California county’s oldest cold case ends with suspect death

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — The 77-year-old suspect in the oldest cold-case investigation in Orange County history has died.

The Orange County Register reports Thursday that the daughter of the victim was informed last weekend that Charles Faith Jr. had died.

Faith was arrested in 2007 and charged with killing Christina Wariner, who was sexually assaulted, bludgeoned and strangled in 1964 in the Santa Ana motel she managed.

The case was cold until 2002, when new technology led investigators to match Faith to bloody fingerprints from the scene.

Prosecutors dismissed a murder charge against Faith two years ago because he had dementia and was in failing health. He was sent to a long-term care facility. Officials say the case could have been revived had Faith eventually recovered.

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Information from: The Orange County Register, http://www.ocregister.com