Man charged in Fremont cold case, 1986 murder of best friends

FREMONT, Calif. (KTVU) - More than 30 years later, charges were filed in a double homicide of two best friends who were killed in Fremont.

David Emery Misch, 57, was charged in the Fremont homicides of 18-year-old Michelle Xavier, and 20-year-old Jennifer Duey.  

According to Fremont Police, Xavier and Duey were found dead along the side of Mill Creek Road shortly after midnight on Feb. 2, 1986. Their bodies were found along the side of the road near Mission Blvd. 

The friends had attended a birthday party for a family member earlier in the evening. They were last seen around 8 p.m. at a convenience store in the area of Farwell Drive and Mowry Avenue. 

Several persons of interest were identified and interviewed over the years, but the case went cold and was eventually suspended. 

In 2016 there was a new position created within the Crimes Against Persons Unit to focus on open cold case homicides. 

Cold Case Detective Jacob Blass began to re-examine the case files and evidence, including DNA. The evidence led Detective Blass to identifying David Emery Misch as a suspect in the case. Misch was already incarcerated and was serving 18 years to life for a 1989 homicide that occurred in Alameda County. "We do not believe the women had any history or contact with Misch, prior to the incident," according to Fremont police.   

After several months of re-interviewing witnesses as well as the suspect, the District Attorney's filed two counts of murder on Misch.

Xavier and Duey's families released the following statement, “The Xavier and Duey families wish to thank the Fremont Police Department and all of the officers and detectives who worked countless hours during the past 32 years on our daughters’ case. We have been in constant contact with them, so we know how deeply they care and how hard they work. We wish to extend our appreciation to our many friends in the community who supported us, stood by us, and prayed for us during those most difficult years. Numerous unexpected acts of kindness sustained us. We now wait for justice and hope you will continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.”

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Fremont Police Department's Investigative Unit at 510-790-6900.