Santa Clara PD Asks for Public’s Help to Solve Cold Cases

The Santa Clara Police Department is re-publicizing crimes that have gone unsolved for decades, hoping to find answers and bring closure for the victims’ loved ones.

Investigators say they have no active leads for the cold cases, which SCPD will re-examine with new forensic technology if additional information about the cases emerge. Below are some of the crimes that police are asking the public’s help to close.

Neil Henry

On Jan. 20, 2003, a suspect, or suspects, cut a hole into the side of Mission Liquor and Video and climbed into the store at 2099 Monroe St. When 74-year-old Neil Henry arrived to open the store, the suspect(s) beat him up. The suspect(s) stole cash, prepaid phone cards, cigarettes and Henry’s car. Henry was admitted to the hospital after sustaining severe head injuries. He died five days later. SCPD is requesting information about activity in the area between midnight and 8am on the day of the crime.

John Anthony Bailon

At about 7:15am on July 10, 1995, SCPD responded to a report of an injured male inside a vehicle parked in an underground parking garage at 1265 El Camino Real. When officers arrived at the scene, John Anthony Bailon was slumped behind the steering wheel of a car with a gunshot wound. He died on the scene.

Matthew Flores

At around 8:20am on March 24, 1994, SCPD responded to a report of a male who was shot in the parking lot of Applied Materials at 3225 Oakmead Village Drive. Matthew Flores was found dead with a single gunshot wound.

Keith Francis Baker

Police say Keith Francis Baker was acting irrationally and using profanity between 9:20 and 10:45pm on Aug. 7, 1990, and reportedly began challenging people to fight at the parking lot of a liquor store at 2035 White Oaks Drive. At around 10:40pm, someone stabbed him. He died from his injuries after being transported to Valley Medical Center.

Christopher F. DePasquale 

On April 1, 1981, authorities found the body of Christopher F. DePasquale in the kitchen of his apartment at 440 N. Winchester Blvd. Police say he was shot and killed some time between March 30 and the early morning hours of April 1. DePasquale graduated from Santa Clara University in 1978, drove a 1971 blue Ford Galaxy and worked for Advanced Micro Devices in Sunnyvale.

Wilbert Ward

At around 11:10am on Sept. 26 1969, SCPD began to investigate a homicide at the 1200 block of Sherman Street. They found Wilbert Ward with at least one stab wound and never found the suspect.

To learn more about each case, click here. If you have any information about the above-mentioned crimes, text the Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers mobile app P3TIPS, submit a tip online at svcrimestoppers.org or call it in at 408.947.STOP. If your tip leads to an arrest, you could earn a cash reward. 

Nicholas Chan is a journalist who covers politics, culture and current events in Silicon Valley. Follow him on Twitter at @nicholaschanhk.

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