On March 6, 1980, siblings Beverly Cruse, 25, and her sister Debra Cruse, 22, were found shot to death in an apartment on Overland Avenue in the Palms neighborhood of Los Angeles. Their brother discovered the bodies after he became concerned when he hadn’t heard from them. Both women had been shot in the head three times. Beverly worked at the University of Southern California and was a part-time student; Debra was a receptionist at a local radio station.

The murders remained unsolved for more than four decades until DNA evidence linked a suspect in 2022. Authorities arrested 76-year-old Billy Ray Richardson in Fort Worth, Texas, and charged him with four counts of first-degree murder, including Beverly and Debra’s killings; the charges alleged all four victims had been raped and included special circumstances. Richardson was extradited to Los Angeles and made his first court appearance in October 2022; he died in custody in February 2023 and the case against him was later dismissed.