Tech CEO arrested in 30-year-old cold case with new evidence from advance in DNA

In 1992, 25-year-old Laurie Houts was found strangled inside her car near a garbage dump in California

Recent breakthroughs in DNA have enabled police in California to arrest a tech CEO in connection with a nearly 30-year-old cold case, authorities confirmed.

John Kevin Woodward, 58, the chief executive and president of ReadyTech, was reportedly arrested at John F Kennedy Airport over the weekend after he landed in the US from the Netherlands, where he’s been residing for the past few decades.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said Monday that Mr Woodward, who has been arraigned for the third time in connection to a decades-old cold case involving his old roommate’s girlfriend, will be extradited to California by the end of the month.

On 5 September 1992, 25-year-old Laurie Houts was found strangled to death by a rope found inside her car after leaving her job at Adobe Systems in Mountain View, California. Mountain View is well known for being a hub for Silicon Valley entrepreneurs as it counts Google as housing its own headquarters there and is a convenient 40-mile drive south of San Francisco.

Initially, officers had arrested the roommate of the 25-year-old’s boyfriend, Mr Woodward, in connection with the homicide the same year she died. The officers alleged that his motive for the murder emerged from his unrequited romantic feelings towards his roommate, according to CBS Bay Area.

Mr Woodward at the time provided no alibi for the night, and the detectives’ suspicion around his activities on that night in September 1992 were further aroused after a call was recorded between Mr Woodward and his roommate. In that call, he was asked point blank if he’d been responsible for killing Houts.

Instead of denying the accusation, Mr Woodward reportedly asked his roommate during the call – which Mountain View detectives were listening in on – what, if any, evidence investigators had collected on him.

Alongside the odd phone call, the detectives investigating the murder were also able to place Mr Woodward close to Houts’ car as his fingerprints were collected from outside the vehicle.

However, they were unsuccessful in finding evidence that could support their theory that he had ever been inside the car. Ultimately, the lack of evidence resulted in two separate hung juries. In the second trial, when the jury ruled 7-5 for Mr Woodward’s acquittal, the judge noted that the case would require new evidence to be brought forward to re-try Mr Woodward as at the time he believed it to be insufficient.

Laurie Houts was described as an avid athlete and possessing a ‘huge heart’ with humour and spunk that were endearing to all, her family said in a statement (CBS Bay Area/screengrab)

Years later, detectives who remained assigned to the case were able to link the murder weapon to Mr Woodward. Advances in DNA technology made it possible to confirm that fibres from his sweatpants and his own genetic material were matched to the rope.

“The biggest hurdle from those cases was being able to find new evidence,” Sgt David Fisher in an interview with ABC 7. Sgt Fisher, a member of the MVPD’s Crimes Against Persons Unit added how the advancements in DNA technology have really given their team an assist in cracking these decades-old cases, going as far to call it a “game changer”.

The genetic material and sweatpants samples were sent again to the Santa Clara County Crime Lab in late 2020 for a new analysis. Detectives also re-examined some 80 new fingerprints that were collected from the scene of the murder, many of which resulted in more positive matches for Mr Woodward.

“For this case specifically, they were able to go back to a much earlier sample that was taken in 2005 from the murder weapon,” explained Sgt Fisher. “And they were able to use new technology to locate new DNA evidence on that rope, from that sample.”

This new information, in tandem with the previous evidence that investigators used during their first two arraignments of the 58-year-old tech executive, enabled the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office to issue a new arrest warrant for Mr Woodward’s arrest.

“Thanks to updates in DNA technology, the man suspected of murdering Laurie Houts she she left work on September 5, 1992 is now in custody,” the Mountain View police said in a press release about the cold case involving Houts, a woman they described as being an “avid athlete and ahead of her time as a woman in the STEM field.

“Laurie was someone we all aspire our daughters to be like, kind, loyal and fun,” the release noted.

Federal agents had reportedly alerted local authorities about Mr Woodward’s arrival to the US east coast from the Netherlands this past weekend, while Dutch authorities had also obtained their own arrest warrant and seized a number of his electronics.

After landing in New York City from Amsterdam, where he began residing shortly after the first two murder trials wrapped up, he was taken into custody 9 July.

“This case is the culmination of incredible determination by our detectives over the decades and with phenomenal teamwork with our agency partners here in Santa Clara County and in New York,” said Mountain View Police Chief Chris Hsiung in a press release issued by the department.

In response to Mr Woodward’s arrest over the weekend, the Houts’ family issued a statement that commemorated the small – “she was only 5’ tall” – woman who had a “huge heart.”

“The way Laurie lived and treated people was a stunning example of what was right in the world,” the family said in a statement. “We are hopeful that justice can finally be served for Laurie and incredibly appreciative of the law enforcement agencies who have never given up on her.”

In an interview with ABC 7, the sister of the deceased, Cindy, explained how when she first heard the news of Mr Woodward’s arrest, she couldn’t help but feel a thrill of excitement.

“My first reaction was like, ‘Yes! Yay’,” she told the Bay Area news outlet. “And then you come down from that and you go, ‘She’s not coming home.’”

Laurie Hauts, 25, was found strangled to death inside her car nearly 30 years ago in a case that has remained unsolved by California authorities (CBS Bay Area/video screengrab)

Despite this sad realisation, those working the Houts case feel vindicated in finding new evidence to arrest Mr Woodward to build a stronger case against him.

“I want Ms Houts family and friends to know that we never gave up on her,” Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen said Monday, according to Mercury News. “Neither time nor distance will stop us from finding out the truth and seeking justice.”

The accused murderer is currently being detained in New York. If convicted, faces a life in prison sentence.

ReadyTech, an online training company with offices in both Oakland and the Netherlands, did not respond to The Independent for comment when asked about the case.