The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department announced on February 6, 2023 that Eddie George Snowden Jr. was identified as the lead suspect in two rape-murders in the early 1990s in Las Vegas, Nevada. The cases have been cleared by exception due to the death of Snowden.
A man out walking his dog found the body of Lori Ann Perera, 31, on December 11, 1992 behind a Montgomery Ward store in a desert area. She was nude, and had ligature marks on her wrists and ankles. It appeared that she had been bound and had duct tape placed over her mouth. The autopsy found that she had died from manual strangulation and blunt force trauma.
The body of Pearl Wilson Ingram, 35, was found on January 11, 1994 in similar circumstances. She was found by an employee of a garbage disposal company in a dumpster behind Von’s Grocery Store. She was nude from the waist down, and the autopsy found that she had been beaten, that several of her teeth had been knocked out, and she had died from manual strangulation. She had been covered in debris to delay the discovery of her remains.
The cases were reopened in March of 2007. Sperm was found on a rectal swab taken from Perera at her autopsy. This profile was entered into CODIS, but produced no hits. In July of 2012, a DNA profile was obtained from a sexual assault kit taken from Ingram’s body during her autopsy. The source of the DNA was a skin swab. There were no hits in CODIS, but investigators were able to learn that the same suspect was linked to both murders.
The FGG investigation was conducted by Othram in partnership with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, beginning in June of 2022. Funding for the FGG investigation was provided by a local non-profit organization, the Vegas Justice League. The final confirmation was made to living family members of Snowden.
Snowden was born in January of 1937. He lived in Las Vegan, close to where both victims’ remains were found, at the time of the murders. He died in Las Vegas in February of 2017.
He lived in a number of cities in California during his life, and authorities there have been notified so that they can investigate whether Snowden is linked to similar murders. He lived in Fresno, California, from about 1956 to 1979 where he has a criminal record, although the offences are not specified.
Ingram’s younger sister, Teresa Board, stated, ““I’d like to say, if there are any other family members — keep hope alive,” said the sister. “Keep God first. You, too, can have closure.”
Sources:
Cruz, Martha. “Las Vegas Police Identify Suspect Involved in 2 Cold Case Investigations from 1990.” ABC 3 News, February 6, 2023. Accessed February 7, 2023. https://news3lv.com/news/local/las-vegas-police-provide-information-in-2-cold-case-investigations-from-1990-lvmpd-montgomery-ward-retail-store-vons-1992-1992-december-janaury.
Miller, Jax. “Las Vegas Cold Case Officials Announce Suspect in Women’s 1990s Murders.” Oxygen, February 7, 2023. Accessed February 7, 2023. https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/lvmpd-eddie-george-snowden-jr-1990s-las-vegas-murder-suspect.
Vogen, Michael. “Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Othram Partner to Identify a 1990s Serial Murderer.” DNASolves.com, February 6, 2023. Accessed February 7, 2023. https://dnasolves.com/articles/lvmpd-perera-ingram/.