A Santa Clara man has been charged with the murder of someone he may have known – almost 40 years after the crime occurred.
Joseph Anthony Abeyta faces 25 to life if convicted of killing Jesus Ibarra of San Jose.
“That’s one of the challenges in a cold case, but we’re happy and eager to overcome those challenges and obtain justice for the victim’s family,” Santa Clara Co. Deputy District Attorney Michael Gilman said. “They were present here in court today and they just want justice.”
It has been 37 years since Ibarra’s death.
Police did not identify a suspect then.
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But DNA evidence tested this year just linked Santa Clara native Joseph Anthony Abeyta to the crime.
Abeyta is already in jail for gun possession and identity theft, but is now charged with murder and faces 25 years to life in prison.
“His DNA was collected as part of his arrest in that existing case,” Gilman said. “We had the CODIS hit, CODIS is the database for the DNA, then we went ahead and did a confirmation to confirm his DNA that we collected upon his arrest for his other case and confirmed it was a match.”