CASTROVILLE, Calif. - A murder mystery reaches its 22nd anniversary. Investigators say they know who killed a 14 year old girl on this day in 1990. But they're not even close to finding him and their chances are 50/50 at best.
It's a painful visit John Pina makes every February 8 to this King City cemetery to remember his daughter Christy. Her smile as big as her dreams, but that disappeared.
"She died a very brutal murder," says Pina. "It was brutal."
Police found her body in these artichoke fields in Castroville in 1990. Investigators said the 14-year-old was raped, stabbed and killed.
"That's what bothers me the most is what happened to her. I just imagine," says Pina. "Knowing that he's out there makes it worse."
Deputies say Arsenio Levya killed Christy, but they can't find him.
"There's people out there that know exactly where he's at," says Sgt. Terry Kaiser. "They aren't stepping forward to help us out."
It's a story all too familiar in Monterey County, a county with the highest homicide rate per capita in the state.
"It's not just this homicide it's every homicide," says Sgt. Kaiser. "We probably have a 50 percent solve rate. Because the majority, a lot of them are gang involved. People just don't want to come forward."
Last year, in Monterey County, there were 12 homicide cases. Of those 12, four cases have suspects in custody. The other eight, no one's been caught.
"It's terrible," says Pina. "I stop and think of the parents who have lost their kids."
Meanwhile, Pina holds onto the memories of Christy, many kept in this binder titled "Christy's papers," memories he holds close to his heart.
"It's been 22 years," says Pina. "It's time. She needs to be put to the rest."
The Monterey County Sheriff's Office said a lot of suspects escape to Mexico. Investigators said there are 42 arrest warrants for suspects they believe are south of the border.
Submitted by Azenith Smith, Central Coast News
