Cold Case Homicide Division
Time is the enemy in any homicide investigation. The suspect has the lead and in some cold cases that lead can be measured in years, even decades. Closing in on murder suspects and solving cold cases not only delivers long-awaited justice, but also brings a measure of closure to families whose lives have been shattered by tragedy.
The Cold Case Homicide Division has closed the file on more than 14 unsolved murders since it was established in 2003. During 2008, the division had a 100 percent conviction rate.
The Cold Case Homicide Division exists to promote public safety by working
cooperatively with local law enforcement to resolve unsolved homicides
within San Diego County. The division continues to maintain close working
relationships with law enforcement agencies throughout San Diego County,
including police laboratory criminalists. These relationships are key to
solving and successfully prosecuting cases where the trail has gone cold
for years.
In 2008, the Deputy District Attorney Brock Arstill closed the first case submitted by Escondido Police Department’s newly-formed Cold Case Team. The case, more than 30 years old, is one of the oldest handled so far by the division. The victim, Liborio Landin-Vallin, was found May 1, 1977, at a construction site in the 600 block of Falconer Drive. It took police a month to identify Landin-Vallin, who officials said died from blunt force trauma to the head.
In 2007, when Escondido Police Department’s Cold Case Homicide Team re-examined the case, they discovered that a partial bloody fingerprint depicted in a photograph of the crime scene matched a fingerprint belonging to Michael Keith Moon. At the time of his arrest in December 2007, Moon was on lifelong parole for the 1978 murder of a Reno woman. He also had a 1991 conviction for attempted murder in Illinois. Moon was sentenced to serve five years-to-life after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Mr. Landin-Vallin.
In 2008, the Deputy District Attorney Jill Schall successfully prosecuted People v. Hughes and Reynolds. 0n March 27, 1994, the victim, Robert Steward, a sailor in the Navy, had a date with Reynolds. Two days later, the victim was reported missing, and his bloody and dirty car was found in a carport near Reynolds' apartment. Several days later, Reynolds was contacted by police and told a story of two unknown masked men jumping out of her closet, attacking the victim, duct taping and taking him away in the victim's car.
Reynolds admitted there was no forced entry, admitted not contacting police and admitted cleaning up the crime scene. In 2007, Reynolds told a new story of Hughes attacking the victim and chasing him from her apartment. When confronted with the inconsistency with her prior story and the physical evidence in the bedroom, Reynolds claimed Hughes attacked the victim in her bedroom, duct taped the victim with her duct tape and took the victim from her apartment. Reynolds then cleaned up the crime scene. Both defendant Reynolds and Hughes pled guilty and were sentenced to lengthy prison terms for the killing of Mr. Steward.
