The alleged killer of a California woman who was found strangled in her bedroom finally appeared in court more than three decades later.
Alfredo Hernandez, 66, is accused of killing his on-again, off-again girlfriend Terri Bistodeau, then 39, at their home in San Diego’s Emerald Hills neighborhood on Aug. 4, 1991.
Prosecutors said he was arrested 3,000 miles from the crime scene in El Salvador in 2021 after the country accepted an extradition request from the United States.
He was arraigned in a California court on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to murder.
Hernandez was linked to the murder by DNA evidence and fingerprints left at Bistodeau’s home on Geneva Avenue, according to police.
The alleged killer of Californian woman Terri Bistodeau (pictured), who was found strangled in her bedroom in 1991, has finally been arrested more than three decades later.
Alfredo Hernandez (pictured), 66, is accused of killing his on-again, off-again girlfriend Terri Bistodeau, then 39, at their home in San Diego.
BIstodeau was discovered strangled to death in her home (pictured) on Geneva Avenue in the Emerald Hills neighborhood of San Diego in August 1991. A suspect was eventually arrested.
Deputy Prosecutor Chris Lindberg said Hernandez was a suspect at the time of the murder, but there was not enough evidence to arrest him.
The case was frozen for three decades, as subsequent attempts to update the investigation in 2002 and 2006 reached a dead end.
But the use of modern DNA testing in 2019 was a breakthrough, according to the San Diego County district attorney’s office.
Lindberg said Hernandez twice admitted to killing Bistodeau when interviewed by investigators after his arrest, according to NBC San Diego.
The suspect could face up to life in state prison if convicted.
He remains held without bail following his court appearance Thursday.
BIstodeau was discovered strangled to death in her home on Geneva Avenue in the Emerald Hills neighborhood of San Diego in August 1991. A suspect has finally been arrested.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan released a statement this week regarding the long-awaited arrest.
“Terri Bistodeau’s family and friends have waited 33 years for her killer to be linked to the crime through DNA evidence and return to San Diego to finally face justice,” he said.