Banning, California: A 45-year-old cold case involving the brutal rape and murder of 17-year-old Esther Gonzalez has finally been solved, offering long-awaited closure to her grieving family. Gonzalez went missing on February 9, 1979, while walking to her sister’s home in Banning, California. The next day, her body was found in a snowbank near a Riverside County highway.
Authorities determined she had been sexually assaulted and bludgeoned to death, but despite decades of investigation, the case remained unsolved.
Recent advancements in DNA technology led to the identification of her killer, Lewis Randolph “Randy” Williamson, a US Marine Corps veteran who died in 2014. Williamson had initially reported discovering Gonzalez’s body but claimed he couldn’t identify whether it was male or female. At the time, he passed a polygraph test and was cleared of suspicion in an era before DNA analysis was available.
Investigators preserved a semen sample recovered from Gonzalez’s body in 1979, which remained unmatched in the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) for decades. In 2023, the Riverside County cold case homicide team collaborated with a Texas-based genetic lab specializing in forensic genealogy. A blood sample from Williamson’s 2014 autopsy provided the match needed to confirm him as the perpetrator.
For Gonzalez’s family, the resolution brought mixed emotions. “We are very happy that we finally have closure,” said her sister, Elizabeth Gonzalez, 64, in an interview. However, sadness lingers, as Williamson passed away in Florida nearly a decade ago and will not face justice.
Esther Gonzalez, remembered as a shy yet funny and kind-hearted teenager, was the fourth of seven children. Her oldest brother, Eddie Gonzalez, expressed gratitude to the investigators, stating, “The Gonzalez family would like to thank the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department on a job well done. After 40 years, the Gonzalez family has closure.”
The resolution of this case underscores the transformative role of forensic technology in solving decades-old crimes, ensuring that victims and their families are not forgotten
