Baby Was Found Crying in High Chair After Mom Vanished in 1991. The Murderer Was Just Sentenced

A cold case that haunted a California community for more than three decades has finally come to a close—and the man responsible has been handed a life sentence.

James Lawhead, 30 at the time of the crime, was sentenced on July 14 to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 1991 kidnapping, rape and murder of Cindy Wanner, according to court documents.

Wanner, a 35-year-old mother, vanished from her home in Granite Bay, Calif. , on a December morning. When her husband returned later that day, he made a heartbreaking discovery: their 11-month-old baby was still sitting in a high chair, crying.

Her coat, shoes and car were all still there. 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, about 35 miles north of her home. The cause of death was strangulation, according to reports.

The case went cold for years, but a breakthrough came this year when new forensic testing on old evidence gave investigators a DNA profile that matched Lawhead. At the time of the murder, he was on parole after serving 11 years for several violent 𝒔𝒆𝒙 offenses, including crimes against children.

Detectives say Lawhead vanished from records after 2005 and was living under a false identity. Facial-recognition technology helped them track him to Bullhead City, Ariz. , where he went by the name Vincent Reynolds.

He was arrested on April 30 and pleaded guilty on June 16.

“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,” Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo said in a statement.

Lawhead’s sister was also arrested for allegedly helping him evade authorities while claiming they had not been in contact for decades, according to officials.

For the family of Cindy Wanner, the sentence brings a measure of closure after 35 years of unanswered questions. But one question still lingers: what took justice so long?