Sacramento Police Department cold case detectives have identified and arrested a suspect in a homicide that has remained unsolved for over twenty years.  58-Year-Old Irvin Parnell has been identified as the suspect in the killing of Linda Garcia in 1996.  Parnell has been in custody on unrelated charges.  On February 6, 2020 detectives booked Parnell for homicide charges related to the case.  He is currently at the Sacramento County Main Jail.

On October 10, 1996 at approximately 11:59 a.m. officers located a deceased female in her hotel room on Massie Court.  It was discovered that the female died from blunt force trauma.  The female victim was identified as 33-Year-Old Linda Garcia.  Homicide detectives worked diligently on the case, but were unable to obtain enough information to resolve it.  The homicide was eventually turned over to cold case detectives.

Cold case detectives continued to follow-up with this case, and almost twenty-four years later were able to make a break in it.  Based on previous evidence, and new information they received, detectives were able to finally identify a suspect in the case.

Cold cases are some of the most difficult investigations to solve, but this a great example of the hard work that our cold case detectives do daily.

“While we cannot replace the loss that Linda Garcia’s family has felt for almost twenty-four years, we hope that an arrest in this case can finally bring them some closure.” – Sgt Brian Kinney, Homicide Detective Sergeant

The Sacramento Police Department encourages any witnesses with information regarding this homicide to contact the dispatch center at (916) 264-5471 or Sacramento Valley Crime Stoppers at (916) 443-HELP (4357). Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000.  Anonymous tips can also be submitted using the free “P3 Tips” smartphone app.