Police seek help in cold-case murder investigation
The Redondo Beach Police Department seeks the public’s help to solve a murder case that went cold for more than forty years, before two retired RBPD detectives identified the victim.
Police Chief Joe Hoffman held a press conference June 26.
Former RBPD Captain John Skipper and Sergeant Rick Petersen, after years of work, were able to identify the woman earlier in 2023. Her bones were found in 2001 buried in a Redondo Beach backyard.
Using DNA and genealogical exploration, Skipper and Petersen identified the remains as that of Catherine Parker-Johnson, 24, a black adult woman, who had come to Southern California from Memphis, Tenn. She is believed to have been killed in 1981.
“We’ve been able to develop plausible working theories that are heading us down the right path,” Chief Hoffman said during the press conference. “But we can still use more information.”
The bones, found in a plastic bag, were discovered by plumbers on Wollacott Street.
The case is an active homicide investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call Skipper or Petersen at (310) 379-2477. E-mail may be sent to janedoe2001@redondo.org.
Councilmembers to get five-minute speaking limits
New Mayor Pro-Tem Todd Loewenstein announced Tuesday night that he will start a new system to speed up city council meetings.
Taking a cue from the planning commission, Loewenstein said each councilmember will have five minutes per turn to speak – then get a chance for further comment after the other representatives have spoken.
“I’m concerned that the public isn’t getting a chance to participate as items sometimes don’t come up until 10 or 11 at night,” said Loewenstein. “We’ll see how it goes.”
The new format starts Aug. 8.
Regular city council meetings are held Tuesday nights, beginning at 6 p.m.
Obagi settlement effort fails, trial to resume
A June 14 settlement conference in City Councilman Zein Obagi, Jr.’s State Bar case was unsuccessful. The trial is set to resume Aug. 10.
The effort followed the May replacement of the State Bar prosecutor on the case.
Charges against Obagi stem from a financial dealing with a former client, and a subsequent malpractice suit he filed against his original attorney for the first seven State Bar counts – filed in 2021. The trial initially began April 18.
The District Four Councilman told the Easy Reader earlier this year that the charges were the result of a “bad prosecutor.”
Last December, the State Bar added five new counts against Obagi, stemming from the malpractice suit. ER
