LOS ANGELES—A 76-year-old man who was allegedly linked by DNA evidence to the cold-case killings of a 15-year-old girl and three young women in Los Angeles and Inglewood dating back as far as 1980 has died while in custody.
Superior Court Judge Armenui Amy Ashvanian announced March 10 that the court had received documentation that Billy Ray Richardson was pronounced dead Feb. 15.
Richardson—who had previously been brought into court on a hospital gurney—had been awaiting arraignment on four murder charges after being extradited last year from Texas.
The case against him was dismissed as a result of his death.
“I just feel very sad for the families that will never get to see him held responsible for the crimes he committed—the horrendous murders of these four young women,” Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman said outside the downtown Los Angeles courtroom. “I hope at the very least it brings them some peace to know we’ve identified the perpetrator and he’s no longer living among us.”…