Suspect Arrested in 1988 Child Murder
- Details
- Category: Crime
- Published on Thursday, 24 December 2020 17:34
- Written by Janet Walker
Michaela Garecht, 9, vanished from the parking lot of a local grocery store in 1988. Thirty-two years later Alameda District Attorney, Nancy E. O'Malley announced her office would be charging convicted killer David Misch with kidnapping and murder.
On the morning of November 19, 1988 Garecht and a friend rode their scooters to the Rainbow Grocery in Hayward, California, to buy snacks. They parked their scooters outside the store. When she and her friend returned, they found one scooter had been moved from the front of the store and placed near a parked car.
Coroner Confirms Human Remains Found Are Vallow's Missing Children
When Michaela walked over to the scooter she was grabbed. She has never been seen since. No remains have ever been found. Fingerprints on the scooter match convicted killer David Misch.
"The kidnap and murder of a child is horrific. The pain to the family and friends is indescribable, especially when their child is not found. This crime shocked not just the local community, but the entire Bay Area and the nation," said DA O'Malley. "I hope that today's action and announcement will provide some comfort to Michaela's family in knowing that justice will prevail, even after 32 years since this horrible crime," according to a statement released from the Almeda County District Attorney's office.
Mackenzie Lueck, Murdered Utah University Student, Slut Shamed
Over the last three decades the painstaking manual procedure of comparing fingerprints has advanced through software, technology, and forensic sciences. As the Cold Case reached its thirtieth Anniversary, the entire case was reviewed. Given the advancement in technology the fingerprints were able to pinpoint a list of possible suspects and persons of interest.
Misch was on the list. Currently in prison for the 1989 murder of a women in the same area, he is facing charges in two other murders in 1986.
Justice Watch: A Failed System The Victim X Story (Part I)
"The complaint charges Misch with the murder and kidnapping of Michaela Garecht on November 19, 1988, in the city of Hayward. In addition to the charge of Murder, a violation of Penal Code Section 187, the District Attorney also alleges Special Circumstances in that Michaela was murdered in the course of a kidnapping, a violation of Penal Code Section 190.2(a)(17)(ii), and the Special Circumstance of being convicted previously of murder, a violation of Penal Code Section 190.2(a)(2)," according to a statement released from the Almeda County District Attorney's office.
