Man charged with murder in cold-case killing of Temple City woman whose body was found in Azusa in 1996

LOS ANGELES — A 63-year-old Los Angeles man was charged Monday with murder in connection with the stabbing death of a woman whose nude body was found in an Azusa drainage ditch nearly three decades ago.

Brian Walton is charged with the February 1996 killing of Claudia Guevara, who was reported missing by her older brother after she was last seen at a bus stop in El Monte, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

DNA evidence allegedly linked Walton to the 23-year-old Temple City woman, who had been sexually assaulted and stabbed in the neck, according to the DA’s office.

Her body was found in a drainage ditch next to Encanto Parkway a day after she went missing after being dropped off at the bus stop by two co-workers on Feb. 20, 1996, prosecutors said.

The murder charge includes the special-circumstance allegations of murder during the commission of a rape or attempted rape and murder during the commission of a sodomy or attempted sodomy, along with an allegation that a knife was used in the crime.

The DA’s office is expected to decide later whether to seek the death penalty against Walton.

Superior Court Judge Theresa R. McGonigle ordered Walton to remain jailed without bail while awaiting arraignment, which was postponed to March 18 at the defense’s request.

He has remained behind bars since he was arrested last Thursday by L.A. County sheriff’s homicide detectives, jail records show.

“The victim’s family has waited for an agonizing 30 years to get that call to let them know their loved one’s killer had been found and charged,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement. “While this was classified as a cold case, investigators and prosecutors never stopped in their relentless pursuit of justice, reaffirming our commitment to holding people accountable for the crimes they are accused of committing.”