The investigation into the suspected homicides of a San Marino couple is now focusing on a large bloodstain that detectives discovered in the couple's guesthouse in 1994, when human remains were dug up in the backyard.
Authorities have described a man now under arrest on unrelated kidnapping charges in Boston as a "person of interest" in the disappearance and suspected killings of Jonathan and Linda Sohus, who were last seen in 1985.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department detectives claim that the Boston man, Clark Rockefeller, used to be known as Christopher Chichester and lived in the couple's guesthouse at the time they disappeared.
The bloodstain is another tantalizing clue in what authorities believe was a murder or murders on the Lorain Road property more than two decades ago.
But authorities acknowledged that linking this and other forensic evidence to the killer will be difficult. In fact, officials have been frustrated as various leads have turned into dead-ends.
Tricia Gough, a former San Marino detective who worked the case in 1994, said the bloody stain was not clear to the naked eye. But when investigators sprayed a blood indicator on an area of the guesthouse floor it became clearly visible.
Detectives tried but could not determine the blood's source.
Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore said officials will now be reexamining the blood using more advanced technology.
Detectives have long believed the remains are those of Jonathan Sohus. But they have been hampered by the fact that Sohus was adopted, and, so far, investigators have not been able to match the DNA to a relative to prove the skeleton's identity. Authorities said Wednesday they will complete a new round of DNA tests on the remains.
Marks on the skull suggest that the person suffered a potentially fatal blunt-force trauma, but officials acknowledge that they cannot provide a specific cause of death.
The skeleton was found by workers digging a pool for the new owners of the home. Gough said the remains were wrapped in several small plastic bags tied together with twine.
"It was a rush job. The person was in a hurry. The skeleton was wrapped like a mummy in the plastic bags, the kind you get from Vons," Gough said. "It was like if you or I were to commit a murder and said, 'Oh my goodness, what have we done?' We believed it was Jon Sohus. There were physical similarities."
