Her murder went unsolved for 30 years. The suspect vanished under a new alias until now

Three Decades Later: Cold Case Breakthrough Leads to Arrest of Man Who Vanished Under Fake Identity

Sandego.net – For over thirty years, the identity of Cindy Wanner’s killer remained an enigma that haunted both her grieving family and the investigators tasked with solving her tragic disappearance. The 35-year-old mother of two had been visiting her sister’s residence in Granite Bay, a Sacramento suburb, when she suddenly vanished in 1991. What made the case particularly heartbreaking was that she left behind nearly everything—her belongings, her purse, and most devastatingly, her infant child who was still strapped into a high chair, crying for a mother who would not return.

When Wanner’s husband arrived at the home that fateful day, he discovered his 11-month-old baby alone and distressed. An exhaustive search operation commenced immediately, lasting three weeks before Wanner’s remains were discovered in a secluded location approximately 40 miles from her sister’s house. According to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, an autopsy revealed that strangulation was the cause of her death, though the circumstances surrounding her murder remained unclear for decades.

Advancing Technology Brings New Hope

Law enforcement agencies persisted in examining evidence throughout the years, but conventional testing methods yielded inconclusive results. The breakthrough finally arrived with the advent of advanced DNA analysis technology. Detectives recently submitted what they described as the “final piece of evidence” from Wanner’s case to a neighboring sheriff’s office forensics laboratory. This submission produced a crucial match, identifying 64-year-old James Lawhead Jr. as the prime suspect in the decades-old murder.

While the DNA evidence successfully pointed investigators toward Lawhead, locating him proved to be an extraordinary challenge. Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo explained the situation during a late April news conference: “Oh my gosh, what did we do?” The sheriff noted that Lawhead seemed to have simply vanished from public records since 2005. “We explored all possibilities on what could have happened, whether he was still living under a fake identity, whether he had left the country, or whether he was even deceased,” Woo said, emphasizing that investigators examined records in both the United States and Canada.

Facial Recognition Solves the Mystery

When traditional methods failed, detectives turned to other agencies for assistance. The Scottsdale Police Department utilized the Arizona Department of Transportation’s facial recognition system to locate the elusive suspect. This technology, typically employed to detect fraudulent driver’s licenses and state identification cards, as well as suspected cases of identity theft, proved instrumental in finding Lawhead. The system identified a match, revealing that Lawhead was living under an assumed name in Arizona.

In Arizona, Lawhead was not known by his birth name. According to the sheriff’s office, he had been going by the name Vincent Reynolds while residing in Bullhead City, a community situated near the Nevada border and roughly 600 miles from Placer County. On April 24, investigators arrested Lawhead on the driveway of his residence in Bullhead City.

Justice Served After Decades

Following the arrest, investigators conducted a thorough search of Lawhead’s home. They discovered loaded firearms, a bag containing $15,000 in cash, and a burner phone. Court records and a joint news release from the Placer County District Attorney’s Office and Placer County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Lawhead pleaded guilty to murder with special circumstances including kidnapping and rape. On July 14, a judge sentenced him to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire issued a statement following the arrest: “This arrest is a powerful reminder that time does not erase responsibility, and it does not diminish our commitment.” Lawhead’s neighbors in Bullhead City expressed shock upon learning that the man had been living among them for years without detection.

Investigators subsequently discovered that the home Lawhead occupied was actually owned by his sister, Terry Lawhead Steele, age 71. Steele had previously informed authorities that she had not heard from her brother in over two decades. Despite this claim, evidence found during a search warrant on her San Clemente, California, residence revealed that she had maintained contact with Lawhead throughout the years and owned the property where he resided.

Steele was arrested in South Carolina on an accessory charge. She pleaded no contest in June and was sentenced on July 14 to time served with two years of probation, according to court records. The sheriff’s office concluded: “These arrests represent a significant step toward justice for Cindy and for the family who has waited decades for answers.”