FORT WORTH, Texas — A Fort Worth man was arrested in connection to cold case homicides that happened in the Los Angeles area dating back to the 1980s, police confirmed to WFAA on Friday.
The Fort Worth Police Department said its operations and surveillance team assisted Los Angeles police in the arrest of Billy Ray Richardson. Fort Worth police said any information relating to the cases would be released by Los Angeles authorities.
The Los Angeles Times, which initially broke the story, reported that police connected Richardson to four cold-case homicides: the 1980 killings of Beverly Cruse, Debra Cruse and Kari Lenander in Los Angeles, and the 1995 slaying of Trina Wilson in Inglewood.
Richardson was booked into the Tarrant County Jail. He is pending extradition to Los Angeles, according to the LA Times.
The LA Times reported in 1980 that Beverly and Debra Cruse were found dead by their brother, James, in the bedroom of Beverly’s apartment in Palms. He hadn't heard from his sisters in several days and went to check on them.
Kari Lenander, who was 15 years old at the time, was found raped and strangled, her body dumped in a gutter in South L.A. nearly five months later in July, according to a LAPD bulletin.
Information regarding the death of Trina Wilson were not immediately available.
To read more background on the homicides, visit the LA Times here.
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