SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — Detectives are reopening the investigation into the decades-old unsolved killing of a teenage boy near Santa Barbara with the help of technology that didn’t exist at the time.
The body of 16-year-old Paul Ornelas was found in an unincorporated area on June 21, 1975, but an investigation over several years never led to arrests.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office says investigators will now use a tool called the ANDE Rapid DNA instrument that can process very tiny levels of biological evidence left at crime scenes.
Crime
Bakersfield man to stand trial in LA County for 1980s killings
The technology has been used in cases such as the 2019 Conception dive boat fire.
In that case, the device was used to rapidly identify the dead.
