On February 13, James Oliver Unick, now 64, was found guilty of the 1982 rape and murder of 13-year-old Sarah Geer in Cloverdale, California. The conviction came after police were able to match Unick's DNA, obtained from a discarded cigarette, to evidence from the case. It represents a significant breakthrough in a case that had remained unsolved for over four decades.

Sarah Geer disappeared on May 23, 1982, while walking towards the town center. Her body was discovered the following morning by a firefighter, raising questions about the circumstances of her abduction and murder. During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Unick had attacked Geer near an alley, sexually assaulted her, and ultimately killed her by strangling her with her own shorts. The justice served in this case underscores the advancements in forensic technology that can now link suspects to crimes many years later.

The long gap between the crime and the conviction illustrates both the challenges and potential of modern forensic science. Initially, investigations were hampered by the limitations of forensic technology at the time of the crime, which made it difficult to collect and analyze biological samples. However, by creating a DNA profile from the cigarette found at the crime scene in 2003, law enforcement could finally close a case that had lingered in the unsolved files for decades, raising awareness about cold cases and the effectiveness of modern investigative methods, particularly in cases of violent crime against women.