Crime & Safety
DNA Solves 1991 Cold Case Murder
Investigators in Seaside say the suspect had not previously been linked to the crime.
SEASIDE, CA — DNA testing has solved the 1991 murder of Vicki Johnson, a 34-year-old mother of three, Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni and Seaside Police Department Chief Nicholas Borges announced Monday.
The suspect, Frank McClure, died in 2021 at the age of 77, so no criminal charges will be filed.
Johnson's body was found in the early morning hours of January 3, 1991 in Seaside. She had been strangled, asphyxiated and set on fire. Physical evidence showed signs of a struggle, prosecutors said.
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The murder went unsolved for more than 32 years. The initial investigation did not result in any arrests, as no eyewitnesses could be found and no suspects emerged.
The Monterey County District Attorney's Office Cold Case Task Force, which was founded in 2020 to investigate, solve and prosecute Monterey County cold-case homicides, reopened Johnson's case in 2021 alongside the Seaside Police Department.
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Evidence was submitted for DNA testing, and this month, criminalists with the California Department of Justice Crime Laboratory matched DNA taken from beneath Johnson's fingernails to McClure.
McClure was 46 at the time of Johnson's murder. He had not been a suspect in the original investigation and his motive is unknown.
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