Former Marine accused of rape and murder 43 years after woman’s death
Leslie Penrod Harris and Eddie Lee Anderson are seen in photos from 1976, the year she was killed. Anderson was arrested May 24 and charged with murder with a special allegation of rape. (Courtesy of Orange County Sheriff’s Department)
Rape and murder. Two of the most horrific crimes one can commit, so it’s small wonder they stay open essentially forever. Unless the one who committed the crimes is apprehended, even if it takes decades. Or in this case four of them and change.
In most articles about crime, any prior military service regardless of when or conditions of discharge, is immediately showcased as if this had anything to do with the crime committed. This is not the case here. Anderson’s Marine service placed him near the scene and time of the crime. Modern forensics and plain hard Police work did the rest.
By Julia Sclafani
A former Marine has been charged with the rape and murder of a 30-year-old woman in Orange County 43 years after her death, authorities said Friday.Eddie Lee Anderson, 66, is charged with one count of murder with a special allegation of rape, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office. The criminal complaint was filed in Orange County Superior Court on May 24, the day Anderson was arrested at his home in River Ridge, La.
The file is under seal pending his extradition to California, the district attorney’s office said.
Anderson is in the custody of the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana and was scheduled for an extradition hearing Friday, authorities said.
Link provided by one of our serpentine ninjas. Read the rest of this tragedy here: LA Times
Category: Crime, Guest Link, Legal, Marines, Police
There was a similar case a few years back where authorities in some Southern State were investigating someone for another crime and the suspect bragged about another crime.
In the late 80’s Early 90’s He was Stationed at Camp Pendelton and Picked up a Hooker In Oceanside. He Murdered Her and dumped the body in Lake Oneal near the base hospital.
I think they may even been able to find the car he was driving back then and get evidence.
https://www.inquisitr.com/4213690/marilyn-allen-on-48-hours-ncis-prostitute-killed-by-marine-and-dumped-in-camp-pendleton-lake-oneill/
Heres the story
Wow! Similar also in the sense that he moved from California to Louisianna.
11 years seems like a short sentence.
More than likely some sort of plea deal because the DA wasn’t sure he had a slam bang case.
The Victim was a prostitute with a record of drug use and may have had a criminal record as well.
The accused could have came up with a story where he said she tried to rob him, he defended himself then panicked and dumped her body.
One of my partners once had someone confess to a murder when she was taking a recorded statement on something completely unrelated. She asked a fairly routine “Is there anything else you want to tell me?” at the end of the statement. So he told her.
That ain’t fair Mason…
Now you have to fill us in on the details !!!
Imagine his surprise when the popo knocked on the door with their warrant in hand, 43 years later. Rot in hell sh^tbag.
Peace unto Leslie P. Harris’ Soul and to her Family.
Ditto. Send some from me, too.
We will be seeing more of these “cold case finally closed” stories.
As the database of personal DNA grows in various genealogy services, and as interested persons dump money into those endeavors, the statistical tools for finding missing individuals will improve.
And all it takes now is for a couple of relatives to sign up, and the missing perp becomes findable. The biggest problem form the Hunter perspective is separate commercial entities.
As any market matures, you get to a point where there tend to be two or three big players, and small fry. The big ones eventually find profit in standards, or at least compatibility. They may choose to not go there, but the data businesses are especially prone to clever folks finding a way.
And warrants can lead to other interested parties providing the linkage.
The military DNA database is another source of traces.
Net result is that shitbag who did the unsolved horror pre-DNA gets found if he left any samples. He may be in a pine box, but at least the family gets an answer.
And it is only a matter of time before mandatory all folks sampling gets mandated in enough places where any vestige of privacy becomes moot.
The “solved” function that baits this does not outweigh “powerful folks will abuse this info like they do everything else”.
One hollyweird version of the downside is Gattaca, which I found to be creepily believable.
But I will still cheer long-overdue bagging of serial shitbags.
Does the military make it a practice to collect DNA from service members? Seems to make sense for a lot of reasons if they do.
I agree with the thought that this guy was caught through a public DNA database. The field is called Forensic Genealogy.
BTW: If anyone has taken a DNA test through a testing service, consider downloading their DNA file from their service and uploading it to genesis.gedmatch.com. Free. It is a DNA database with DNA from all of the testing services. You can remain anonymous. You may discover a family member you never knew you had. This is also a DNA database law enforcement looks at. You can opt out of police access to you DNA, however, if I have a distant cousin committing a crime- have at them- so I don’t opt out.
I had my DNA tested through Ancestory… Have had a couple thousand matches… Some of them from shared Ancestors from 1700s…
Yes the military has a DNA data base for Identification. Not sure when it was started but I got mine taken in a routine physical in 1984.
1984 seems a little early to me. Mine was taken in 1992 or 93, there was a big push then to get everyone’s DNA into the database.
1984? Pretty sure they weren’t doing it that early. At least not routinely.
I think I was sampled in ’94 or ’95. IIRC, that DNA can only be used for identification of remains. A criminal investigation would require a new sample. Not 100% sure on that.
The military ID DNA samples can be used for any purpose by whomever has access. How would this not be so? Can versus should.
They are -supposed- to be for ID only. Anyone want to bet money that they will not eventually be tapped for other purposes? I would suspect they have already had such uses, quietly.
The other uses will start with the dead. “Studies”, etc. plenty of other folks will want the data of the living, perhaps for research. It will leak. Then, privacy mooted, it will go in the hopper with everything else.
And the OPM fiasco is just one example route for spillage.
When has government data ever been free of “repurposing” and abuse? Your SSN was only for Social Security, not ID. Yet how long has it been used as such, for example stamped on our ID tags? 214s? Not for ID purposes, right!
I was the MP who discovered her body. I never thought this would be solved because there was very little evidence found at the scene. It was a welcome surprise all these years later when one of my fellow former MPs messaged me and brought this story to my attention. Hopefully this will be of some solace to the family.