Tue. October 4, 2005
Beverly Hills, CA -
Beverly Hills police are banking on modern forensics to help solve the 11-year-old murder case of a Chicago gay rights activist. The body of Jon A. Simmons was found in a Beverly Hills alley in 1994 by State Assemblyman Paul Koretz. At the time Koretz was a West Hollywood city councilman.
Koretz had been out walking his dog when a woman rushed up to him and said she thought she saw a body in the alley. Upon investigating, Koretz discovered Simmons' naked body, lying face down with a single bullet wound to his head, according to police reports.
According to 365gay.com, the Beverly Hills police cold case squad will submit the bullet and other evidence from the crime scene to a lab this week for new testing in the hopes that advances in technology will help find Simmons' killer.
Simmons had been the LGBT liaison for Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. He had recently helped push through an an ordinance protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination. The 39-year old Simmons was visiting Los Angeles en route to a Hawaiian vacation.
At the time of the murder, test results on the bullet pulled out of Simmons’ skull were inconclusive.
“The Beverly Hills Police Department will continue to pursue leads in this case and will not rest until the suspect is apprehended,” Beverly Hills police Lt. Mitch McCann told KRON television Monday.
Written By Danny McCoy
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