Man suspected of ’84 murder may be extradited

A suspect in a 24-year-old Huntington Beach murder case may be extradited to the United States to face trial.

A Superior Court judge in Ontario, Canada, ruled that there is enough evidence to extradite Canadian citizen Gerald Su Go, 52, to stand trial for the slaying of Huntington Beach resident Elizabeth Hoffschneider.

Go has 30 days to appeal the ruling before a final decision is made by the Canadian Ministry of Justice.

Go faces a murder charge in Orange County Superior Court. Hoffschneider’s body was found stabbed, beaten, strangled and sexually assaulted in her apartment on Parkside Lane in 1984. While the case went cold initially, Huntington Beach Det. Mike Reilly, who saw the scene of the crime at the beginning of his career, reopened the case in 2004. Some of the evidence submitted to the Orange County Sheriff’s crime lab for analysis turned up a genetic match to Go, who had not been a suspect in the original investigation.

Go served a prison term for a 1986 assault and attempted rape in Costa Mesa, and he was required to give a DNA sample as a condition of his parole last year. By the time Go’s sample was matched to three hairs found at the crime scene, Go had already been deported to Canada.

Go was arrested in Canada by a team of Canadian and Huntington Beach law enforcement officers last October.

The extradition process could still take more than a year if Go appeals, Orange County authorities said.

— Michael Alexander