On June 15, detectives assigned to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division (RHD), Cold Case Special Section, filed murder charges against Luis Garcia Villalvazo, for the 1983 murder of 8-year-old Victoria Denise Brown.

On March 9, 1983, 8-year-old Victoria Brown finished school for the day and began her walk home. Witnesses, who knew her from the neighborhood, observed her pass a parked blue van with no passenger windows.

The driver of the van had previously exited the vehicle and walked to the curb as if waiting for someone.

From across the street, Victoria was observed passing the van but turning back, as if the driver had called out to her.  Shortly after, the van was seen speeding away from the neighborhood.

When Victoria did not arrive home, her mother notified the school and the police.  Victoria’s body was found about 24 hours later, left in an abandoned car, 16 miles from where she had been taken.

DNA processing and analysis was a key element in this investigation.  In November 2009, RHD, Cold Case Special Section, Homicide Unit detectives, reviewed Victoria Brown’s murder file and discovered a DNA profile that was not previously sufficient for entry into the national DNA database.  Advancements in software for the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) now allowed the DNA profile to be entered into CODIS resulting in a match to the DNA  profile of Victoria’s murderer, Garcia Villalvazo.

Luis Garcia Villalvazo, a Mexican citizen, is currently serving a 92-year prison sentence for the murder of a 7-year-old girl in Juarez, Mexico.  He was also convicted for the sexual assaults of three other young girls in that same city.

These crimes all took place within a 9-month period beginning in September 2004, ending with the murder of 7-year-old Airis Estrella Pando in May of 2005.

The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, will file a request for extradition under the treaty that exists between the United States and Mexico.

Anyone with information or inquiries about Villalvazocan contact Robbery Homicide Division, Cold Case Special Section, at (213)486-6810.