LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A former Fresno resident was identified on Monday as the person responsible for raping and murdering two Las Vegas women within two years of each other in the early 1990s.
In a news conference, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Lieutenant Jason Johansson announced that the department had identified the who attacked and killed them. The suspect was identified as Eddie George Snowden Jr. thanks to DNA from a relative.
Officials say Snowden’s criminal history, which was not specified, suggested he lived in Fresno from the 1950s to the 80s and in several other cities, including Sacramento and Santa Cruz.
The first victim, 31-year-old Lori Ann Perera, was found on the morning of Dec. 11, 1992, in a desert area east of the Montgomery Ward Retail Store, located at 2800 E. Charleston Boulevard. Perera was found nude and bound at the wrists and ankles, Johansson said. Her cause of death was identified as asphyxiation due to strangulation and blunt force trauma.
The second victim, 35-year-old Pearl Wilson Ingram, was found in the morning hours of Jan. 12, 1994, in a dumpster behind a Vons grocery store located in the 4400 block of E. Charleston. Pearl, also known to her family as Pinkie, was found nude from the waist down with something over her body in an attempt to conceal her, Johansson said. Her cause of death was also ruled as strangulation.
Both women were victims of sexual assault, police found.
In 2007, case reviews of Perera’s murder revealed evidence of sperm in a DNA swab taken during her autopsy, which was uploaded into the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, a criminal justice DNA database.
In 2012, case reviews of Pearl’s murder revealed more evidence from a sexual assault kit that was taken at the time of her discovery. This DNA evidence was also uploaded into the CODIS system when investigators learned both murders were linked to the same suspect.
Although the DNA was matched to a likely suspect profile, it did not initially match a specific suspect whose DNA already existed in the CODIS system, Johansson said.
In 2022, the DNA profile was sent to Othram, Inc. a company that has used DNA to solve numerous other missing identity and cold cases.
Snowden lived in the 2800 block of E. Charleston at the time of both murders and died in Las Vegas in 2017 from natural causes.
Pearl’s sister, Teresa Board, spoke about her sister’s memory at the news conference.
“She was very lively, always cracking jokes,” Board said. “My sister was educated, she was a mother, she was a sister, she was an aunt, and she didn’t get to become a grandmother, and that’s not fair.”
