More than two decades after a hiker discovered the body of 18-year-old Reynaldo Burts in the Idyllwild Hills, Riverside County investigators have arrested a suspect in connection with the killing.
On March 21, 2004, a hiker called sheriff’s dispatch around 2:18 p.m. after finding human remains near Southfork Trail and Highway 74 in Idyllwild, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies from the Hemet Sheriff’s Station responded and located the victim, who showed signs of trauma. The Sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit took over the case, and Burts, a Hemet resident, was later identified as the victim.
The investigation stretched on for years. Detectives eventually identified James Landi, now 43 and living in San Mateo, as a person of interest, but authorities said they did not have enough evidence at the time to make an arrest, and the case went cold.
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In August 2025, as part of a renewed effort to review stalled homicide investigations, the Central Homicide Unit revisited the case and identified new investigative leads, according to the Sheriff’s Office…