DNA evidence links deceased suspect to 1985 Danville cold case
DANVILLE – Homicide Detectives from the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff have identified a suspect in the 1985 killing of 57-year-old Virginia Vincent.
On September 20, 1985, a concerned neighbor found Vincent’s body in her apartment in Danville and notified police. Detectives later determined that she was raped and murdered.
Investigative leads were pursued but no suspect was identified. In 2002, a DNA profile was created from the evidence found at the crime scene but no match was found. In November 2017, the Sheriff’s Office submitted a request to the California Bureau of Forensic Services (BFS) to conduct a familial search using the DNA recovered at the scene.
In June 2018, the Sheriff’s Office was notified of a possible match through the work of the BFS committee. Joey Lynn Ford was later identified as the likely suspect in the killing of Vincent. Ford died in 1997 at the age of 36 and is buried at a cemetery in Fairfield, California. Ford’s body was later exhumed. The Office of the Sheriff Forensic Services Division Crime Lab confirmed Ford as the suspect after a DNA sample extracted from him matched that found at the crime scene. The case is the first successful familial search on a cold case in the Bay Area.
Detectives are still working to determine how the two might be acquainted, but records indicate Ford was arrested for DUI in Danville the day before the killing, just a short distance from the crime scene. At the time of the homicide, Ford was working as a plumber in the area and Vincent was a Real Estate agent. Investigators believe this is the likely connection between them, but that remains unclear.
“The Sheriff’s Office and all of the law enforcement agencies involved were relentless in their handling of this case, they are the true heroes,” said Marianna Wickman, daughter of victim Virginia Vincent. “So many were instrumental in getting us our closure and were sensitive to our needs. I am so very grateful.”
Wickman asked for privacy for herself and the family.
Authorities say Rick Jackson, a retired long-time LAPD homicide detective who now resides in the Bay Area, also assisted Contra Costa detectives with the case.
“Because the suspect Joey Ford is deceased, there will be no prosecution in this case,” said Contra Costa County Sheriff David Livingston. “However, we hope that the identification of the suspect in the killing of Virginia Vincent brings her family and the community some closure in this painful case.”
