. 16, 2011. The victim was identified as Klaus Gachter.

David Mitchell, 28, from Fontana, and 61-year-old Willie Gary Venable from San Bernardino were arrested Tuesday on suspicion of killing Gachter.

"This case has been actively investigated since 2011," Foster City Police Capt. Tracy Avelar said in a news release. "Foster City detectives relentlessly followed up on every lead and through a long complex investigation, the two suspects were identified."

Investigators at the time believed that the murder was not a random act of violence, and police say Mitchell and Venable were acquainted with Gachter.

However, police said they decline to provide more details about the case or how the men were connected to the crime "... so as not to jeopardize its investigation and ultimate prosecution of the person or persons responsible for this murder."

Personnel from the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department also participated in the investigation, according to police.

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--Renee Schiavone and Bay City News contributed to this report/File photo