The deadly stabbing case of a Navy sailor whose nude physique was discovered slumped towards a fence in his yard in Level Loma in 1990 went chilly for 3 many years.
However a break within the investigation led police to Brian Koehl, and a DNA pattern — collected surreptitiously from an Arby’s cup and straw he threw away at some point in 2021 — confirmed their suspicions, prosecutors say.
On Monday, Koehl, 52, went on trial for homicide within the killing of 32-year-old Navy Petty Officer Larry Joe Breen.
Throughout opening statements in San Diego Superior Court docket, prosecutors stated Koehl confessed to a buddy to fatally stabbing a person who “got here onto him.” The protection stated it was an act of self-defense, claiming Breen — who was homosexual — sexually assaulted Koehl.
Koehl has pleaded not responsible to homicide. If convicted, he faces 25 years to life in state jail.
Breen was a cook dinner stationed aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Fox and poised to turn into a chef for then-President George H.W. Bush at Camp David in Maryland. Koehl was 19 and in addition a sailor.
Breen’s physique was discovered slouched towards his yard fence on the nook of Nimitz Boulevard and Locust Avenue round 11:40 a.m. on Might 25, 1990. He was bare, with two stab wounds to his neck.
Witness Darryl Albritton testified that he was in search of a house to lease along with his girlfriend when he found Breen’s physique.
Blinds have been hanging out of a damaged window. It appeared just like the scene of a scuffle, Albritton stated. He referred to as 911 from a payphone at a close-by Vons grocery retailer.
Contained in the unfurnished studio officers discovered “blood in every single place,” retired San Diego police Officer Denise Dailey testified.
Different proof included clothes, beer bottles and latent footprints.
The case quickly went chilly.
In 2001, with advances in DNA know-how, a criminalist extracted DNA from proof and checked native, state and federal databases that include DNA profiles of convicted offenders, however no matches turned up.
Then, in 2019, investigators turned to genetic family tree, a way through which they add DNA to industrial family tree web sites searching for relations of suspects. The work led investigators to Koehl. They discovered that he was stationed in Coronado in Might 1990, Deputy District Legal professional Lisa Fox stated.
In 2021, a Naval Prison Investigative Service agent monitored Koehl in Knoxville, Tenn., the place he was residing. When he threw away the Arby’s cup and straw, the agent moved in and picked up the gadgets. Later, his DNA was in comparison with proof.
“You are going to hear that the defendant’s DNA is discovered throughout that small house,” Fox stated. So was his footprint, she stated.
Koehl was arrested in Knoxville in July 2022.
In an interview with investigators after his arrest, Koehl admitted he was at Breen’s house the night time earlier than his physique was discovered, that they have been consuming with 4 others, Fox stated. He informed investigators he left and borrowed Breen’s automobile, and when he returned the following day, he discovered the crime scene. He stated he obtained blood on his ft and washed off the blood within the bathe. He left in Breen’s car, solely to desert it when he thought twice about driving a “useless man’s” car, Fox stated.
After Koehl’s arrest, a buddy of his got here ahead with details about the confession. It turned out the buddy had reported the knowledge to authorities in Ohio on two separate events, however he and the businesses have been unaware the crime occurred in San Diego, Fox stated.
Protection legal professional Alicia Freeze stated Koehl was a “small city boy from Ohio” in Might 1990. She stated Breen lived a “double life” — he was homosexual at a time when homosexual women and men have been banned from serving within the navy.
Freeze characterised the sufferer as a sexual predator and claimed Breen sexually assaulted Koehl — “a violation that is haunted my consumer for 33 years.”
“Brian Koehl was sexually violated, and in defending himself, a life was misplaced,” Freeze stated.
Koehl is out of custody on $500,000 bail. The trial is predicted to final two weeks.
This story initially appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.
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