As we work on our second season, we've already discussed the idea of a "pure victim," or someone law enforcement, the media and often citizens feel deserves justice more than others, several times. As we continue to think about this moniker and the cases that sit on shelves for decades and receive little attention it's important to note the incredible work done by those who pick up where other detectives have left off and continue to find answers for families. This is one of those cases:
On February 26, 1973, Naomi Sanders was 57 years old and last talked to a friend on the phone. This friend said that Sanders was in the process of cooking her dinner. It was the last time anyone would hear from her. On February 27, 1973, a tenant in the Oakwood Garden Apartments near the corner of Oakwood Ave and Springs Road in Vallejo, heard a whimpering noise coming from Sanders apartment. Sanders not only lived at the complex but she also managed it as well.
Pic via Fox News Article
When the tenant reached Sanders apartment what they found was a door ajar and the noises of a poodle inside whining. When the tenant opened the door and went inside they found Sanders body in her bed, fully clothed, deceased and her poodle Cindy guarding the body. The tenant called the police.
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| Pic via Fox News Article |
When the police arrive they found Naomi Sanders deceased from strangulation. The motive of the crime was initially unclear as there was no robbery of any of Sanders' jewelry. On the stove were two partially cooked steaks, one of which a friend believed was for her beloved poodle, as she hadn't said anything about a guest when she was last on the phone.
Naomi Sanders' body was bruised and her clothing was disheveled. An autopsy told police that she had been sexually assaulted. Tenants in the building did not see or hear anything strange coming from the apartment on the day of the murder. After several years and a lack of information the case went cold.
Naomi Sanders was a divorcee who lived alone. One of ten kids, she spend her life managing motels and apartments in and around Fairfield. At one time she was also a technician at Napa State Hospital.
Over the years, detectives continue to look through the case hoping to find something that had been overlooked. It would take new technology to finally solve this case. In 2014, detectives were able to pull a sample of semen off the carefully collected clothes Sanders' was wearing during her murder. A DNA profile was created using the sample and sent through the FBI National Database of offenders. Unfortunately, it did not bring a match. In 2016, investigators once again uploaded the sample through all California state databases, made mostly up of offenders. The goal this time was to find a possible familial match. Again, this did not bring a positive result. Refusing to give up, detectives in 2018, loaded the profile up to GEDMatch and this time they received a positive match. In fact, they received two positive matches. One of them was for a man in Louisiana, and the other for a man in California.
Investigators looked into the man in Louisiana and took a genetic sample. His DNA did not match the sample they had from the crime scene. In California, detectives ran into a road block when they found their suspect had passed away and his body cremated. They received permission from the man's son to take a DNA sample and were able to conclude that it was a match.
In 1973, Robert Dale Edwards was 22 years old and knew Naomi Sanders because she had worked with his father. Aside from knowing the victim, Edwards also had a criminal history that included domestic violence, theft, attempted murder and assault. The sample provided by his son conclusively proved that Edwards was the man who had raped and then strangled Sanders. The work done by detectives over the last 47 years would not mean handcuffs for Edwards as he passed away in 1993 of a drug overdose. But that work would not be a waste. Detectives could now finally close a case that was horrifically opened in 1973 and provide answers to family who still tell the stories of the woman they never had a chance to know.
In a Times Herald article titled, "Vallejo police solve 1973 Oakwood Avenue homicide using DNA genealogy" from February 27, 2020, Sanders' family issued this statement:
"The Kadinger Family is immensely grateful to the Vallejo Police Department and to everyone who worked this case for the past 46 years. As you can imagine, over the 46 years, many family members directly affected by the loss of Naomi have also passed, and, unfortunately, they cannot be afforded the truth as to what happened. Those of us who do remember the stories of Naomi's life and untimely death can now fell closure thanks to the determination and teamwork of the Vallejo Police Department and partnering law enforcement agencies. May Naomi now rest in peace."
For more information on this case:
Gearty, Robert. (2020, Feb 28). "California police solve 47-year-old cold case murder using DNA, genetic genealogy." Fox News, retrieved from URL.
Glidden, John. (2020, Feb 27). "Vallejo police solve 1973 Oakwood Avenue homicide using DNA genealogy." Times Herald, retrieved from URL.
"She was found strangled with dinner still on the stove. 47 years on, Bay Area police find a killer." SF Gate, retrieved from URL.
"Woman, 57, Is Strangled In Own Vallejo Apartment." (1973, Feb 28). The Sacramento Bee, pg. 12.
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