Crime & Safety
Arrests Made in Years-Old Peninsula Murder, Police Say
Nearly five years after Klaus Gachter was murdered, police say they've found his killers.
FOSTER CITY, CA – Two Southern California men are now in custody in connection to the 2011 death of a Foster City man, police announced this week.
According to Foster City Police Capt. Tracy Avelar, 28-year-old David Mitchel of Fontana and 61-year-old Gary Venable of San Bernardino were arrested Tuesday for the murder of Klaus Gachter, who was found dead inside a Foster City home on Dec. 16, 2011. He was 71.
"This case has been actively investigated since 2011," the captain 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."
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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 declined 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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– Bay City News Service contributed to this report / Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone.
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