MURDER
CASE #: 1985-15
Helen Brooks
Status:
Solved
Date of Offense:
Date of Offense:
Jurisdiction:
Offense Location:
Apple Valley CA
Case Disposition:
Posted 3:04 PM, Jan 25, 2022 SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say a convicted rapist who died in prison has been identified as the suspect in the 1985 killing of a Southern California woman. Helen Brooks was found dead at her apartment in the Mojave Desert town of Apple Valley after friends said they hadn’t heard from her in days. San Bernardino County sheriff’s investigators learned that 37-year-old Robert Eugene Wortman met Brooks in the days before her murder and had been to her home. But they couldn't prove he killed her. The cold case was reopened last year and through DNA technology investigators identified Wortman as the suspect. He died in 1995.
Summary:
Helen was found deceased inside her Apple Valley apartment. (H#1985-068)
Vital Statistics
Circumstances of Offense:
San Bernardino County sheriff’s investigators learned that 37-year-old Robert Eugene Wortman met Brooks in the days before her murder and had been to her home, the sheriff’s department said in a statement. friends and co-workers became alarmed because she had not been heard from in a few days. Investigators collected DNA evidence from the scene but were limited to the DNA technology of the time and did not identify a suspect.
Additional Details:
ANYONE WITH INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Sheriff Homicide Detail (909) 387-3589 or WE TIP 1-800-78-CRIME
Case Last Updated:
Associated Persons
Robert W. (Suspect) - Living
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