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Man arrested in connection to California murder case from 1980

By Nijzel Dotson

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    SACRAMENTO, California (KCRA) — An arrest has been made for a murder case that had been unsolved for more than four decades, according to the Sacramento Police Department.

Helen Terry was found dead with stab wounds in her Sacramento apartment on Aug. 28, 1980.

She lived at the apartment, located on Wyndham Drive, with her one-year-old son who was believed to be the biological child of Robert Terry. Robert denied the child was his and was involved in a paternity suit filed by Helen over child support.

When Helen was found dead, nobody else was in the apartment with her besides her son. Sacramento police said that at the time, there was not enough evidence to identify or charge a suspect in connection with Helen’s death.

The case was reopened in 2016 as part of the department’s cold case initiative.

Robert Terry was identified as the suspect after evidence from the scene was processed by the crime lab, according to police. More evidence was needed to charge him.

This year, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s office partnered with the Sacramento Police Department to l

Investigators were able to find enough evidence to charge a suspect and on Friday, Sept. 27, Robert Terry was booked into Sacramento County Main Jail. He is facing homicide charges.

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