SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Northern California authorities said Thursday that a suspect in a 1974 ritualistic church murder apparently killed himself when detectives with a search warrant knocked on his door.
Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith said a recent DNA test linked the man to the murder and sexual assault of 19-year-old Arlis Perry, the Mercury News of San Jose reported Thursday. Perry’s body was found inside Stanford University’s chapel with an icepick in the back of the head.
She was also naked below the waist with altar candles on her torso and inside her body.
Smith declined to identify the suspect. Detectives had contacted the suspect in recent weeks, she said.
The San Jose Police Department, which helped with the search warrant Thursday, said that detectives talked to the suspect through a closed door. When they gained entry to the apartment, officers said they saw a man with a gun and retreated outside.
A short time later, police heard a gunshot inside and found the suspect’s body, police spokesman Enrique Garcia said.
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