Peninsula Cold Case Project: 1982 cold cases may be related
UPDATE 12/2/15 4:45 PM: On Wednesday, a major announcement involving two cold cases on the Monterey Peninsula. Law enforcement agencies are linking two homicides that are three decades old.
In August 1982, 18-year-old Sheila Chavez went missing. She was last seen waiting for a bus in Carmel Valley. Her body was found more than a month later in a ravine behind the Monterey Public Library. Police say she died from blunt force trauma and asphyxiation.
In December 1982, 32-year-old Sandra McGee went missing. She was last seen in Monterey with a man named Alfred Powell. Her remains were found in his previous residence this past September.
These cases are two that the Peninsula Cold Case Project, made up of law enforcement from around the Central Coast, is re-examining.
Both brought to light after this latest discovery. Both linked to Alfred Powell. Powell is now behind bars at California State Prison Solano for the 1983 death of another woman, Suzanne Nixon of Pebble Beach. He was sentenced to 15 years to life with the possibility of parole.
“Sandra was located at his residence where he used to live,” Monterey Police Detective Bryan Kruse said. “The same place Ms. Nixon was also discovered. And the connection would be that Sheila Chavez, when they did their investigation back in 1982, Mr. Powell’s name came up in that case as well.”
Investigators are looking at Powell for other cases as well, but are open to the possibility there could be other suspects as well.
Authorities hope any potential witnesses come forward, to give these families some much needed closure.
In the meantime, McGee’s daughter has a message to Powell.
“I don’t want him to ever step foot outside of prison again because just like my mom was buried in the ground and was never able to see her children grow up, her grandchildren, the successes, the failures that any of us have experienced,” Gigi Bridgers said. “He is not entitled to ever be in the arms of another woman or to ever know what it’s like to be truly loved and that no matter what, he did not defeat my mom’s legacy.”
ORIGINAL POST: Investigators with the Peninsula Cold Case Project are looking into two unsolved homicides dating back to 1982.
In September of 1982, 18-year-old Sheila Chavez was found murdered in a ravine next to the Monterey Public Library. She had gone missing a month beforehand. In December of 1982, 32-year-old Sandra McGee went missing. Her remains were found this past September.
Investigators will explore a possible connection between the victims and Alfred Powell. In 1983, Powell was convicted of second murder of Suzanne Nixon. Powell was sentenced to 15-years-to-life in a state prison with the possibility of parole.
“Sandra was located at his residence where he used to live,” Monterey Police Detective Bryan Kruse said. “The same place Ms. Nixon was also discovered. And the connection would be that Sheila Chavez, when they did their investigation back in 1982, Mr. Powell’s name came up in that case as well.”
NewsChannel 5’s Mariana Hicks will have more on this story tonight.
