Chelsea King: Official Says DNA Found in Clothes Links Sex Offender John Albert Gardner to Crime
Photo: Chelsea King.
PICTURES: Chelsea King Missing
PICTURES: Chelsea King Vigil, Family Mourns
California Department of Justice spokesperson Christine Gasparac said Gardner, who pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murder and assault with intent to commit rape, was linked to King's death from semen found in the 17-year-old's clothing.
Photo: John Albert Gardner III.
PICTURES: Chelsea King Missing
PICTURES: Chelsea King Vigil, Family Mourns
A body that police believe to be King's was discovered Tuesday in a shallow grave on the south shore of Lake Hodges in a wilderness area near a park where she was last seen five days earlier in running clothes. Her car was discovered at the park with her belongings inside.
Gardner stood silently in court, wrists shackled to his waist and eyes cast downward during Wednesday's brief hearing. Brent and Kelly King, Chelsea's parents, sat several rows back.
We know that this has rocked San Diego," said District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis. "It has rocked all of us."
Gardner is also charged with intent to commit rape, which was filed in connection with a December attack on another female.
Gardner, who was required under state law to disclose his residence, registered in January to live in Lake Elsinore, north of San Diego, said John Hall, a spokesman for the Riverside County district attorney's office.
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PICTURES: Chelsea King Missing
PICTURES: Chelsea King Vigil, Family Mourns
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