Judge Rules Sufficient Evidence For Alleged Ventura County Cold Case Serial Killer To Stand Trial

Friday October 18, 2024

(Photos courtesy Ventura County District Attorney)

     Updated--Following a three day preliminary hearing, a judge Friday ruled there is sufficient evidence for an alleged Ventura County cold case serial killer to stand trial.

     73-year-old Warren Luther Alexander has pleaded not guilty to three counts of First Degree Murder and has also denied two Special Circumstance Allegations of multiple murders.

     Prosecutors say DNA evidence allegedly links Alexander to the 1977 strangulation deaths of Kimberly Carol Fritz, Velvet Ann Sanchez, and Lorraine Ann Rodriguez.

     Fritz, 18, was murdered in Port Hueneme on May 29, 1977, Sanchez, 31, was killed in Oxnard on September 8, 1977, and Rodriguez, 21, died on December 27, 1977.

     The cold case investigation into the deaths began in 2023 and involved the Ventura County DA’s Office, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, Oxnard Police, and Port Hueneme Police.

     It led to Alexander who was found in North Carolina where he is facing prosecution for a cold case murder committed in that jurisdiction.

     He was extradited from North Carolina to Ventura County in August.

    Several witnesses testified at the preliminary hearing leading up to the judge's ruling.

     Alexander remains in the Ventura County Jail with no chance of release.

     He is due back in court on November 1st to have a trial date set.