Suspect arrested in connection to 1995 cold case murder in Santa Cruz County
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION) The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office has arrested a suspect in connection to a cold case murder.
Detectives arrested 62-year-old John Laroche in connection to the 1995 murder of 41-year-old Gloria Hassemer Thursday morning.
Hassemer's body was found along the Pajaro River levee near the Highway 1 overpass on June 10 of that year, according to investigators. She was last seen at around 4 a.m. that morning near Water and Ocean Streets in Santa Cruz, and it is believed that she may have hitched a ride to Watsonville.
“This murder shook our community back in 1995, and our detectives have been committed to making an arrest since. We’ve seen the heartbreak it’s brought to Gloria’s loved ones and we are proud to be taking this step towards justice,” said Sheriff Jim Hart.
The Sheriff's Office said forensic evidence was found that linked Laroche to the murder, so he was arrested near his home in Turlock with the help of local police.
Hassemer's family said in a statement:
On behalf of the family, we are incredibly thankful for the Santa Cruz Co. Sheriff’s Department. We greatly appreciate their hard work, dedication, and compassion they've shown to our family over the years. There have been many detectives and others who've worked tirelessly and fought hard to help our family receive justice. Over the past 25 years they've never given up; some have even volunteered their time. We are thankful for their commitment to see that our mother's case was reopened and able to bring us closer to justice after the arrest made yesterday. We hope this horrible person will spend the rest of his life in prison so that he will never be able to hurt another beautiful soul. Our family has never given up hope for justice. We've allowed our faith to be stronger than our pain. We thank God that this arrest was made and for all the officers involved yesterday. Again, we thank the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office and everyone who played a part in this investigation.
Detectives believe there may be other victims, based on Laroche's criminal history, and he has connections to Santa Clara County and the Central Valley. Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 831-454-7635.
