Christopher Melvin Holland arrested
Morgan Hill – The primary suspect in a 24-year-old Campbell rape and murder “cold case” was arrested Thursday afternoon, according to information from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.
Christopher Melvin Holland, 52, was arrested by San Jose police officers for the rape and murder of Cynthia Munoz, a Campbell resident who was 17 when she was killed in 1983.
Holland was located hiding in a closet in a San Jose apartment after an anonymous tip to police. The tipster gave one apartment as the location where Holland was hiding, but he was actually found in a different apartment in the same complex.
Investigators had discovered DNA evidence that links Holland to the crimes, according to the district attorney’s office, and charges were filed Tuesday in connection with the crime. Holland and a friend were regular visitors to the home where Munoz lived. She was found dead in her bedroom Aug. 7, 1983. She had been raped, strangled and stabbed.
Although little information can be released because the case is under investigation, according to the district attorney’s office, investigators believed Holland might return to Santa Clara County to attend an “event.”
Holland was last seen in Nevada. A description and photo of Holland was circulated to Santa Clara County law enforcement agencies and news media Tuesday.
