James Lawhead pleaded guilty in June to the 1991 kidnapping, murder, and rape of 35-year-old mother Cindy Wanner

A California man has been sentenced to life without parole for kidnapping, raping and murdering a 35-year-old mother whose baby was found crying in a high chair after she vanished in 1991.

James Lawhead was sentenced on July 14 to life without the possibility of parole on July 14 for the 1991 kidnapping, rape and murder of Cindy Wanner, 35, who vanished from her home in Granite Bay, Calif.

When Wanner’s husband returned home later that day, he found their 11-month-old baby crying in a high chair. Wanner’s coat, shoes and car had all been left behind, and authorities found no signs of forced entry.

Nearly three weeks later, on December 14, 1991, Wanner’s body was found in a wooded area near Foresthill, a town 35 miles north of where she was abducted. Authorities determined she had died from strangulation.

Investigators made a breakthrough this year when new forensic testing of evidence from the original investigation produced a DNA profile that matched Lawhead.

Further investigation by the Placer County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit revealed that Lawhead, then 30, was on parole after serving 11 years in prison for several violent sex crimes — including child sex crimes — at the time of the murder.

Detectives found no records associated with Lawhead after 2005 and suspected he was living under an assumed identity. Facial-recognition technology eventually helped authorities locate him in Bullhead City, Ariz., where he was living under the name Vincent Reynolds.

Lawhead was arrested on April 30 and pleaded guilty on June 16, less than seven weeks later.

“In my 36-year career, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a homicide case of this nature move from arrest to conviction so quickly once the breakthrough occurred,” said Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo in a press release. “This crime deeply shook our community, and while nothing can erase the pain this family has endured for the past 35 years, I hope today’s outcome provides them with answers and allows them to begin moving forward with the knowledge of what happened to their loved one.”

Source: https://people.com/baby-crying-high-chair-mom-vanished-killer-sentenced-12024674