On Thursday, July 14, 2022, Detectives from the Inglewood Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department, traveled to the State of Texas, and with the assistance of the Fort Worth Police Department’s, Ghost Unit, arrested Billy Ray Richardson for the 1995 murder of Trina Wilson in Inglewood and the 1980 murders of Beverly Cruse, Debra Cruse and Kari Lenander in Los Angeles. All of these cases involved decades of extensive investigation, and forensic work, which connected the murders through DNA evidence and linked them to suspect Richardson. On this same date, the cases were presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Major Crimes Division, Cold Case Unit, and 4 counts of first-degree murder, with the special circumstances of multiple murders, as well as murder in the commission of rape, were filed. Billy Ray Richarson is currently in custody, in Texas, and awaiting extradition to Los Angeles to stand trial.
The identification, and arrest, of suspect Billy Ray Richardson was as a result of the collaborative efforts by the Inglewood Police Department Homicide Unit, Inglewood Police Department Cold Case Unit, Los Angeles Police Department Robbery Homicide Division, Los Angeles Police Department Cold Case Homicide Unit, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Fort Worth Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Inglewood Police Department case number is # 95-365042.
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Prepared By: Lieutenant Scott T. Collins