How a trio of amateur sleuths tried to solve a classmate’s killing

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Wednesday, June 14. I’m Laura J. Nelson, an investigative and enterprise reporter in the California section.

Nearly four years ago, Rose Morales, 68, and Cheryl Sanchez Simmons, 66, learned that a girl their age had been strangled in their hometown when they were young.

Jan Marsh, 14, was killed in the fall of 1969. Her body was discovered by a group of teenagers walking to class in Lynwood, a sleepy suburb in southeast Los Angeles County. Her killer was never found.

Cheryl and Rose had fond memories from their childhoods in Lynwood and their time at Lynwood High School. They were moved by Jan’s story and outraged by the injustice of her death. As they saw it, her killer had robbed her of graduating and building a fulfilling adult life.

The women decided to solve Jan’s cold case themselves. They delved into news stories and police reports from 1969 and 1970 and compiled their own list of potential suspects.

When they struggled to get buy-in from the cold-case unit at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which has a handful of homicide investigators to look into thousands of unsolved cases that date back decades, the women reached out to The Times.

We met over Zoom at first, then over margaritas. Cheryl, Rose and fellow Lynwood alumna Tina McKillip gave me a folder bulging with their research, including Jan’s autopsy report, the police reports they’d been able to find, and a 13-page chart that listed every person linked to Jan around the time of her death.

They also shared photos of Jan’s locker at Lynwood High, fresh flowers on her grave in Santa Fe Springs and a pair of jeans covered in doodles in blue and black ink. Jan began to feel real to me, much more than a black-and-white photo of a shy girl in a cardigan sweater.

The Lynwood women’s quest for justice had many elements that I look for in a good story: a years-old mystery, a group of unlikely underdogs who become friends, and the determination to find justice for someone who couldn’t speak for herself.

They hit many dead ends. But they kept pushing, convinced that someone, somewhere, must know something. When you get old, they told me, you want to confess the sins of your youth.

“Jan was a Lynwood girl,” Cheryl told me. “And Lynwood girls look out for each other.”

[Read the story: “50 years after a classmate’s slaying, three amateur sleuths set out to find her killer”]

And now, here’s what’s happening across California:

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POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Pay-to-play charges at City Hall: South Los Angeles Councilman Curren Price has been charged with five counts of embezzlement, three counts of perjury and two counts of conflict of interest. The L.A. County district attorney’s office has accused Price having a financial interest in development projects that he voted on as a member of the City Council, and of receiving tens of thousands of dollars in medical benefits from the city for his now-wife while he was married to another woman. A Price spokeswoman said he “looks forward to defending himself once he’s had an opportunity to address these charges.” Los Angeles Times

The news will shake up City Hall. Price, whose district includes several South L.A. neighborhoods and the area around downtown’s convention center, said that he would step down from all committee assignments and as president pro tempore of the City Council. During a decade on the City Council, Price built a reputation as an advocate for low-wage earners and forged relationships with the council’s younger, progressive wing. Los Angeles Times

What does Price’s indictment mean for Black political power in L.A.? “Absolutely everything,” writes columnist Erika D. Smith. “And absolutely nothing. It is up to us to decide.” Price’s indictment comes on the heels of the conviction of Mark Ridley-Thomas, one of the best-known Black politicians in Los Angeles and a longtime member of the Los Angeles City Council and county Board of Supervisors. Los Angeles Times

Times reporting in 2019 showed that Price repeatedly cast votes that affected housing developers and other firms listed as clients of the consulting company owned by his wife, Del Richardson. The district attorney’s office alleges that Richardson received “payments totaling more than $150,000 between 2019 and 2021 from developers before he voted to approve projects.” Los Angeles Times

CRIME, COURTS AND POLICING

California handgun sales soared 66% during the pandemic. And in the Bay Area, Napa County had the highest percentage increase. Research suggests that men, Republicans and young people were all more likely to have bought a gun during the pandemic, but Napa is among the bluest counties in California and isn’t all that young. San Francisco Chronicle

Catalytic converters: The Los Angeles Police Department is investing in technology that will engrave identification numbers and the phrase “Marked by LAPD” onto the anti-emission devices as thefts continue to soar. Vehicles in California are required to have catalytic converters to pass the state’s stringent emission standards and replacing the stolen parts can cost hundreds of dollars and take weeks or months. Los Angeles Times

HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT

The battle for Oak Flat: Native American opposition to a planned copper mine in the desert outside Phoenix is testing the U.S.’s appetite for religious liberty in the face of the global demand for natural resources. Los Angeles Times

Should NorCal get a wildlife crossing? Caltrans is building a wildlife bridge in Agoura Hills that is designed to help the region’s endangered mountain lion population and other native animals cross the deadly barrier of the 101 Freeway. A similar plan is under discussion in the Santa Cruz Mountains at Rocks Ranch, a 2,600-acre property near San Juan Bautista. Santa Cruz Sentinel

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Think “gay Republican” is a contradiction? Think again, writes columnist Mark Z. Barabak in his profile of Charles Moran, the San Pedro-based president of the Log Cabin Republicans, an organization that advocates for LGBTQ+ rights from within the GOP. Los Angeles Times

Disneyland deals: Cheaper tickets will be available in August to celebrate the theme park’s 100th anniversary — although, at $104 per ticket, cheap is a relative term. Los Angeles Times

Would you move to Indiana? Dozens of counties and cities in the Hoosier State are practically stepping over one another to attract remote workers from places such as Los Angeles and New York. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

It’s been a brutal month for journalism in Los Angeles. Southern California Public Radio, which operates LAist and the 89.3 FM radio station formerly known as KPCC, said Tuesday that 21 people would be laid off. The cut, which amounts to more than 10% of the staff, follows layoffs announced at The Times last week and the Monday closure of dot.LA, a publication covering the L.A. tech industry. Los Angeles Times

Introducing The Times’ 2023 restaurant of the year: The seafood-focused menu at Holbox, in the Mercado la Paloma in Historic South-Central, “honors the source of inspiration but also conveys something essential about the pluralism of Los Angeles.” Los Angeles Times

AND FINALLY

Today’s California landmark comes from Jo Green of Palmdale: Barrel Springs Trail.

The view from Barrel Springs Trail in Palmdale.

(Jo Green)

Jo writes:

What are California’s essential landmarks? Fill out this form to send us your photos of a special spot in California — natural or human-made. Tell us why it’s interesting and what makes it a symbol of life in the Golden State. Please be sure to include only photos taken directly by you. Your submission could be featured in a future edition of the newsletter.

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