More than four decades after a teenager’s bludgeoned body was discovered near Banning, investigators determined the identity of a man behind the horrific killing, Riverside County officials announced Wednesday.
Esther Gonzalez, who was 17 years old at the time, was walking to her sister’s house in Banning from her parents’ home in Beaumont on Feb. 9, 1979.
As her family wondered what happened to the teenager, authorities with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Station in Banning got a call from an unidentified man who reported the discovery of a body. After her body was located off Highway 243 south of Poppet Flats road, it was determined Gonzalez was raped and bludgeoned to death.
The caller was later identified as Lewis Randolph Williamson. Although investigators suspected his demeanor was unusual, Williamson passed a polygraph test and was ruled out as a suspect.
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The case went cold for more than four decades with no other leads or witnesses.
Then in 2023, the cold case homicide team of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department renewed the investigation, using the semen sample found on Gonzalez body 44 years prior and running it through genetic genealogy databases.
It turned out the investigators were right all along. The sample matched Williamson's DNA, the California Department of Justice confirmed.
But Williamson will not face legal consequences as he died in Florida in 2014. Authorities in Florida helped California officials by providing the killer’s blood sample collected during autopsy.
Riverside County investigators asked anyone who knew Williamson or may have information about Esther’s case or other potential victims to come forward by calling them at (951) 955-2777 or emailing at ColdCaseUnit@RivcoDA.org.
