Bite mark leads police to suspected killer of CA woman in 28-year cold case, cops say
About 28 years ago, a woman was found stabbed to death inside her apartment in Hot Springs, California.
The case eventually went cold — until last month.
The Riverside County Regional Cold Case Team arrested Sharron Eugene Gadlin, 48, from Gardena, on March 4 in the 1994 killling of Cheri Huss, according to the Riverside County District Attorney.
Huss was found dead in her apartment about 100 miles east of Los Angeles on April 24, 1994. Authorities say she had been stabbed multiple times and was “bitten by her killer.”
Evidence showed that Huss fought off her attacker, which caused them to leave blood at the crime scene, a news release states. Through testing, investigators were able to determine that the suspect was a male and that his blood matched the DNA of the saliva left in the bite marks on the woman.
But despite numerous attempts to find a match for the suspect’s DNA profile, the case went cold for years.
That was until this February, when the Regional Cold Case Team identified Gadlin as a suspect in Huss’ death using forensic genealogy, according to the district attorney.
Investigators also discovered that at the time of the killing, Gadlin lived in Thousands Palms, which is about 12 miles from Huss’ apartment.
After collecting a saliva sample from Gadlin on Feb. 24, lab results confirmed that there was a DNA match, authorities said.
Gadlin’s bail was set at $1 million. He was scheduled to be arraigned on March 8, according to the release.
The Riverside County clerk’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.
“I hope Cheri and her family will finally get the justice they deserve and have waited so long for,” District Attorney Mike Hestrin said in the release. “Our cold case team of investigators will continue to use cutting edge technology to solve old murder cases across Riverside County.”
This story was originally published March 9, 2022 at 4:30 PM with the headline "Bite mark leads police to suspected killer of CA woman in 28-year cold case, cops say."
