FOX31 Denver

Suspect in 1973 murder charged with sex acts on other kids

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A Colorado man charged with the 1973 murder of an 11-year-old girl in Southern California also faces charges of sex acts on two other girls.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday charged 72-year-old James Neal with lewd acts on two girls under 14 years old in Riverside County between 1995 and 2004.

Neal was extradited from Colorado after he was charged with the 1973 murder of 11-year-old Linda O’Keefe in the seaside community of Newport Beach.
He is scheduled to be arraigned on March 29. He is being held without bail.

O’Keefe disappeared while she was walking home from summer school and her body was found the next day.
Investigators identified Neal as a suspect with help from genealogical DNA. It’s unclear if he has an attorney.