September 30th, 2003 the body of 51-year old Sandra Garcia was found in her home located on SE 33rd Street near Santa Fe Avenue in Oklahoma City. Garcia was beaten and she had been stabbed several times inside her home.
In 2017 her case was reviewed by the Oklahoma County DA’s Office and the OKCPD Cold Case Unit. Cold Case investigators discovered that DNA retrieved from the crime scene back in 2003 matched Andrew Louis Canaday (DOB 09/08/1983) through the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation’s DNA database. Canaday who is 38-years old now is currently serving time in prison at the Jess Dunn Correctional facility in Taft, Oklahoma. OKCPD Detective Bill Lord and Oklahoma County DA Investigator Mike Burke interviewed Canaday on May 10, 2022. As a result of their interview, they filed charges of Murder in the First Degree and Manslaughter in the First Degree against Canaday on August 11, 2022.
A second individual, David Yanes (DOB 04/26/1980), was identified by the Cold Case Unit and his fingerprints that had been retrieved from the murder scene were submitted to OSBI and positively identified. Investigators discovered Yanes committed suicide in Dallas, Texas back in September of 2004.
The Cold Case Unit has reviewed 15 homicide cases in 2022 and solved 3. Two full-time OKCPD officers are assigned to the unit with assistance of an investigator from the Oklahoma County DA’s Office.
Original source can be found here
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