News Releases
August 18, 2022: Man Convicted of Decades-Old Murders Using Investigative Genetic Genealogy
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Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced that Horace Van Vaultz Jr. (dob 5/21/55) was convicted today of murdering two women in the first case in Los Angeles County that used investigative genetic genealogy.
“Using the latest in technology and forensics, we were able to secure a conviction against someone who targeted young women,” District Attorney Gascón said. “I hope that today’s guilty verdict provides some comfort to the victims’ families who have waited more than three decades to see this result.”
Jurors found Vaultz guilty of two counts of first-degree murder with the special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and that the crimes were committed during a rape and sodomy for each victim.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 19 in Department 107 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
Vaultz was convicted of murdering 22-year-old Mary Duggan on June 9, 1986. Her body was found in the trunk of her car in an empty Burbank parking lot.
He also was convicted of killing Selena Keough, 20, on July 16, 1981, in Montclair.
Case BA482647 was investigated by the Burbank and Montclair police departments. The FBI’s Forensic Genetic Genealogy Team assisted in the investigation.
