(RepublicanPress.org) – The groundbreaking use of DNA evidence to solve crimes has led to the release of innocent people for decades. The first DNA-based exoneration took place in 1989. The Innocent Project reported that the method has led to the release of 375 people in 37 states so far. California officials recently solved a cold case using this emerging technology.
On Friday, August 13, the Mono County Sheriff’s Office announced it closed a murder case dating back to May 2003. That’s when police found a 30- to 40-year-old woman’s remains in a shallow grave near a state park near Mammoth Lakes.
For Immediate Release – In May 2003, unidentified human remains were found buried in a shallow grave near Shady Rest Park in Mammoth Lakes, CA.
For the complete press release visit: https://t.co/NzDM8BxbrN pic.twitter.com/aMm5X4M2lw— Mono Sheriff (@MonoSheriff) August 13, 2021
Investigators recently used DNA to identify the remains as those of Isabel Sanchez Bernal, 30, from Puebla, Mexico. Detectives began looking into the case again after confirming her identity. On August 13, they arrested Diego Santiago Hernandez-Antonia for her murder. Investigators didn’t say what evidence led them to arrest the man for the murder.
Officials are holding Hernandez-Antonia at the Mono County jail on a $2 million-bail warrant for Bernal’s murder pending further legal proceedings.
The Mono County District Attorney’s Office asks anyone with information regarding Bernal to contact District Attorney Investigator John Estridge at 1-760-546-5129 or Chief Investigator Chris Callinan at 1-760-858-2127.
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