Man Ordered to Stand Trial in 1981 Slaying of Woman
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A man whose fingerprints were matched to a 16-year-old murder case using new computer technology has been ordered to stand trial in the slaying of an elderly woman, authorities said.
Los Angeles Municipal Court Judge Elva Soper ruled Tuesday there was enough evidence presented at a preliminary hearing to hold Karl Franklin Stewart, 41, in the 1981 killing of 86-year-old Enid Whittlesey.
She was found stabbed to death at the home where she had lived for 40 years. Her house had been ransacked.
A new computer allegedly matched Stewart’s hand to a bloody handprint left at the scene. The case went unsolved until police received information that led them to take another look at the bloody handprint with the aid of the computer, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Steve Savitt.
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