Man arrested in ‘one of most heinous, notorious cold cases’ more than 30 years after mother’s murder

A 64-year-old man was arrested last week in connection to a decades-old murder investigation that had long haunted the affluent suburb of Sacramento where it occurred. On 25 November 1991, Cindy Wanner, 35, vanished from her sister’s home in Granite Bay, California . Her husband arrived to the residence with their four-year-old daughter and found their 11-month-old baby alone, wailing and strapped to a high chair. Three weeks later, Wanner’s body was discovered 40 miles away in a secluded wooded area. She had died from strangulation. “Arguably, this is one of the most heinous, notorious cold cases we have here,” said Wayne Woo, the Placer county sheriff, in a Monday news conference, as he stood beside an enlarged photograph of Wanner. Woo identified the murder suspect as James Lawhead. “We hope this arrest will help bring some justice and closure to Cindy Wanner’s family,” he said. Arrest photos of James Lawhead throughout the years. Photograph: Paul Kitagaki Jr/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock Investigators had linked Lawhead to the crime scene via forensic DNA analysis. Lawhead had been convicted of sex crimes and sentenced in 1980 to a 19-year term. After serving 11 years, he was released from prison in February 1991. It’s unclear what led to the early release. “When he was sentenced, psychiatrists from the state classified him as a mentally disordered sex offender who was not amenable to treatment. …