“The abduction and murder of a child is horrific. The pain that family and friends experience is indescribable, especially when their child is not found,” O’Malley said in the release. “This crime shocked not only the local community, but the entire Gulf region and the nation.
“I hope that even after 32 years of this heinous crime, today’s action and announcement will give Michela’s family some relief knowing that she will get justice.”
Michelle was riding her scooter with a friend and went to Rainbow Grocery in Hayward to buy some snacks on the Saturday morning before Thanksgiving in 1988. The girls left their scooters outside and were moved to the back of a car from the scooters when they returned. Michela went to get him back, but was grabbed by the driver of the car and pushed into the vehicle.
Michelle has not been seen since and her remains have never been found.
Investigators found a fingerprint on Michelle’s scooter. Thirty years later, they took a look at the evidence in this case. His fingerprint examiner allegedly attached the mission’s fingerprint to the one on the scooter, according to the release.
Witnesses at the time of the abduction allegedly placed Mishch in the area.
Hayward Police Chief Tony Chaplin said Michelle’s disappearance is a tragic story that has gripped the Bay Area for more than three decades.
“As police chief, I thank the men and women of this department who handled this case and always preferred its resolution,” Chappell said during a news conference Monday. “We hope this announcement will bring Michela’s family closer to peace for many years to come.”
Chaplin said the investigation is ongoing, and they are still determined to find the baby’s remains.
“It’s bitterness,” he said. “You always hope these things move differently than they do. But for the family, I think this is a closing point for them.”
O’Malley announced at the same news conference that prosecutors were indicting two special circumstances: Michelle was killed during the abduction and Michelle was convicted of a previous murder.
According to O’Malley, Mission has been convicted of two previous crimes, a felony assault in 1982 and commercial burglary just two months before Michela’s abduction.
The mother finally gets the answers
“He’s always there. He’s a big hole in the center of my life,” Morch said of his daughter’s disappearance. “It’s impossible to get away from it.”
He started a blog on his daughter’s case and tied yellow horses to a tree outside the Corner store, where Michelle was taken.
But on Monday his worst fears were confirmed.
“Over the last year, I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that maybe Michelle is no longer alive … … the one I had no idea was my daughter as a dead child,” Murche said in a statement read by Chief Chaplin. News conference on Monday.
“I ask you please don’t forget her now. That is no longer the case, but she has always been, and she is a bright and shining light. And in her absence from this earth, she is above us. To carry on her life. Find a way. “
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