A 55-year-old man charged with capital murder in a 20-year-old cold case was booked Thursday into Salt Lake County Jail.
Jose Ortiz-Garcia is charged in the death of Lela Rockwell. The 62-year-old’s body was found by a passer-by in a planter box Nov. 10, 1989, near 380 West and North Temple, police and prosecutors said.
Rockwell’s purse and belongings were found scattered not far from her naked body. An autopsy showed broken ribs and bones, cuts, bruises and bite marks on her body. She was strangled.
Investigators contend Rockwell was sexually assaulted and robbed by Ortiz-Garcia, charging documents state.
Investigators matched preserved DNA found at the crime scene to a DNA sample from Ortiz-Garcia, who was in a federal prison in South Carolina.
Ortiz-Garcia also was charged with first-degree felony aggravated robbery and three counts of first-degree felony aggravated sexual assault.



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