SUNNYVALE – A suspect has been arrested in connection with a fatal August 2020 stabbing at a Sunnyvale park, authorities said.
Jose Luis Salazar, 26, was already in custody at San Benito County jail when a warrant was signed for his arrest on Dec. 13, the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety said in a news release Monday.
DNA was used to link Salazar to the stabbing death of Anthony Juarez, 38, at Baylands Park on Aug. 15, 2020, authorities said.
During the investigation, evidence was submitted to the Santa Clara County Crime Laboratory for DNA testing, and a full DNA profile of an “unknown male subject” was identified and uploaded to the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, authorities said.
The crime lab on Sept. 20 notified detectives that Salazar’s DNA profile matched the unknown male subject’s DNA profile. Salazar’s DNA was collected when he was arrested for the attempted murder of his father in Hollister on Aug. 12, authorities said.
“Once the sample was place in the CODIS database it matched the DNA profile of the suspect in this investigation,” the public safety department said in the news release.
In addition to the DNA evidence, a witness at Baylands Park told authorities he saw Juarez and another person fighting in a restroom. The witness was able to describe the suspect and helped a forensic artist create a sketch of the suspect’s face.
Anyone with information related to the case is asked to contact Detective Corrine Abernathy at 408-730-7100.
Source: www.mercurynews.com